News

By Jonathan Liedl, National Catholic Register - Speaking April 24 at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said that the model for small-group discussions, which is marked by each participant taking a turn to speak while others listen, intervals of silence, and allowing for disagreement, is at the heart of Pope Francis’ call “to envision a renewal of the whole Church.”... “It is a new ‘model of the Church,’ which I believe has the promise of bringing about a renewal for how we make decisions in the Church and how we relate to one another at the universal, continental, national and local levels,” said Cardinal Cupich ....

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture - In the latest, broadcast by CBS (with a more extensive version to air in May), Pope Francis is asked about the many Catholics who have left the Church. His answer is revealing in several ways. He insists that there is “always a place” for Catholics in the Church. “If in this parish, the priest doesn’t seem welcoming, I understand,” he says; “but go and look elsewhere.”... Father Raymond de Souza, writing in the National Catholic Register, remarks that here the Pope seems to be endorsing the practice of “parish-shopping,” which is contrary to the norms of canon law. As Father de Souza puts it, “The norm is that your parish is where you live.”

By Michael Haynes, LifeSiteNew - Pope Francis has stated that “deniers of climate change” are “foolish” as they don’t believe “research,” and insisting that “climate change exists.”... In comments made to CBS Evening News and aired April 24, the 87-year-old Pontiff decried those whom CBS’s Norah O’Donnell described as “deniers of climate change.”... “There are people who are foolish, and foolish even if you show them research, they don’t believe it,” responded Francis. “Why? Because they don’t understand the situation or because of their interest, but climate change exists.”