VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) — All day June 3 in St. Peter’s Basilica, pilgrims filed past the flower-covered tomb of Blessed Pope John XXIII, who died on June 3 in 1963.

“I’m just thankful to be here,” says great-grandmother Georgette Sweat from Stuart, Fla. “He was one of my favorite Popes. He was so very warm and caring and charismatic — and he showed it.”

Pope John XXIII was born Angelo Roncalli in 1881 into a humble farming family in the northern Italian region of Bergamo. He rose through the diplomatic ranks of the Church before becoming Patriarch of Venice in 1953.

To the surprise of many, himself included, he was elected to the papacy upon the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958....READ MORE

SAN ANTONIO (CNA) — Texas’ attorney general has asked an appellate court to overturn a federal judge’s decision banning prayer at a public-school graduation. The school’s valedictorian has also taken legal action against the decision, saying she has the right to speak to God during her remarks.

“Just as the U.S. Supreme Court has held that Congress can convene each day with a prayer, Medina Valley High School students have a constitutionally protected right to pray during their graduation speeches,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said on June 2, summing up the amicus brief he filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The Medina Valley School District is appealing...READ MORE

A “Valuable Resource” About the History & Future of the Anglican Use - Carl Olson, Ignatius Insight Scoop

The Beatitudes from the Gospel According to Luke, Prima Pars - Jake Tawney, TAC

Two Franciscans, Who Are Also Twin Brothers, Die On Same Day at Age 92 - Patrick Madrid

Saints Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs - Catholic Lane

The Hammer and the Nail - Doctor Jeff Mirus, CatholicCulture.org/On the Culture

Quaeritur: Elevation of Chalice, Paten During Concelebrations - Father John Zuhlsdorf, What Does The Prayer Really Say?

‘Tis the Season for Commencements - Andrew Seeley, The Christocentric Life

The Catholic Answer to Rigorism - Joe Heschmeyer, Shameless Popery

Norbury...READ MORE

SAN FRANCISCO (CNA) — Fifty years after a 1961 public Rosary gathered over half a million people in San Francisco, a Catholic lay group is organizing the same event for October 2011.

Rally organizers told CNA on June 1 that “thousands” of Catholic faithful are expected.

On Oct. 15, the Bay Area chapter of the Legion of Mary, an international community of lay Catholics, will host their Family Rosary Crusade. The event will be held in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza, starting at noon.

The keynote address will be delivered by Father Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R., a co-founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and a well-known television presenter and author.

David Marten, head of the...READ MORE

ROYAL OAK, Mich. — He earned notoriety as the nation’s foremost advocate of assisted suicide, helping at least 100 patients kill themselves, and today Dr. Jack Kevorkian met an old friend at a Michigan hospital.

Dr. Kevorkian, 83, died of undisclosed causes at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. He reportedly struggled with respiratory and kidney problems. A spokesman did not address the extent of his physical suffering during his final days, but the occasion of his death was marked by broad acknowledgement of his impact on the nation’s shifting view of assisted suicide and legislative efforts to legalize this practice.

“Dr. Kevorkian’s death marks the end of an era,” said a...READ MORE

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) — U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden met with Pope Benedict XVI in an unannounced visit to the Vatican June 3. Both sides have been tight-lipped as to what was discussed.

“I have no comment. It was a totally private meeting, and there will no communiqué,” Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi told CNA on June 3.

In fact, the meeting wasn’t even listed on the Pope’s daily public schedule. One of the few give-aways was the heavy security surrounding the Port Sant’ Anna entrance to the Vatican all morning.

Journalists covering the Pope’s meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas June 3 also spotted Biden’s car at the Vatican.

Vice President...READ MORE

A New Bridge Across the Tiber - Father Dwight Longenecker, Crisis Magazine

New Hungarian Constitution: Reshaping on Traditional Values - Grégor Puppinck Ph.D., Catholic Lane

Latest Episcopal Surge Forward: Eucharistic Adoration & the Old Mass? - William Oddie, Catholic Herald

. . .Father John Zuhlsdorf fisks this article here. . .

Vatican: Time to Move Beyond Multiculturalism - Roberta Sciamplicotti, Zenit

Rethinking Catholic Boredom - Randy Hain, The Integrated Catholic Life™

Pope Benedict Meets Privately With Vice President Joe Biden - Lisa Graas, The American Catholic

. . .USA Today: did Pope Benedict scold Biden on abortion?. . .

Euthanasia Proponent Jack Kevorkian Dies - Joe...READ MORE

WASHINGTON (EWTN NEWS) — The Food and Drug Administration released a warning on May 31 that certain classes of oral contraceptives for women may cause serious and potentially fatal blood clots.

In an online alert issued Tuesday, the agency cited new studies in the British Medical Journal, which found that women taking these pills have two-to-three-times higher risk of serious clots.

Popular birth-control pills such as Yaz, Yazmin, Beyaz, Gianvi, Ocella and several other brand names are included in the warning, since they contain a hormone called drospirenone.

The FDA said it will now look “at all currently available information to fully assess the risks and benefits of...READ MORE