Doctrine committee sets standards for evaluating, improving church hymns December 14, 2020By Greg Erlandson Catholic News Service Filed Under: Divine Worship, Feature, News, World News, Year of the Eucharist Expressing concern for the doctrinal soundness of some of the lyrics of Catholic hymns now available for use in Catholic liturgies, the U.S. bishops’ doctrine committee in a forthcoming report suggests guidelines for bishops in evaluating hymn lyrics and for selecting hymnals being considered for use in churches.
Bishops say Our Lady of America apparitions were not supernatural May 7, 2020By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: News, World News Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, and five other bishops have concluded that alleged apparitions of Our Lady of America — said to have taken place more than six decades ago — were not of supernatural origin.
Why we should care about the beloved Amazon February 18, 2020By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary The plight of the Amazon is a wicked problem demanding enormous resources and focus from a variety of countries, yet without certainty of the results nor the avoidance of unintended consequences.
Don’t let Halloween scare you October 17, 2019By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary Memo to handwringing adults: Ghouls and goblins and various ghostly apparitions don’t exist, but lust, greed, pride, envy and anger most certainly do. And they are far more frightening.
Archbishop Lori, an ‘early adopter,’ talks about holding bishops accountable on abuse June 5, 2019By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Archbishop's Ministry, Child & Youth Protection, Feature, Local News, McCarrick Report, News, World News When it comes to holding himself and other bishops accountable, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori is the earliest of early adopters.
Selling the sizzle at a parish near you June 1, 2019By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary I think we need parishes to start using their ingenuity to get people’s attention.
Scary prayers that are good for you April 2, 2019By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary Scary prayers are prayers where even the very words you say seem to convict you.
Recovering intimacy in a lonely world January 15, 2019By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary Rather than “Thou shalt not” as its battle cry, the church can offer a genuinely positive vision of “the joy of love,” a holistic understanding of sex and intimacy for a society increasingly despairing about both.
Path for reform goes through Rome November 16, 2018By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Child & Youth Protection, Commentary, Guest Commentary Rome does indeed move slowly, but the U.S. bishops, who are clearly feeling the pressure from their people, are committed to applying pressure of their own.
Getting real about our challenges October 25, 2018By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary We need a church that recovers what it means to be a family, a family that can disagree and argue passionately about things, but also that loves one another.
Sweden’s Catholic past and future September 11, 2018By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary For the past 500 years, Catholicism has made little impression on Sweden. Yet perhaps even now in this ardently secular country, there are small signs of change.
Resolutions for 2018 January 2, 2018By Greg Erlandson Filed Under: Blog, Guest Commentary If you are casting about for resolutions, or afraid you have too many of them, I have four suggestions that may save you either anxiety, guilt or both.