Written by Ed Condon and published May 10, 2024.  - Are you a paying subscriber?  Visit pillarcatholic.com/listen on your phone  Tap ‘set up podcast’ next to The Pillar TL;DR Having issues? Check out this general step-by-step guide from Substack, or email our producer Kate Olivera at kolivera@pillarcatholic.com - Show notes:  Two Ascensions? Do I celebrate 'Asc… Read more ..read more

Australia’s bishops formally approved the use of an Aboriginal liturgy Tuesday during a plenary meeting in Sydney.  A Missa Terra Spiritus Sancti (Mass of the Land of the Holy Spirit) is celebrated on July 1, 2018, at Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral in Broome, Australia. Screenshot from Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral Facebook page. They endorsed the liturgy — known as the Mass of the Land of the Holy Spirit, or Missa Terra Spiritus Sancti in Latin — for use in the Diocese of Broome, which covers around 30,000 square miles in the state of Western Australia and serves a Catholic popu ..read more

Happy Friday friends, Depending on where you are, or were yesterday, you’ve either celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord or will do so this Sunday. There are three tiers of canon law at play here, and people often ask us what the deal is, what exactly their obligations are, and even how fast and loose you can play pilgrim across diocesan lines to celebrate it according to your day of preference. The presumption of universal law is that the Feast of the Ascension is to be celebrated on its proper day, Thursday, the 40th day of Easter and 10 days before Pentecost, as a day of precept ..read more

The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal announced Friday that one of its members, Louis Leonelli, has been laicized after admitting to “an inappropriate sexual relationship with an adult woman.” Leonelli had faced a lawsuit alleging that he serially assaulted a woman a decade ago. Credit: Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. “Louis Leonelli admitted to an inappropriate sexual relationship with an adult woman as a priest and member of the Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal,” said a statement from the CFRs on Friday. “Civil litigation relative to that issue has been resolved,” the stateme ..read more

Welcome to Starting Seven, The Pillar’s daily newsletter.  I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment. Read more ..read more

This article was written by Michelle La Rosa and published May 4, 2024. You can read this article here: https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/to-find-your-people-how-catholics - Are you a paying subscriber?  Visit pillarcatholic.com/listen on your phone  Tap ‘set up podcast’ next to The Pillar TL;DR Having issues? Check out this general step-by-step guide from Sub… Read more ..read more

The top stories of the week include a new commission in Africa to study theological and pastoral issues surrounding polygamy. A group of Catholic students in Indonesia are attacked during a rosary procession.  Bishops in Australia await the Vatican’s approval of a new liturgy that incorporates Aboriginal language and culture. A new law in Florida green-l… Read more ..read more

If you ask the Catholics who know him, they’ll tell you that the Tuesday appointment of Bishop-elect Mark Beckman to the Diocese of Knoxville comes as something of a surprise.  Bishop-elect Mark Beckman speaks at a May 7 press conference. Credit: Diocese of Knoxville/YouTube. They’ll tell you — or at least they told The Pillar — that Beckman is an unassuming, kind, gentle pastor, with a gift for being present in his people’s lives. And some told The Pillar that Beckman has a kind of meekness that made him a surprise appointment for an episcopal slot, especially in a beleaguered diocese ..read more

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio has removed a number of posts on twitter.com, after some commenters argued that his statements were antisemitic. Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio. Subscribe now “The archbishop deeply regrets that posts in recent days on the war in Gaza have caused confusion and misunderstanding in some and has removed a few of the comments,” said Jordan McMorrough, director of communications for the Archdiocese of San Antonio. “Archbishop Gustavo has preached strongly and emphatically against anti-Semitism through the years, including many publi ..read more

Welcome to Starting Seven, The Pillar’s daily newsletter.  I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment. Read more ..read more