Catholic Fire

August 26 is the feast day of St. Teresa of Jesus Jornet Ibars (also known as Saint Teresa de Gesu, Jornet y Ibars), the Foundress of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Poor. She is the patron saint of senior citizens and retired people. Born in 1843 at Catalonia, Spain, she was raised on a farm and later became a teacher at Lérida. She had been preparing to take her final vows as a Poor Clare nun, when the government suppressed all convents and she was sent home. She struggled to understand why God would permit this to happen and for several years asked Him what she was to do with her life. Then, she met a priest/spiritual director who provided the answer. Along with Father Saturnino Lopez Novoa, she opened a shelter for the poor and the elderly. At the age 29, in Barbastro, Spain, Teresa founded the community known today as the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Poor. By the time of her death, at age 54, she had established more than 100 shelters in Spain and 58 congregation hous...

Paul VI published seven encyclicals in his 15-year pontificate. The last one was Humanae Vitae, perhaps one of the most debated documents in the recent history of the Church. FR. ROBERTO REGOLI Pontifical Gregorian University "For him, the intense debate over this document was so shocking that from 1968 until his death, he never published another encyclical. He wrote other documents, apostolic exhortations, letters, constitutions, but never an encyclical.” In 1968, the United States and much of the Western World were undergoing dramatic changes in their cultural and social landscape. The newer generations of students from the late 1960's rebelled against their parents' values, especially in the areas of morality and sexuality. FR. ROBERTO REGOLI Pontifical Gregorian University "Paul VI had to implement the changes of the Second Vatican Council in the middle of a wider crisis. It went beyond the Church, it was a social, political and cultural crisis.”...

Today in England is the feast of the Forty Holy Martyrs of England and Wales (in Wales this is a memorial), a group of forty men, women, religious, priests, and lay people who were canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 25, 1970. These people were executed for their Faith during a period of anti-Catholicism from 1535 to 1679. The Martyrs who were canonized were among more than two hundred martyrs who had been beatified by various earlier popes. Some of the common "crimes" of these people were being priests, harboring priests, or refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy. This group of saints includes some well-known saints, such as St. Alban Roe, and St. Edmund Campion. Many of these saints are recognized on the days of their martyrdom, but as a group, they are recognized on the day they were canonized. These forty were canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 25th, 1970. They are representative of the English and Welsh martyrs of the Reformation who died at various dates be...

August 11, 2013. (Romereports.com) Inside the Vatican Museum's, there's yet another smaller museum that deals with the history of popemobiles. The so called 'Carriage Pavilion' was created by Pope Paul VI back in 1973. The exhibit covers this unique form of transportation, which have been used by Popes  in the past two centuries. The oldest of the chariots is the Grand Gala Berlin used by Leo XII. In 1931, the Papal chariots gave way to motored cars, which is all marked in the Vehicle Registry. SANDRO BARBAGALLO Carriage Pavilion “We have carriages from 1826. Also, the Grand Gala chariot ordered by Pope Leo XII that was made by great Roman carriage makers. The exhibit moves on to the end of the 1800's and to the start of 1900's. The Landau carriage would be the last one used by Popes, because soon after. the first motored vehicles were used.” One of the crown jewels in the collection is the Fiat 1107, where John Paul II was shot on May 13, 1981. Of cou...

By Donald DeMarco In 1986, Brother Don Fleischhacker of the University of Notre Dame wrote a letter to Playboy protesting that magazine's fragmented view of human sexuality. Citing "Humanae Vitae," this intrepid Holy Cross religious reasoned that once "the contraceptive mentality is accepted, there can be no coherent objective ground for opposition to homosexual activity." If the unitive aspect of sex becomes an end in itself, he went on to explain, "There is no essential reason why sex should be restricted to couples of different sexes." Recent events have proven that Brother Don was as prophetic as was Pope Paul VI when he penned "Humane Vitae" back in 1968. For Playboy, however, the letter was treated as an object of ridicule and its content irreverently dismissed: "Brother, you sound like St. Thomas' lawyer," wrote the Playboy editor, who went on to bless "both kinds" of sexual relations. This holier-than-thou post...

I received the following information via email from Fr. Fr. Tom Euteneuer, President of Human Life International: Clergy Pledge of Assent to Humanae Vitae I am happy to send you our "Clergy Pledge of Assent" to the papal encyclical Humanae vitae which we are trying to get into the hands of as many priests as possible this summer. I would personally appreciate if you could print out the version of it provided in this email and show it to priests, permanent deacons and seminarians and encourage them to sign it and send it to HLI. Note, first of all, that we have already sent this to our email list of priests who signed up for the "Humanae Vitae Priests" newsletter so there is no need for you to give it to those already on our list. However, you can encourage them to sign it online if that is easier! (See www.humanaevitaepriests.org .) When I wrote to the clergy I told them that "it is HLI's desire and purpose to tell the world that we will not be silent abou...