MADISON, Wis. (EWTN News) — Citing a need for reverence, Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wis., has asked priests to move in the direction of giving Communion only in the form of the Host and not the Precious Blood and to limit occasions when both kinds are distributed.

“What we say and do at the Mass, and what we do before the Lord present in the tabernacle, matters,” he said in an Oct. 10 letter to his diocese’s priests.

Bishop Morlino cited the new edition of the Roman Missal’s instruction on Communion under both species. It says the diocesan bishop may permit this whenever it seems appropriate to a pastor, provided that the faithful are “well instructed” and there is “no danger of...READ MORE

WASHINGTON (EWTN News) — A new bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., would require abortion providers to make an unborn child’s heartbeat visible and audible to its mother in order for her to give her informed consent for an abortion.

“A pregnant woman who enters an abortion clinic is faced with a decision that will forever change two lives,” said Bachmann. “That’s why she must have the very best information with which to make that decision.”

The Heartbeat Informed Consent Act, which was introduced in Congress on Oct. 6, is similar to laws in several states that require a pregnant woman to be given the chance to see ultrasound images of her unborn child before she...READ MORE

Bishop Robert Vasa is the bishop of Santa Rosa, Calif. Like all bishops throughout the country, he is planning to implement the new English translation of the Mass on the First Sunday of Advent.

Liturgy, the prayer of the Church, reveals our faith and our life. Liturgy is that timeless place in time where man encounters God in a communion of love. How we pray forms the foundation for how we believe.

Bishop Vasa spoke about what the Church is trying to show us with the new translation of the Roman Missal.

What is liturgy?

The liturgy is the work of Jesus. It is the work of God in our midst. There has been a great emphasis since the 1960s on what we are doing for God as opposed to what...READ MORE

WASHINGTON (EWTN News) — Ninety percent of priests say they are happy. One priest who has studied priests’ happiness says a feeling of inner peace, a positive view of celibacy, and a good relationship with God contributes to their happiness.

Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, clinical associate professor of pastoral studies and associate dean for seminary and ministerial programs at Catholic University of America, presented his findings Oct. 5 at a symposium on the priesthood held at Catholic University in Washington. He discusses his findings in his book Why Priests are Happy: A Study of the Psychological and Spiritual Health of Priests.

Other studies corroborate his findings on priests’ happiness....READ MORE

MANASSAS, Va. (EWTN News) — A staff member for the pro-life college organization Students for Life of America was killed on Oct. 8, along with her unborn child, in a car crash in Jones County, Ga.

“The entire Students for Life of America team is heartbroken by the loss of our dear friend, field director, and tireless abortion abolitionist, Kortney Blythe Gordon, and her preborn daughter, Sophy,” said a statement released by Students for Life.

“There are no words to describe what a loss we suffer alongside her husband, Benjamin, and their entire family, but we are comforted knowing that Kortney and her daughter are in the arms of Our Lord and Savior.”

Gordon was driving a car that was...READ MORE

The Beginning: Distributist Start - Richard Aleman, The Distributist Review

Building a Distributist & Catholic Economy through Cooperatives - Jared Dale Combista

Wealth and Giving It All Away - Fr. James V. Schall SJ, Crisis Magazine

Non Negotiable a Political (& Catholic) TV Program to Debut In 2012 - Dave Hartline, TAC

God Loves A Cheerful Giver - Andrew Votipka, VP

The Egyptian Military’s Crimes Against Humanity - Raymond Ibrahim, Hudson New York

It’s Time to Nix ‘Sectarian’ in Egyptian Reports - Terry Mattingly, Get Religion

Egypt’s Copts See Power Vacuum Allowing Oppression - Tom Heneghan, Reuters

St. George & the Power of Purpose, Praying Through Art - Fr. John Bartunek,...READ MORE

Behind-the-scene efforts by the Holy See, among others, may be helping Youcef Nadarkhani, the Iranian Christian pastor who was tried for abandoning his Islamic faith.

“As is usual in these situations,” the Holy See has been communicating with “the Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels,” Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican Press Office, told the Register early this week.

Father Lombardi did not offer any details of the Holy See’s efforts.

Iran’s state media reported Oct. 11 that the case of Nadarkhani, a pastor of the Protestant evangelical Church of Iran who was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to death in 2010, would go back to the lower court for...READ MORE

LOS ANGELES (CNA)—Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez joined the California Catholic Conference in criticizing a new law that allows 12-year-olds to receive vaccinations against sexual diseases without their parents’ permission.

“Parents bear the first responsibility for their children’s physical and spiritual well-being. This new law, however, bypasses parental involvement, wisdom and guidance,” said Archbishop Gomez in his Oct. 10 response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to sign the vaccination proposal into law.

The new law, which Brown authorized on Oct. 9, allows children as young as 12 to receive vaccinations and other medications to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including the...READ MORE