Vocations

Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib: Why I am giving up elected office and joining the Jesuits

03/19/2020 at 7:00 PM By Kevin Edward White
By Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib (Washington), America, March 19, 2020 Earlier today, I announced that I will not be running for re-election as Washington State’s lieutenant governor and have decided to enter the Society of Jesus. This decision follows two years of careful and prayerful... read more

One in four new Catholic priests in Europe is Polish – but numbers are falling

02/18/2020 at 3:42 PM By Kevin Edward White
Notes from Poland, February 17, 2020 One in four ordainments of Catholic diocesan priests in Europe takes place in Poland, according to data from the Polish Institute for Catholic Church Statistics. But the number of new priests is falling overall, while there has been a rise in the number... read more

Dominican Nuns in Tuscany vs. the Vatican, with Help from the Locals

08/21/2019 at 6:35 AM By Mary Anne Hackett
By Hilary White, August 20, 2019 Late in June, we received a warning from a village on the edge of Tuscany that yet another religious house with the wrong sort of mindset was facing the now dreaded prospect of a Vatican “visitator.” The contemplative Dominican monastery of Marradi, the... read more

Latin Mass, Church traditions bring boom in vocations for US order of nuns

08/19/2019 at 5:13 PM By Mary Anne Hackett
By Drew Belsky FAIRFIELD, Pennsylvania, August 13, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – In an age where religious professions are in decline, especially in the United States, one order is looking back in time to buck the trend. The Discalced Carmelites have turned from the modern Church’s reforms of the... read more

Laxity in Seminaries as a Contributing Cause to the Sex-Abuse Crisis

07/11/2019 at 12:09 PM By Mary Anne Hackett
COMMENTARY: It seems that improvements have been made in many seminaries, but are they genuine or just window dressing? Janet E. Smith “Hide the handsome ones.” That was what was “jokingly” said when Theodore McCarrick would visit seminaries. It disgusts me that such “jokes”... read more

With record number of seminarians, Phoenix diocese pledges support

05/22/2019 at 4:09 PM By Mary Anne Hackett
Phoenix, Ariz., May 21, 2019 / 12:00 am (CNA).- With a record-high number of seminarians, the Diocese of Phoenix has dedicated more funds to support the formation of the Arizona diocese’s future priests. There are 40 men studying to become priests in the Diocese of Phoenix, according to the... read more

Bishop Olmsted Sees ‘Renewal’ in Priestly Formation, Despite Scandal

05/10/2019 at 5:55 PM By Mary Anne Hackett
In a monthly series of columns, Bishop Olmsted has been considering various aspects of the Church scandal, as well as ways to move forward in purification. Catholic News Agency, May. 10, 2019 PHOENIX — Despite the scandals of clerical sexual abuse that the Catholic Church has suffered in... read more

Typical new US priest: 33-year-old who prays Rosary, takes part in Eucharistic adoration

05/07/2019 at 4:08 PM By Mary Anne Hackett
Catholic World News May 07, 2019 The typical member of the priestly ordination class of 2019 is a 33-year-old cradle Catholic, according to a recently released survey of 379 of the 481 men slated to be ordained to the priesthood in the United States this year. The survey was conducted for... read more

Pope Francis wants psychological testing to prevent problem priests. But can it really do that?

03/22/2019 at 10:48 AM By Kevin Edward White
By Julie Zauzmer, Washington Post, March 21. 2019 Can a clinician actually determine who is a pedophile? Can a test predict who is cut out for a life of chastity? The church promises psychological evaluation for all new priests, despite dubious science. As the Catholic Church quakes... read more

Spain sees 24 per cent jump in ordinations to priesthood

03/20/2019 at 8:22 PM By Kevin Edward White
Spain sees 24 per cent jump in ordinations to priesthoodBy Simon Caldwell, Catholic Herald, March 20, 2019Ordinations to the priesthood in Spain have soared by 24 per cent in the last year. In 2018, a total of 135 men were ordained priests compared to 109 in 2017, according to statistics... read more

The new Sisterhood: traditional orders are booming

01/29/2019 at 9:55 AM By Mary Anne Hackett
By Joanna Bogle, 17 January, 2019 A member of the Sisters of Life attends the opening Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington (CNS/Nancy Phelan Wiechec) Not all women’s religious orders are shrinking. Some... read more

Vocations Foundations

01/25/2019 at 3:14 PM By Mary Anne Hackett

Vocations Foundations

12/17/2018 at 11:57 AM By Mary Anne Hackett

Parish Priest Faced With Declining Parish Gives Homily Every Priest Needs To Hear

12/15/2018 at 4:32 PM By Mary Anne Hackett

Pope Francis on the ‘Gay Mentality’ That Has ‘Influenced the Church’

12/15/2018 at 4:25 PM By Mary Anne Hackett

HAPPY TRADDIES AT CLEAR CREEK

12/09/2018 at 5:21 PM By Mary Anne Hackett

“Gay” Priests and Indulgence of Homosexuality

12/09/2018 at 4:56 PM By Mary Anne Hackett

Understanding Pope Francis’ controversial remarks on homosexuality in the priesthood

12/06/2018 at 5:39 PM By Mary Anne Hackett

What the Cupich Moment Can Teach Ambitious Seminarians

12/05/2018 at 5:40 PM By Mary Anne Hackett

Massive overhaul slated for Chicago Archdiocese

12/04/2018 at 5:50 PM By Mary Anne Hackett