Provided that he is otherwise suitable, a man can be ordained to the priesthood if he is presently unmarried and willing to commit to a life of chaste celibacy going forward — even if he had been previously married or is a father to children.

With arriving teachers rocking out to the Archbishop Curley Drum Line, the St. John Regional Catholic School Choir from Frederick leading songs at Mass and several awards celebrations, the 2023 Catholic Education Convocation Aug. 24 prepared teachers and staff members for Monday’s opening of the Catholic school year.

Ahead of the ecumenical celebrations of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation Sept. 1 and the monthlong “Season of Creation,” Pope Francis said he is writing a follow-up document to his 2015 encyclical on the environment.

– In the eyes of the world it would appear “absurd” to begin helping the poor and struggling for justice by spending time in adoration before the Eucharist, Pope Francis said, but that is precisely what an Italy-based religious order has been doing for 100 years.

– Eight Republican candidates — minus the party’s frontrunner, former President Donald Trump — participated in the Republican National Committee’s first debate of their party’s presidential primary process held Aug. 23 in Milwaukee. But just three of those nine candidates have said they would sign a federal abortion limit sought by a prominent pro-life group.