Faith of the Fathers

Monday, August 05, 2013

The following excerpts are from National Catholic Register's Daily News:

Following legislation that permits same-sex “marriage” in the U.K. yet prohibits the Church of England from performing the ceremony, two men are planning to sue to be able to marry in their church.
“We are happy for gay marriage to be recognized — in that sense, it is a big step. But it is actually a small step because it is something we still cannot actually do,” Barrie Drewitt-Barlow told the Essex Chronicle Aug. 1.
“We need to convince the church that it is the right thing for our community for them to recognize as practicing Christians.”
On July 17, the U.K.’s same-sex “marriage” bill became law, meaning that, beginning next year, same-sex couples — who can already obtain civil unions — can become married in England and Wales, though not in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
The legislation allows churches and other religious groups to conduct wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples at the church’s discretion, though the U.K.’s established church, the Church of England, is barred from doing so.
Drewitt-Barlow and his partner, Tony, are members of the Church of England, and they are upset that they will not be able to marry in their own church.

Read more by clicking below:
Same-Sex Couple to Sue Church of England for Marriage Rights | Daily News | NCRegister.com

I am a 68 year old single man from the mountains of Western North Carolina.

The following excerpts are from Catholic News Agency((CNA/EWTN News):

Pope Francis is considering whether he will make Pope Pius XII a saint, in the same way that he approved the cause of John XXIII.
A source who works at the Vatican’s Congregation for Causes of Saints, who asked for anonymity, told CNA July 25 that “just as Pope Francis moved ahead with John XXIII’s canonization, he is considering the same thing for Pius XII.”
According to the normal procedures, Pius XII would be beatified once a miracle attributed to his intercession is officially certified by a team of doctors and recognized by a commission of cardinals.
But if Pope Francis decides to go ahead without a miracle, he could “even canonize him with the formula of scientia certa (certainty in knowledge), thereby jumping over the step of beatification,” the source said.
“Only the Pope is able to do it, and he will, if he wants to.”
Pope Francis is very interested in Pius XII because “he considers him ‘a great,’ in the same way as John XXIII is, even if for different reasons,” the source explained.
But there is also a historical reason that Pope Francis is interested in Pius XII.