Catholic Church

By Robert Lazu Kmita, Remnant Columnist - ... Saint John the Baptist received, according to the words of Saint Jerome, the “honorable privilege” of preaching the Kingdom of God first. Indeed, the Gospel according to Matthew presents this crucial message as being conveyed for the first time by the greatest of the prophets of the Old Testament: “And in those days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea. And saying: Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3: 1-2).”

By Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Diocese of Fort Wayne - South Bend - Statement of Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades Regarding Change in Admission Policy at Saint Mary’s College.... I learned last week that the Board of Trustees of Saint Mary’s College, a Catholic women’s college in our diocese, has changed its admission policy and will now consider for admission not only applicants “whose sex is female,” but also applicants “who consistently live and identify as women.”

By Stephen P. White, The Catholic Thing - Cardinal George had something to say about that, too, in his homily: The answer is simply Catholicism, in all its fullness and depth, a faith able to distinguish itself from any culture and yet able to engage and transform them all, a faith joyful in all the gifts Christ wants to give us and open to the whole world he died to save. The Catholic faith shapes a church with a lot of room for differences in pastoral approach, for discussion and debate, for initiatives as various as the peoples whom God loves. ....

By Gretchen Filz, Catholic Company Magazine - Advent always begins on the Sunday closest to November 30th, the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle. Is this just a nice coincidence, or is there deeper significance?... There is indeed a deeper significance. St. Andrew was the very first disciple called by Our Lord—that is why, in the Orthodox tradition, he is known by the name Πρωτóκλητος, which means "First-Called." Andrew is the one who convinced his brother, Simon, to become Jesus' disciple. "We have found the Messiah!" Andrew said to him. Now we know Simon as Peter, the first pope.