On the fifth Wednesday evening of Lent, the Byzantine Church celebrates the impressive Penitential Services with Prostrations, known to the Ruthenian people as-Poklony. These moving ceremonies, celebrated within the liturgical setting of the Lenten Matins, are concentrated around the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete (d. 740), which consists of 250 troparia divided into nine odes, with a prostration (Old-Slavonic: poklon-prostration, a deep bow) after each troparion. Hence it received the popular name: Prostrations or Poklony. Continue reading
Bishops say young people should be heard, not lectured
Pope Francis greets Bishop Mark O’Toole of Plymouth, England, as he leaves a session of the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment at the Vatican Oct. 5. Next to the pope is Cardinal Vincent Nicholas of Westminster, England. Catholic News Service photo by Paul Haring.[/caption]
VATICAN CITY — The Catholic Church needs to communicate the beauty and intelligence of faith to young men
and women without resorting to condescending and aggressive methods, Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles told members of the Synod of Bishops.
A “renewed apologetics and catechesis” can help young people who are tempted to leave the church due to convictions
“that religion is opposed to science or that it cannot stand up to rational scrutiny, that its beliefs are outmoded, a holdover from a primitive time, that the Bible is unreliable, that religious belief gives rise to violence, and that God is a threat to human freedom,” Bishop Barron said in his speech to the synod Oct. 4.
“I hope it is clear that arrogant proselytizing has no place in our pastoral outreach, but I hope it is equally clear that an intelligent, respectful, and culturally sensitive explication of the faith (‘giving a reason for
the hope that is within us’) is certainly a ‘desideratum’ (‘desire’),” he said. Continue reading
“Parish Life from Maintenance to Discipleship”
Byzantine Spirituality Conference set for Nov. 10 The disciples walked with Jesus for three years, shared meals with him, were present during his most difficult moments and yet Peter denied Jesus three times. Disciple-making is a process, quite often a … Continue reading
Church should meet youth where they are, says observor
VATICAN CITY — To reach young people and teach them the faith, Catholics must first show them that they are loved, “not just judged, discarded, or abused,” said a 29-year-old observer at the Synod of Bishops. Yadira Vieyra, who works … Continue reading
U.S. cardinal: Abuse crisis discussed at synod, will top bishops’ agenda
VATICAN CITY — While the clerical sexual abuse crisis did not dominate discussions at the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston said it was discussed, and everyone in the room clearly believed the crisis has to be … Continue reading
The courageous witness of SS. Oscar Romero, Paul VI
Two very d i f f e r e n t men, facing different sets of dire challenges with prophetic courage, faithfully journeyed along two different paths to the same destination: sainthood! Who would have predicted it? Who would have … Continue reading
WORLD NEWS (Catholic News Service)
Read the latest world news as reported by Catholic News Service. With headquarters in Washington, offices in New York and Rome, and correspondents around the world, CNS provides the most comprehensive coverage of the church today.
- Update: Bishops overwhelmingly approve pastoral against racism
- Jesuit superior says Father Arrupe’s sainthood cause may open in February
- Where there are lies, there can be no love, pope says
- Dolan: Even without vote, discussing abuse protocols still ‘productive’
- Bishops’ abuse response must trump all other issues, advisory group says
- Temporary mobile health clinic for the poor opens in St. Peter’s Square
- Gobsmacked: Rome steps in, reform votes delayed
- Pope names Archbishop Scicluna adjunct secretary of CDF
- Protesters gather outside bishops’ meeting in Baltimore, call for change
- Survivors of clergy child sex abuse tell U.S. bishops of rejection, pain
- Cardinal: Delay in vote on abuse response proposals a ‘bump in the road’
- Update: Vatican asks USCCB to delay vote on sex abuse response proposals
- Bishops must be blameless servants, not princes, pope says
- Religious groups made effort to drive their flocks to midterm voting
- Is China’s targeting of Catholics pushback from low-level party officials?
- Update: Archival find at Catholic U. leads to Kristallnacht remembrance
