Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II

I was overjoyed at the canonizations this past Sunday, especially of Pope John Paul II, who means so much to me and to my family. I loved seeing Pope Francis embrace Pope Emeritus Benedict. The whole "day of four popes" (John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis) was a sign of continuity in the church, a sign that while different popes have different styles and different emphases, we are still one church, with Christ as our head.

If you missed the canonizations, here is the complete video, first from the Vatican and then from EWTN:





On the first video, click on "English" at the top of the video to hear commentary and translations in English. (English audio starts around 4:22 in the video.)

For more videos about the canonizations and other Catholic news and events, check out the Vatican YouTube Channel and the EWTN YouTube Channel.

Church leaders confront "virtual reality"

A fitting topic for a Catholic blog:

Join Pope Francis in Fasting and Praying for Peace in Syria

Pope Francis invites us to participate in a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Syria, to be observed on Saturday, September 7, 2013. Here is a quote from Pope Francis:

To this end, brothers and sisters, I have decided to proclaim for the whole Church on 7 September next, the vigil of the birth of Mary, Queen of Peace, a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world, and I also invite each person, including our fellow Christians, followers of other religions and all men of good will, to participate, in whatever way they can, in this initiative.

Here are links for more information:

Full Text of Address by Pope Francis

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Joins Pope Francis’s Call for Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace in Syria

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - Issues and Action - Syria

Catholic News Agency: Pope’s Vigil for Syrian Peace Expected to be Biggest in Decades

Premiere Episode of EWTN News Nightly

I'm sorry for the very infrequent posting over the past few months. I can't promise that I will post more frequently over the next few months, but try to do my best, as my schedule permits.

But I do have a video to share today. It is the premiere episode of EWTN's new program EWTN News Nightly with Colleen Carroll Campbell:



You can read Deacon Greg Kandra's review of this episode on his blog The Deacon's Bench. And you can find more episodes of EWTN programs on EWTN's YouTube channel.

CatholicVote.org Video on the Election of Pope Francis

(Found at Conversion Diary.)

Video Report on Pope Francis

We have a pope!

Conclave: The Making of a Pope

Here is another video about how the new pope will be elected, from Catholic News Service:

How is the New Pope Elected?

I'm sorry I haven't posted much lately. But just in time for the papal conclave, here is a video about the process of electing a pope:




Here is more information on how the pope is elected:

• How is a New Pope Chosen? (from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
• How a New Pope is Chosen (from Catholic News Service and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
• How a Pope is Elected (an interactive graphic from the Italian newspaper La Stampa)
• Papal Conclave 101: The Mechanics of Electing a New Pope (an article from the National Catholic Register)
• An Illustrated Guide to the Conclave (from the Fellowship of Catholic University Students)
• Inside the Conclave (detailed graphic from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

You can also click here to watch live coverage of the papal conclave on EWTN.

Pope Benedict XVI Retires

I was shocked and saddened this morning to hear the news that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning from the papacy. Others have done better than I can in writing about this great pope, and about what his resignation means, so I will just post some video clips with news and analysis:

First, EWTN aired a special edition of EWTN Live, in which Fr. Mitch Pacwa, Fr. Joseph Mary, EWTN president Michael Warsaw, and EWTN theologian Colin Donovan discussed the news about Pope Benedict's retirement:



Next, Rome Reports has a large number of videos about Pope Benedict's announcement, Pope Benedict's life, history of other popes who have resigned, what happens during the period between popes, and more. Below are a few of these videos, but you can find more on the Rome Reports YouTube channel.







I wish I had more time to find and post even more videos, but I wanted to post at least something on the day of this momentous news.

March for Life 2013 Video Reporting by Catholic News Service

Here are some videos from Catholic News Service, reporting on this year's March for Life in Washington, D.C.:







You can find more videos from Catholic News Service on their YouTube channel.

Pope Benedict XVI is on Twitter

In case you haven't heard, Pope Benedict XVI is now on Twitter!

Fifty Years of Catholic-Orthodox Ecumenical Progress

A look back at the progress that has been made in ecumenism between Catholic and Orthodox Christians since the Second Vatican Council:

Should the U.S. bishops re-institute meatless Fridays year-round?

I have been looking for video about this suggestion by Cardinal Dolan, since I read about it earlier this week:



And here is a clip from a Catholic radio program where Cardinal Dolan discussed this idea further:



Personally, I think that this is a great idea, as Friday abstinence from meat would be a year-round witness to the wider culture. Also, I think it would be easier to remember to abstain from meat every Friday for the whole year, than the current system where we have to abstain only on the Fridays of Lent (and Ash Wednesday of course).

Finally, if anyone would like to see the full video of Cardinal Dolan's opening speech at the U.S. bishops' fall assembly, here it is:



(Thanks to Whispers in the Loggia, where I found the audio clip and the second video.)

News report on the U.S. bishops' fall meeting

Catholic News Service reports on major topics discussed at this week's fall meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB):

The Importance of Sacred Music in Evangelization

Here is another video from Catholic News Service:



This video reminds me of a great blog post from a few years back, called What's a Hymn For?, by Fr. Dwight Longenecker. Click through and read it if you get a chance. It is one of the best articles I have read about the problems with some of the music used in Catholic parishes in the United States.

Also check out The Reinvention of Parish Music at Crisis Magazine, for information on some very promising and talented young composers and publishers who are taking it upon themselves to provide better music for Catholic worship.

U.S. Bishops Meet with Catholic Bloggers

Catholic News Service has been publishing some good videos lately on their YouTube channel. Here is their most recent video, reporting on a recent meeting between Catholic bishops and Catholic bloggers:



The National Catholic Register also has a good article about this meeting between bishops and bloggers.

Live video feed from the USCCB meeting in Baltimore

Here is a live video feed of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' fall general assembly:



Also check out Whispers in the Loggia, which has both the live video and a live text feed from the meeting.

UPDATE: I haven't actually seen anything from the bishops' meeting on this video yet. (Right now it is a priest praying the rosary.) I assume that the bishops are on a break, and that live coverage will return soon, but I am not sure.

UPDATE 2: I see the bishops on the video now (1:46 PM U.S. Central Time).

New Saints of the Church: St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Marianne Cope, and Others

Yesterday, October 21, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI canonized seven new saints, including two new American saints, Marianne Cope and Kateri Tekakwitha. Here is a video news report about the canonizations:



And here are some video excerpts from the pope's homily. (You can find the full text of his homily here.)

St. Kateri Tekakwitha:



St. Marianne Cope:



St. Pedro Calungsod:



UPDATE: Here is another article about the canonizations of these new saints, from the National Catholic Register.

Video from the Archdiocese of Washington on the Religious Freedom Lawsuit

This video from the Archdiocese of Washington explains the archdiocese's participation in the recent wave of lawsuits filed by Catholic organizations against the U.S. government over the HHS contraception mandate:



I thought that the video was great, except that she focused on the rights of religious organizations only. I would have liked to see some mention also of the rights of Catholic laymen and laywomen who own secular businesses, who also should be not be required to pay for products and procedures that they find morally objectionable.

(Found on the Archdiocese of Washington blog.)

U.S. Bishops on the HHS Mandate's Threat to Religious Liberty

Several bishops speak on the current threat to religious liberty in the United States. This video was posted a month ago, but unfortunately it is still very relevant:



(Found at The American Catholic.)