Crux Now

As Catholic leaders convene, St. Joseph's College forms the faithful

[Editor's Note: The following is paid advertising.] In one week, Catholic bishops and diocesan delegates from around the country will convene in Orlando, Florida, for a historic Convocation of Catholic Leaders. Saint Joseph’s College Online Theology Program will be there to offer dioceses educational support and opportunities to form the faithful as they embark on this new adventure.

Mysterious exit of Vatican auditor begs question: Is reform even possible?

Almost a week later, it remains mysterious why Libero Milone, an Italian businessman and auditing expert hired in 2015 for a five-year term as the Vatican's first-ever Auditor General, abruptly resigned. Whatever the case, the optics don't seem encouraging in terms of the current state of Pope Francis's reform effort.

Spiritually speaking, 'Ordinary Time' is anything but

Ordinary Time exemplifies the old Jesuit motto: Age quod agis, “Do what you’re doing.” Namely, we are told, don’t worry about tomorrow, or yesterday. Don’t worry about this afternoon or this morning. It stresses God as the Eternal Now, humbling us with the lesson that we are most with God when we are in the present moment.

Pope says persecution is the risk of being a missionary
- Inés San Martín
- June 25, 2017
Speaking to the thousands gathered in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square for the weekly Angelus prayer, Pope Francis denounced that Christians are also being persecuted amidst “seemingly peaceful contexts.” He also hailed a Lithuanian martyr beatified Sunday as a “strenuous defender of the faith.”
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Circle of Protection mobilizes to change nation's budget priorities
- Dennis Sadowski
- June 25, 2017
The Circle of Protection coalition released a two-page statement stressing that the country must address the national debt, but also called on Congress to “approve a budget that weighs the importance of providing for critical needs and that responsibly manages the country’s fiscal issues; but the most vulnerable should not carry the burden of solving this challenge.”
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Under the radar: South Sudan needs media attention, immediate action
- Carol Glatz
- June 25, 2017
Solidarity with South Sudan is an international network of religious congregations that was formed to train primary school teachers, health care workers, pastoral agents and sustainable farmers from all ethnic groups, learning tolerance and reconciliation along the way. The 28 nuns, priests and brothers from 20 different congregations and 20 nations living and working together in four different communities across South Sudan are a living witness of what harmony in diversity and collaboration look like.
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Judge blocks deportation of Chaldeans and other Iraqis
- Niraj Warikoo
- June 25, 2017
Clarence Dass, an attorney representing many Iraqi Christians the U.S. government wants deported deported, said he was “ecstatic” over a court decision delaying the order. “When your life is on the line, each day is a victory. And in this case, 14 days,” Dass said. “We now have the breathing room to ensure that every individual detained has the proper motions filed and, ultimately, a chance to be heard. The work continues.”
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A doctor prescribed a procedure, but insurance offered death
- Mary Rezac
- June 25, 2017
Some states in the U.S. have legalized assisted suicide. The opponents of the law argue that there is no way to ensure that this system won’t be abused. One of the abuses seems to be coming from insurance companies which won’t pay for regular medical care when they can pay for the much cheaper option of assisted suicide.
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Bishop: ‘Fundamental defects’ persist in Senate’s version of health bill
- Mark Pattison
- June 25, 2017
Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, says an acceptable health care system provides access to all, regardless of their means, and at all stages of life. The bishop said such a health care system must protect conscience rights, as well as extend to immigrant families.
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Pope tells swimmers their sport's anything but 'liquid'
- Crux Staff
- June 24, 2017
Pope Francis, who’s an avid sports fan, told a group of swimmers on Saturday that their sport happens in the water, but it’s anything but ‘liquid,’ meaning ambivalent and lacking points of reference. He called on swimmers to learn lessons from their time in the water, including the importance of ‘making clean again everything that’s polluted, in sport and in life.’
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Vatican women's council hopes to be 'electric shock' for global Church
- Claire Giangravè
- June 24, 2017
The female advisory board of the Pontifical Council for Culture has big plans: By sending an “electric shock” within the Church, it hopes to spark thousands of similar councils around the globe in search of solutions that go beyond women priests.
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CL head sketches a Christianity beyond the culture wars

June 22, 2017

Father Julián Carrón, leader of the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation, is in favor of de-emphasizing the wars of culture, not because the Church’s traditional positions are wrong, but because starting with ethics was always the wrong way to present Christianity to the world.

When Pope Francis visits Chile, the story is in the ‘where’

June 23, 2017

When a pope travels, usually the story is in the ‘what,’ meaning whatever he says and does before he gets there. When Pope Francis visits the La Araucanía region in southern Chile next January, however, the story is really the ‘where,’ given the way the Church has been targeted by a protest movement for indigenous rights.