Bishops

Pope at Mass: bishop, a humble and meek servant, not a prince

During Mass, Monday morning, Pope Francis spoke about the qualities of a bishop that St. Paul speaks about in his letter to Titus. A humble and meek servant, not a prince. This is what a bishop should be according to Pope Francis. Celebrating Holy Mass, Monday morning, at the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican, he [...]

Congregation for Causes of Saints issues new Instruction on Relics

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has issued a new Instruction addressing the handling and authentication of relics, both during canonical processes leading to beatification/canonization and for the exposition of relics for the veneration of the faithful. By Christopher R. Altieri The Congregation for the Causes of Saints on Saturday issued an Instruction on the [...]

Pope Francis urges new Bishops to cultivate discernment

Pope Francis on Thursday urged Bishops to cultivate what he called an “attitude of listening” and to avoid being “imprisoned by nostalgia.” Addressing Catholic Bishops from across the globe who have been appointed during the past year, the Pope focused on the need for discernment. The Bishops have just completed an annual training program organized by [...]

Ecumenism of choirs

A prayer in Chinese “for persecuted Christians” and that all political leaders might work towards justice and peace. This characterized the Mass Pope Francis celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, 29 June, the solemnity of the Patron Saints of Rome. After the Mass, the Holy Father personally conveyed the pallium to 22 new Metropolitan [...]

“The Bishop Must Go Ahead”

PHOTO ESSAY EPIPHANY CONSECRATIONS —photography by Grzegorz Galazka Archbishop Georg Gänswein, prefect of the Papal Household and personal secretary of Benedict XVI, carries his pastoral staff during his episcopal ordination Pope Benedict’s words during his homily on the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6 in Rome were a profound reflection on what it [...]

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Key Collaborator of the Pope

An interview with Cardinal Marc Ouellet on the second anniversary of his appointment as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano) I once asked the late Cardinal Andrzej-Maria Deskur whether he expected the election of a non-Italian cardinal after Paul VI’s death. Much to my surprise, he resolutely replied: “Not only did [...]

Putting a Warm Face on the Church’s Public Image

When Timothy M. Dolan was elected by the American bishops as their president in November 2010, only 18 months after Pope Benedict had transferred him from the archdiocese of Milwaukee to that of New York, it was seen by many as a rejection of the man who, according to precedent, was expected to be chosen: Bishop [...]