France: A stamp will be issued in honor of Joan of Arc

The Vatican post office and the French post office jointly will issue a stamp in honor of St. Joan of Arc (1412-1431) to mark the 600th anniversary of the birth of the Maid of Orleans.
The issuance of the stamps will take place in two stages.  On May 14, the French post office will issue a [...]

Benedict XVI will create 22 new cardinals

During the Angelus on January 6, 2012, Benedict XVI announced that he will convene a consistory on February 18th during which he will elevate twenty-two new members to the College of Cardinals, of whom eighteen will become new cardinal electors.  This fourth consistory of his pontificate will bring the number of members of the Sacred [...]

Official recognition of the liturgical practices of the Neocatechumenal Way

On January 20, 2012, the Vatican announced that they have validated the non-liturgical celebrations of the Neocatechumenal Way, “that are not already regulated by the liturgical books of the Church.”  Shortly before, during an audience given by Benedict XVI to 7,000 members of the Way, the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Bishop [...]

The wager of the Year of Faith

Everyone knows Pascal’s wager;  the Year of Faith which is to run from October 11, 2012, to November 24, 2013, gives the impression that it, too, is based on a wager.
The pastoral guidelines that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has just published show that this year should be considered the occasion to [...]

Le Courrier à Rome [“Mail to Rome”]

Many are wondering about the contents of the letter addressed in early December to Rome by Bishop Bernard Fellay in response to the Doctrinal Preamble delivered to him by Cardinal William Levada last September 14.  We are in a position to report that one of the components that make up this response is the cogently [...]

Germany: Rhineland-Westphalia introduces Islamic instruction

The parliament of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia voted on December 21, 2011, to institute general Islamic religious instruction in the schools.  The coalition in power (the Social Democratic Party or SPD and the Greens) as well as the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU, the opposition party) campaigned in favor of this law.  The Liberal Democratic Party [...]

Lebanon: The Maronite Patriarchate Fears for the Future of Christians in the Middle East

The Maronite patriarchate in Lebanon expressed its fears concerning the future of Christians in the Middle East.  In an interview broadcasted on the radio channel Voix du Liban (Voice of Lebanon) and re-published by the French-speaking Lebanese paper L’Orient-Le Jour on December 24, the patriarchate’s vicar, Bishop Samir Maxloum, claimed that “the government systems set [...]

Fr. Patrick Troadec on His Book “The Catholic Family” (Clovis)

Father, you have been the director of the seminary of Flavigny for many years.  How does the Catholic family concern the ministry of a priest charged with the formation of future priests?
At the seminary of Flavigny, my role is essentially to form future priests and religious, but I realize that the young men who knock [...]

France: The relics of the parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Paris

The basilica of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires [Our Lady of Victories] in Paris will welcome the relics of Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.  A chapel dedicated to them will be opened on January 16, 2012.  Thus it will be the first house of worship in France placed under the patronage of the [...]

United States: Father of Two Children, the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles Resigns

Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop Gabino Zavala, on January 4, 2012, in accordance with Article 401-§2 of the Code of Canon Law, “for health reasons or for all other serious reasons.”   The 60 year-old auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles had formerly informed the archbishop of his diocese, Archbishop José H. Gomez, that he [...]

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