could get married

A meal and a drink in Croatia may not cost you anything except for maybe a few Hail Mary’s after a parish opened up a "prayer café" in an effort to bring youths back to church.

Catholic News Service reports Salesian Fr Damir Stojic thought up the scheme to keep the kids from going to other cafés after church and come together for a meal after Eucharist.

" In the Acts of the Apostles, it says the disciples used to come together for a meal after the Eucharist, so we’re following a biblical ideal," Fr Stojic said.

"A lot of kids used to head for neighbouring cafes after Mass here. We came up with this scheme for persuading them to hang out at the church instead."

The Jedno (Sail) cafe opened recently in a parish hall adjoining Zagreb’s Holy Spirit Church and attracts many of the students and young people attending the regular Sunday youth Mass.

"Student helpers thought up the idea of paying with prayers. We have encouraged parents to donate food and drink for the café," he said.

"Jedno could be seen as continuing a tradition since most Salesian parishes worldwide ran cafes at their churches."

Prices at Jedno vary from three Our Fathers for a standard cup of coffee to a more expensive Coca-Cola (five Hail Marys and a Glory Be), while a cappuccino costs four Our Fathers.

His post continues with advice on a number of subjects common to the confessional.

Great idea, but what happens when inflation sets in. I can imagine people complaining in later years "I remember when a cappuccino cost just four Our Fathers and now you have to whip out a mystery of the Rosary and five Glory Be’s."

Manassas, VA – Belmont Abbey College in
North Carolina has amended the health insurance plan provided by its
carrier to remove coverage for abortions, voluntary sterilizations and
contraception.  The provisions allowing these practices were
recently discovered. and the college moved quickly to rectify the
situation.  The college has since been faced with complaints
from a few employees to state and federal agencies, but remains
undaunted.

President William Thierfelder said, As a Roman Catholic institution,
Belmont Abbey College is not able to and will not offer nor subsidize
medical services that contradict the clear teaching of the Catholic
Church.  There was no other course of action possible if we
were to operate in fidelity to our mission and to our identity as a
Catholic college.

According to Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) president Patrick J. Reilly,
Belmont Abbey is a faithful Catholic college, and this action
reinforces it.  We applaud the steadfastness of President
Thierfelder and Abbot Placid Solari, the college chancellor, in keeping
fidelity to Catholic teachings a clear priority of the institution.

Reilly noted that the college was undaunted by complaints filed by a
few personnel with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
and the North Carolina Department of Insurance.  He said, We
hope that these few disgruntled employees will be rebuffed in their
efforts to use the power of government to intervene in a matter of
faith.

I have heard good things about Belmont Abbey and it is no surprise that
his is where Patrick Madrid has chosen to setup his Envoy Institute.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has
put Sister Lucia, the last of three shepherd children who claimed to
have seen the Virgin Mary during apparitions in 1917 in Fatima, on a
fast-track to possible sainthood, the Vatican said Wednesday.

The customary waiting period before beginning the process that can lead
to sainthood is five years after a person’s death.

The case of Sister Lucia, who died in 2005 at age 97, was granted the
same waiver as was given in the cases of Mother Teresa and Pope John
Paul II.

The Vatican said Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, who is prefect of the
Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, made the announcement
during a Wednesday evening Mass at the cathedral in Coimbra, Portugal,
marking the third anniversary of Lucia’s death.