The Catholic Sun

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Religious men and women need to be setting people's faith on fire, not stamping it out, Pope Francis said. "It makes me sad when I see religious who seem more like firefighters" than men and women who are ardently filled with the flame of faith and ready to share it with others, he told representatives of congregations founded by St. Magdalene of Canossa during an audience at the Vatican April 29.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The most important outcome of the current Synod of Bishops on synodality is the synodal process itself and not the hot-button topics discussed, Pope Francis said. With the second synod assembly scheduled for October, the pope said the synod process is approaching its "most challenging and important" stage -- the point at which it must become "prophetic."

“I called them at one of my darkest times,” Robert Salas admitted. Devastated by the shattering of a 17-year marriage and consumed by guilt and anxiety, Salas turned to the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. “I didn’t know where else to go. Trying to talk to family members — they did not want to hear what I needed to say. “I called them at one of my darkest times,” Robert Salas admitted. Devastated by the shattering of a 17-year marriage and consumed by guilt and anxiety, Salas turned to the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. “I didn’t know where else to go. Trying to talk to family members — they did not want to hear what I needed to say.”

Spring is here. The birds are singing, the pools are warming, and the kids are running in the sprinklers. We look forward with hope to the end of another school year and our summer fun ahead. The world is filled with awe-inspiring beauty, laughter and love.

“Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.” With those words, Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix will confer the sacrament of Confirmation on hundreds of the faithful in the coming weeks. He’s already done so at St. Louis the King in Glendale, St. Jerome in Phoenix, St. Elizabeth Seton in Sun City, and has several more parishes to visit during what’s commonly referred to as Confirmation season.

PHOENIX --- In its effort to protect life inside the womb, the pro-life community faces not only abortion backers, but are working against a second foe, one veteran women’s health care provider told a conference on life at a Diocesan parish this past weekend. “There is so much misinformation out there,” said Dr. Ingrid Skop, an obstetrician and gynecologist who has spent more than 30 years in private practice.

Bishop John Dolan welcomed and thanked donors at the annual Shepherd’s Circle Mass and Brunch on Sunday morning at Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix.  Shepherd’s Circle is a group of more than 600 families who donate $5,000 or more annually to support any combination of diocesan initiatives, including the Charity and Development Appeal, the Together Let Us Go Forth – Juntos Sigamos Adelante Campaign, Priests for Our Future, Catholic School Support 365, Mental Health Ministry and the weekly televised Mass.

The Office of Natural Family Planning at the Diocese of Phoenix has announced plans for a new ministry to serve couples in the season of infertility establishing St. Gerard’s Outreach Ministry. Since 2013, couples who are struggling through infertility have gathered each May for the annual St. Gerard’s Mass to pray together and support each other. The Office of Natural Family Planning, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, is launching an outreach initiative aimed at serving them and their pastors throughout the year.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Every important journey should be preceded by adequate preparation, and the run-up to the Holy Year 2025 is no exception. Pope Francis asked Catholics to get ready for the jubilee journey with a Year of Prayer and now, a few months after the year was officially announced, a kind of prayer prep-school is in session. Every jubilee asks pilgrims to come to Rome ready, not just with lodging and logistics, but, most of all, with the right spiritual disposition, which is a heart ready to welcome the gifts of grace and forgiveness the jubilee offers.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Be loving and compassionate fathers to the marginalized, Pope Francis told members of the Brothers of Christian Instruction, commonly known as the La Mennais Brothers. "Your vocation impels you to go where others do not go, to the periphery, to the people who belong to the ranks of the rejected, those wounded by life and victims," he told the group during an audience at the Vatican April 22.