- Catholic Standard

Father Ismael (Mel) N. Ayala, pastor of St. Andrew Apostle Church in Silver Spring, has been named the new director of liturgy for the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, archbishop of Washington and chairman of the National […]

A young noblewoman who lived in the 14th century is still influencing the lives of people today through the order she founded. Visitors to Rome who stay at the Casa di Santa Brigida on the northwest corner of the Piazza Farnese, beside the church dedicated to her, have the opportunity not only to […]

At a Capitol Hill media event July 21, Cardinal Wilton Gregory joined immigrants, agriculture and business representatives and two U.S. senators in calling for legislative protections for immigrants that keep families together, including a pathway to citizenship.Speaking on the lawn of the Capitol, […]

Every subscriber of digital services and smartphones which access personal information should be aware that their actions are no longer “private” – even despite the best efforts and intentions of service providers.That is the opinion of Brett Robinson, director of communications […]

Bishop Manuel A. Cruz, a Cuban-American and an auxiliary of the Newark Archdiocese, told the congregation at a West New York Catholic Church that “the hour has come to say ‘ENOUGH.’” “Our people, the Cuban people, helpless as they are, are being massacred by the […]

Readings for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time2 Kings 4:42-44 Psalm 145: 10-11, 15-18 Ephesians 4:1-6 John 6:1-15The social isolation of lockdowns and quarantines imposed during the pandemic underscored the simple joy of shared meals with family, friends or neighbors. Sharing food in the […]

From uneven responses to the COVID-19 crisis to the raw racial tensions exposed by the death of George Floyd in 2020, Americans over the past year have become more conscious of the diversity of our population and the struggles that many different cultures experience on a day to day basis.That focus […]

Q. As a Catholic, I like to decorate my home with religious art that helps draw my heart and mind to God. At times, I am able to find vintage religious pieces on online auction websites that I can’t find elsewhere. I noticed recently that some online resellers have items like used chalices […]

Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis said July 16 that, for now, parishes that celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form – also known as the “traditional Latin Mass” or “Tridentine Mass” – should stick to the status quo.Archbishop Hebda has […]

Have you called or prayed for your grandparents lately? How about visited your elderly neighbor? As the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, July 25, marks the perfect opportunity to reach out to the aging individuals in your life in a special way that reassures them of your love and […]

This year will be the 20th anniversary of the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.  Though this tragedy seemed unthinkable to us in our own time, it was not the first time that a plane struck one of New York City’s skyscrapers.  On Saturday July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber smashed into the 79th […]

Msgr. Jeffrey D. Burrill, the general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops since November, has resigned from the post after the USCCB “became aware of impending media reports alleging possible improper behavior by Msgr. Burrill,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez of […]

Pope Francis’s letter explaining why he was restricting the use of the pre-Vatican II Mass “fearlessly hits the nail on the head: the TLM (Traditional Latin Mass) movement has hijacked the initiatives of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI to its own ends,” said Archbishop J. […]

Gerald “Jerry” Michael Costello, a Catholic press veteran who was a reporter, columnist, book author and founding editor of three newspapers, died July 19 a five-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 90. His funeral Mass will be celebrated July 23 at Holy Spirit Church […]

For all the positive energy and enthusiasm at the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart on July 19, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Olympics-bound swimmers and alumnae, Katie Ledecky and Phoebe Bacon, could hear all the way from Tokyo, Japan, the exuberant cheers and applause of the hundreds of […]

Growing up in a devout Filipino American Catholic family formed the foundation for Father Stefan Yap’s eventual ordination to the priesthood. This year marks not only his first anniversary  as a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, but also the 500th anniversary of the introduction […]

Asked what his 25th anniversary as a priest meant to him, Msgr. Robert Panke, the pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland, said, “It’s hard to believe it’s 25 years. It’s been so fast.” Those 25 years since his ordination in 1996 have included […]

After a challenging year of serving their parishioners during the coronavirus pandemic, all three priests at the rectory of St. John Neumann Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland, had a special reason to celebrate, because all three are celebrating anniversaries in 2021. St. John Neumann’s […]

In an interview about his 60th anniversary as a priest – reflecting on the journey of his priestly vocation and down-to-earth experiences at parishes and also on his avocation of flying airplanes in the skies over Alaska and other states – Father Peter Sweeney several times used the […]

Catholic immigration advocates are urging Congress and President Joe Biden to speed up legislation to protect immigrants after a federal judge ruled July 16 to end a program that prevents the deportation of thousands of immigrants brought into the U.S. illegally as children.These groups immediately […]

For Msgr. Charles Parry – pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Rockville, Maryland, who this year celebrates the 40th anniversary of his ordination – being a priest “has been an absolute and complete privilege and joy.”“It is an honor and a privilege leading the people of […]

Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people of Cuba a week after protests erupted on the island nation.In his first public appearance after his release from Gemelli hospital, the pope told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square July 18 that he was “near to the dear Cuban people in these […]

Many people may not think about religious repression since it doesn’t happen in the United States. For those who may argue that it does, then it doesn’t happen on the scale and terror of those living in countries with authoritarian regimes.Testimony from survivors of religious […]

Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to the medical staff at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after his recovery from intestinal surgery.“Upon returning from my hospitalization, I feel the need to send a grateful and affectionate thought to you and, through you, to all those who form the great […]

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Here is the Vatican's official English translation of "'Traditionis Custodes' on the Use of the Roman Liturgy Prior to the Reform of 1970," an apostolic letter issued by Pope Francis "motu proprio" July 16: Guardians of the tradition, the bishops in communion with the bishop […]

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Saying he was acting for the good of the unity of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has restored limits on the celebration of the Mass according to the Roman Missal in use before the Second Vatican Council, overturning or severely restricting permissions St. John Paul II and […]

St. Ignatius Parish in Chapel Point, Maryland, may well be the parish assignment Jesuit Father Thomas Clifford has been preparing for his entire life. As he celebrates the 40th anniversary of his 1981 ordination this year, Father Clifford is immersed in understanding and documenting the history of […]

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of his ordination this year, Father David Russell describes his priestly ministry as one of “leading the people to holiness.”“My job is to provide the people with the sacraments and guidance so that with God’s grace I can help them to be […]

The Supreme Court announced it will hear oral arguments Oct. 12 in a case from Kentucky’s attorney general, who is defending the state’s abortion law that was struck down by a lower court.The law, passed in 2018 but blocked by the courts, bans an abortion procedure used after the 15th […]

This time, yes, God willing. This time will be “the beginning of the end.”With that faith and more hope, Cuban exiles gathered July 13 for Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami to pray for freedom in their homeland, two days after unusual and unexpected […]

A series of debilitating crises in recent weeks – from a surge in COVID-19 cases to the assassination of a president – has left Haiti reeling again in uncertainty and forced Catholic Relief Services to curtail its outreach efforts.“As I told someone, this is like the perfect […]

The star document of a new exhibit at the Museum of the Bible in Washington is the 1217 Magna Carta, which regulated the power of royal tyrants in medieval England with a fundamental guarantee of rights and privileges.A revision of the 1215 document, it is one of four of its kind that is accounted […]

Charges of genocide – whoever the victim, whoever the perpetrator – “must be pursued,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said July 14 at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington.Smith, who referenced the genocides of Jews and Armenians as examples of 20th-century […]

Msgr. Paul Langsfeld, who helped train future priests as a seminary rector and professor and who said he later got to put his teachings into practice by returning to the Archdiocese of Washington and serving as a pastor at three parishes, died on July 9 at the age of 71. He had been living at the […]

The mere act of lifting the dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation as the coronavirus pandemic eases won’t be enough to get Catholics to come back to Church, and some dioceses and Catholics are actively working to bring people back.“Just opening our doors and waiting for folks to […]

Please remember in your prayers the following priests and permanent deacons on the anniversaries of their deaths:July 15 – Father Charles Chester Ball, S.S.J., 1970; Father Nicholas Weber, S.M., 1968; Father Richard J. Barron, 1952; Father Philip J. Walsh, 1920.July 16 – Father G. Ralph […]

Braving extreme heat and crushing humidity, more than 900 people crowded into St. Elizabeth Church in Wilmington July 13 to witness the ordination and installation of the new shepherd of the Diocese of Wilmington, Bishop William E. Koenig.The episcopal ordination – the first in the diocese […]

Ten days after undergoing intestinal surgery, Pope Francis was released from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the Vatican confirmed.In a statement released July 14, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that after leaving the hospital midmorning, the pope visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major to say a […]

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Roger J. Foys of Covington, Kentucky, and named as his successor Father John C. Iffert, currently vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois.Bishop Foys, who has headed the Diocese of Covington since 2002, is […]

Summer has always been a fun time for me, and I suspect that is true for most of us. Some of my best memories are spending time with friends at the neighborhood tennis courts and pool, family vacations, camps, cookouts and a more leisurely pace to life.Not all my summers have been that way, and I […]

The House Committee on Appropriations is poised to mark up “the most extreme pro-abortion appropriations bill we have seen” because it excludes the 46-year-old Hyde Amendment and other long-standing bipartisan provisions that prevent tax money from being spent on abortion, two U.S. […]

U.S. theologians and human rights experts on Cuba worried that any repeat of the widespread protests in Cuba on July 11 may be met with a swift, violent set of state-sponsored reactions.There were already signals the Cuban government had disseminated a multifaceted action plan July 12 that was to […]

A Michigan appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit against a priest in the Detroit Archdiocese who emphasized suicide in the 2018 funeral homily for an 18-year-old who took his own life.The suit, against the priest, the parish and the archdiocese, was filed by Linda Hullibarger, mother of Maison […]

At first glance, it may seem like a coincidence that two of the United States’ elite female swimmers both grew up in Montgomery County in Maryland, attended Little Flower School in Bethesda, then swam for the high school team at the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, also in Bethesda, […]

In his 40th year as a priest, U.S.-born Father Michael Moran is serving for the first time at a U.S. parish, having taken over as administrator at St. Margaret of Scotland in Seat Pleasant and Capitol Heights, Maryland, in 2020. The 69-year-old priest of the Society of African Missions spent most […]

Cardinal Wilton Gregory visited St. John the Evangelist Parish in Silver Spring June 20 to bless the Adoration Chapel on the church’s lower level and to celebrate Mass in the newly renovated upper church level.Above and below, Cardinal Wilton Gregory prays as he blesses the […]

Despite initial estimates of requiring a week of inpatient care, Pope Francis will continue his recovery as a patient at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after undergoing colon surgery, the Vatican press office said.In a statement released July 12, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope […]

The Christian Liberation Movement in Cuba has called on people to continue to pressure communist authorities to hold a general election.The country has seen demonstrations in its major cities joined by thousands of people to protest the unprecedented scarcity of essentials and the rising death toll […]

A new report from the Public Religion Research Institute examined the U.S. religious landscape, and declared that “the most substantial cultural and political divides are between white Christians and Christians of color.”“More than four in 10 Americans (44 percent) identify as […]

Although not confirmed by the Vatican, the idea of Pope Francis making a daytrip to Scotland in early November to attend the U.N. Climate Change Conference is heating up.The “World Leaders Summit” of the two-week conference, known as COP26, will take place in Glasgow Nov. […]