Morning Catholic must-reads

The official website of Newman’s Cause responds to John Cornwell’s effort to debunk the miracle that will lead to the cardinal’s beatification in September.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is questioning the legality of Channel 4’s decision to broadcast an advertisement promoting abortion, the first of its kind in Britain.

Belgium’s Catholic bishops have asked sexual abuse victims for pardon in a pastoral letter issued after their ad limina visit to Rome (full text in French).

An Orthodox archbishop in Cyprus has warned critics of the Pope’s visit to the island on June 4 that they are placing themselves outside the Church.

Benedict XVI reflected on his trip to Portugal at his general audience yesterday (video, full text of remarks in English).

Pope Benedict will visit the Don Orione Centre in Rome to bless a statue of the Virgin “Salus populi romani” on June 24.

A survey finds that 66 per cent of Polish Catholics pray for the intercession of Pope John Paul II.

Jon Kraushar considers what President Barack Obama could learn from John Paul II.

Fr Ray Blake defends the “pre-emptive use” of the new English translation of the Mass.

Andrew Brown compares and contrasts Ireland’s two most prominent Catholic leaders: Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Cardinal Seán Brady.

And the people of Flint, Michigan, remember a feisty nun known as “Sister Bingo“.

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Morning Catholic must-reads

Rome Reports describes the Bolivian President Evo Morales’s audience with Pope Benedict yesterday as “spontaneous and impolite” (video).

The Belfast Telegraph claims that Cardinal Seán Brady has asked Pope Benedict to appoint an “archbishop in waiting” to succeed him as Primate of All-Ireland.

The Irish National Board for Safeguarding Children has asked Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to produce evidence that parishes are not adhering to abuse guidelines.

A village postmaster fears that he will lose 95 per cent of his business if he is forced to close his post office during the Pope’s visit to Coventry in September.

Cardinal Pell has called for tougher action against abusers after the Church confirmed that two Irish priests accused of molesting girls were still performing priestly duties in Australia.

A group of Catholic scholars has argued that attempting to break trade unions is a mortal sin.

The Pope has given permission for a married father of six to be ordained a Catholic priest.

Fr Donald Cozzens says it’s foolish to expect bishops to be held accountable for their actions.

Alma Guillermoprieto of the New York Review of Books examines the Maciel case.

Fr Rob Johansen asks whether the new English translation of the Mass is a disaster or an opportunity.

Simon Rowney wonders if the 83-year-old Pope Benedict “can drag Richard Dawkins into the modern world”.

And Rima Fakih, reportedly the first Muslim Miss USA, attended a Catholic school in New York.

Morning Catholic must-reads

More than 150,000 people from all over Italy flocked to St Peter’s Square on Sunday to express their solidarity with Benedict XVI.

Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will visit the Pope in June.

An Irish bishop has urged Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin to clarify his claim that “strong forces” in the Church want abuse cases to remain hidden.

A 12-man British police delegation was in Portugal last week to assess how to protect Pope Benedict during his visit to Britain.

People who live or work near Coventry Airport may be issued with access permits during the Pope’s visit in September, local police have said.

Cardinal Pell has downplayed suggestions that he will serve as the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec has clashed with local politicians over abortion.

Americans aged between 18 and 29 are increasingly opposed to abortion, a Gallup analysis has found.

The Vatican has signed a mobile phone agreement with Vodafone.

Scholars have met in Rome to discuss “the contribution of Christianity to representative government” (audio).

The Cardinal Newman Society unveils a list of the most controversial speakers at US Catholic colleges in 2010.

Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston reports on his first visit to Ave Maria University’s campus in Florida.

John Allen analyses why Pope Benedict may have had difficulty defending himself at the height of the abuse crisis.

Fr Anthony Chadwick says the future liturgy of Personal Ordinariates should be the Sarum Use.

Fr Seán Finnegan asks why bishops can sometimes seem to be uncharitable.

English parish priest Fr Ray Blake says he’s decided to use the new English translation of the Mass straight away.

The Irish Catholic newspaper mourns its long-serving columnist Fr Martin Tierney.

And the National Secular Society appeals for victims of clerical abuse to appear at protests during the Pope’s visit to Britain.

Today’s Catholic must-reads

The Pope’s remarks on the abuse crisis on the way to Portugal have prompted comment from, among others, John Allen, Ruth Gledhill, Rod Dreher, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and Kevin Clarke.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s frank address on the state of Irish Catholicism has also provoked comment from Fr James Martin SJ, Rod Dreher, James Mackey and John Cooney.

Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the SSPX, says the Pope sincerely desires to reach a canonical solution with the Society.

The Brazilian bishops are preparing to issue new guidelines to combat clerical abuse.

The Vatican City State has announced a major upgrade to its communications infrastructure.

Fr Joseph Fessio SJ takes issue with the Tablet’s recent report on Cardinal Christoph Schönborn’s criticisms of Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

Joseph Bottum of First Things issues a blunt call for Cardinal Sodano’s resignation.

And Paul Cat presents flow chart guide to the concept of mortal sin.

Morning Catholic must-reads

Benedict XVI has sent the long-awaited second volume of Jesus of Nazareth to the publishers.

The Pope begins his four-day visit to Portugal today (official Vatican page, official Portuguese Church page, Catholic Herald portal).

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has given a major address on the future of Irish Catholicism.

Pro-life groups have criticised the nomination of Elena Kagan to the US Supreme Court.

A Costa Rican court has ordered a bishop to pay damages for encouraging the faithful to vote according to Church teaching.

The Coptic Orthodox Church has pulled out of the Middle East Council of Churches.

AP investigates why relatively few bishops have resigned over mishandling abuse cases.

John Allen says that if Cardinal Pell is appointed prefect of the Congregation for Bishops there will only be one Italian prefect of a Vatican congregation left.

Thomas Peters explains why he has lost confidence in Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.

A veteran American educator says Catholic education is in “very, very serious trouble“.

Michael Sean Winters is appalled by the religious illiteracy of Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Kathleen Parker.

Micah Mattix considers the legacy of Walker Percy, the American Catholic novelist who died 20 years ago this week.

And Fr James Martin SJ reveals who he thinks should be the next pope.

Morning Catholic must-reads

Benedict XVI described Mary as “the perfect disciple of Jesus” in his address before the Regina Caeli yesterday (video).

The Pope’s four-day trip to Portugal will begin tomorrow despite the closure of some Portuguese airspace because of volcanic ash (video).

Pope Benedict accepted the resignation of Bishop Walter Mixa of Augsburg on Saturday.

The Pontiff urged Belgian bishops to promote vocations when he met them on their ad limina visit on Saturday (video).

China’s state-approved Church has begun to ordain Vatican-approved bishops after a break of more than two years.

The All India Christian Council says that communal violence against Christians is continuing (audio).

A politician has urged the Dutch Church to open an independent investigation into claims of clerical abuse from 1945 to the present day.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has appointed a new child protection officer for the Archdiocese of Dublin.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols revealed more details of the Pope’s visit to Britain during a question-and-answer session with journalists last week.

John Cornwell claims that Cardinal Newman “was utterly opposed to the idea of his own beatification”.

The Very Rev Colin Slee, the Dean of Southwark, urges disillusioned Catholics to join the Church of England.

Francis X Clooney SJ praises the latest teaching document of the Bishops of England and Wales.

The New York Times profiles Fr Robert Bowers, a priest at the “intersection of faith and doubt”.

Mgr Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, discusses the ethics of journalism.

Jamie Manson lays down a challenge to “old progressives” in the Church.

And Marcel LeJeune names the Church documents that every Catholic ought to read.

Morning Catholic must-reads

John Allen has an exclusive interview with Mother Mary Clare Millea, the nun leading the Apostolic Visitation of America’s female religious.

Pope Benedict XVI has chosen Salesian Fr Enrico dal Covolo to preach at his week-long Lenten retreat.

The Pope is considering an invitation to consecrate the Sagrada Familia church, designed by Antoni Gaudí, in Barcelona.

The Pope told Rome’s priests yesterday that they must be true men in order to bridge the human and divine realities (video).

The number of students who claim they were sexually abused by Jesuit priests at schools across Germany has risen to 115, a lawyer has said.

Cardinal George Pell has confirmed that he had a pacemaker fitted in a Rome hospital after a cardiac problem during his visit to the Vatican last month.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, has urged Christians not to fear Islam.

The American bishops are to offer seminars on the new English translation of the Roman Missal across the country.

Rocco Palmo reports on Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s powerful Ash Wednesday homily and assesses the Pope’s choice as the next Archbishop of Prague.

Vatican Radio catches up with Cardinal Peter Turkson, the new president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Andrew Sullivan challenges the US bishops to crack down on dissent from the Magisterium’s teaching on torture, while Fr James Martin SJ accuses EWTN of “cafeteria Catholicism”.

No Hidden Magenta suggests the Church needs to employ a PR firm.

Deacon Greg Kandra spots the rarely seen “Loggia whisperer”.

Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni says he would like to coach Vatican City’s football team after he retires.

The Vatican Observatory? There’s an app for that.

And Mark Shea discovers that rare thing: Lenten humour.

Morning Catholic must-reads

Rocco Palmo reports on a growing clerical backlash against Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.

Cardinal Franc Rodé, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, sees a “crisis” among religious orders today.

The Vatican is preparing a new document on lay brothers.

Auxiliary Bishop Peter Elliott of Melbourne, a former Anglo-Catholic, assesses the Pope’s outreach to Anglicans (Christian Campbell responds).

Vatican Cardinal Paul Cordes offers a guide to the Pope’s Lenten message (full text of message here).

Pope Benedict has given his blessing to participants in this year’s
Winter Olympics.

The Pontifical Sistine Choir is looking for new singers.

No Hidden Magenta considers the impact of a “bioethics bombshell“.

CNN profiles a Mexican priest on the front line in the drug wars in Ciudad Juarez.

Catholics at Catholic colleges less likely to stray from the Church, a study has found.

Tom Hoopes says recent deaths have left a “Catholic greatness void”.

Blogger Paulinus unveils a cunning plan to thwart the National Secular Society.

Fr Dwight Longenecker has an epiphany while celebrating Mass.

Fr James Martin SJ reveals that he has a knack for guessing Oscar winners.

Michael Sean Winters is revolted by the National Prayer Breakfast.

And Cranmer imagines what an American pope might look like.