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April 3, 2015

Preparing for Easter a time of joy for Eastern Catholics

Benedictine Father Michel Van Parys, abbot of the Byzantine-rite Abbey of St. Mary of Grottaferrata, outside of Rome, said the “dimension of spiritual warfare” and the belief in Jesus’ words that “some demons can only be cast out by prayer and fasting” are fundamental to Great Lent.

VATICAN CITY - Joy is not a word people usually associate with strict fasting and penance — unless they are Eastern-rite Catholics.

Published in International
November 17, 2014

Vatican lifts ban on married priests for Eastern Catholics in diaspora

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, leads a prayer during an ecumenical service at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington Sept. 9, 2014. The Vatican has lifted its ban on the ordination of married men to the priesthood in Eastern Catholic churches outside their traditional territories.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican has lifted its ban on the ordination of married men to the priesthood in Eastern Catholic churches outside their traditional territories, including in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Published in International
July 30, 2014

Ukraine crisis shows the danger of manipulating truth, chaplain says

Pro-Russia protesters scuffle with the police at the regional government building in Donetsk, Ukraine, April 6.

ROME - Propaganda and fear were the sparks that ignited the conflict in eastern Ukraine, a conflict that has become a real war, said a Jesuit military chaplain.

Published in International
September 13, 2013

Revisit Taizé prayer

Michael Chen

One evening this past summer, I walked down a set of dark stairs into a candlelit basement. I was with a group of 20 young adults. Eastern icons of Jesus on the cross were placed around the room, representing for me the sacred history of God’s interactions with His people.

Published in YSN: Speaking Out