Catholic Fire

"It's a very big undertaking. Philadelphia has deep religious roots. And Pope Francis is very well loved both within and outside the Catholic Church in the United States.” Also present at the conference was the Riley family from Philadelphia who are involved in the preparations for the World Meeting of Families. They noted that the city is an appropriate meeting point for people of different cultures. PENELOPE RILEY Daughter "I go to Catholic school in Philadelphia and I think that everyone would love to come and visit and see all the different cultural differences there in comparison to Rome.” The theme of the World Meeting of Families, "Love is our mission: the family fully alive”,  will be at the center of several initiatives that will help prepare for the event. Among them is a catechesis on the family as well as the commissioning of a painting of the Holy Family. ARCH. CHARLES J. CHAPUT Archbishop of Philadelphia (USA) "It's exciting. We ...

Once again, the articulate and eloquent Archbishop Chaput speaks very candidly and truthfully about one of the most crucial issues of our day -- the bias in the mainstream media . Via CNA: At a Wednesday evening gathering of the Catholic business group Legatus, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver analyzed the influence of the media upon American Catholics. The news media, he said, has the important role in our democracy of protecting truth and pursuing reason, but it is failing to deliver. "America’s news media have enormous opinion-shaping power," Chaput explained. "Therefore it’s vital for Catholics to understand how the media work, and especially how they work on us." "The media’s power to shape public thought is why it’s so vital for the rest of us to understand their human element." Instead of some impersonal organization, Catholics need to realize that the men and women who report the news bring their own cultural and political views, economic pres...

Via CNA: As the movie industry prepares to roll out its summer blockbusters, a sobering film from Steve McEveety explores the gripping story of an Iranian woman who is victimized by her husband. After seeing the movie, Archbishop Charles Chaput gave it his seal of approval and said it should remind people "how vigilant over our own hearts each of us needs to remain if we want to be human." "The Stoning of Soraya M." is the work of Steve McEveety, perhaps best known among Catholics for the movies "The Passion of the Christ" and "Braveheart." He also co-founded Mpower Pictures, which in 2007 released the extraordinary portrait of a young man’s conversion, "Bella." This year, McEveety and his Mpower colleagues bring "The Stoning of Soraya M." (www.thestoning.com) to limited screens across the country on June 26. After screening the film, Archbishop Chaput told Catholics, in his weekly column for the Denver Catholic Register, ...

Christine at A Catholic View is this week's hostess and she has done a terrific job! Here are a few of my favorite posts there: Loretta from Island Breezes shares "Father Elijah" - Prophetic? , --which contains an article from American Thinker that proposes what changes Americans and the world may be in for and she suggests that "Father Elijah", the novel by Michael O'Brien , discusses the same theme. Seth from Catholicland! reminds us that 40 days for Life is still going on. He shares his reflections after praying at the 40 DFL vigil. Seminarian Matthew from A Catholic Life give us some good information for the election and reminds us to Vote November 4th . Sarah from just another day of Catholic pondering shares two wonderful posts: Big Day , which is a reflection on marriage in preparation for a family wedding and from Behold your Mother, Mary Moments: Rosary Edition , which is The October Mary Moments carnival focused on the rosary, and is a compi...

FNC's Neil Cavuto interviewed Catholic Archbishop Chaput of Denver on August 28, 2008 about Nancy Pelosi's misrepresentation of Catholic teaching on abortion and Joe Biden's reception of Communion. Related Posts: Denver archbishop slams Pelosi on Church teachings and abortion "Ardent, Practising Catholic" Pelosi's Expert Comments on Human Life