Tuesday, November 10, 2026

This Is What Happens When Women Read

Monday, November 9, 2026

covenantchurchsd 11.08.2026

We call this SoNoGo - South Park-North Park-Golden Hill & Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

Covenant Presbyterian Church

What is the Evangelical Presbyterian Church?

Covenant Church at 30th & Howard is a Christian church in the tradition of the Protestant Reformation and allied with the EPC [The Evangelical Presbyterian Church] We believe the Scriptures to be the infallible Word of God and our final authority in faith and practice, and we find the historic creeds of the early church (the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed) to be vital expressions of the most important tenets of the global church universal. When the EPC started in 1981, we determined that we would not disagree on the basic essentials of the Christian faith, but on anything that was not essential—such as the issue of ordaining women as officers or practicing charismatic gifts—we would give each other liberty. Above all, we committed ourselves to loving each other and not engaging in quarrels and strife. The result is that when we get together in our regional and national meetings, we spend most of our time in worship and fellowship and almost none in arguing with each other.

Who’s Afraid of Uplifted Hands?

The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon has issued guidance recently saying that the lay faithful should not extend their hands in the orans posture during the Lord’s Prayer. The archdiocese admits that the General Instruction of the Roman Missal does not forbid the gesture, then argues that it should not be done anyway. Of all the things in the liturgy that need our attention right now, this is not one of them. It is another case of the liturgy police at work. It also reflects a narrowly clerical view of the liturgy, one that treats every gesture as something to guard rather than something to pray with.

Some of the argument is correct, so I will start there. The GIRM (General Instruction to the Roman Missal) tells only the priest to pray “with hands extended.” It is also true that the GIRM gives the faithful no gesture of the hands at all during the Our Father. It asks only that they stand (GIRM 43). The Missal’s silence on a gesture does not forbid it. The archdiocese’s argument treats it as though it did: the faithful may not extend their hands because the Missal does not tell them to. But the Missal does not tell the faithful to fold their hands at the Our Father either, nor to bow their heads or close their eyes. If Portland’s principle were sound, every one of these familiar gestures of prayer would also be an unlawful “addition to the liturgy” under Sacrosanctum Concilium 22.3. No one seriously holds that. In fact, SC 22.3 says something quite different. It forbids anyone, “even if he be a priest,” to add to, remove from, or change the rite of the liturgy on his own authority. It does not reach the private gestures of prayer that the Missal itself leaves unregulated. The Church does set the common postures of the assembly: when we stand, sit, and kneel (GIRM 42–43). Within those shared postures, though, the Missal gives the faithful no direction about their hands. Where the Church has wished to regulate the people’s posture, she has done so explicitly; where she has been silent, a diocesan bulletin should not supply what the Missal deliberately left open. It does not police the private prayerful posture of a grandmother in the fourth pew. When the U.S. bishops discussed this in the 1990s, they considered making the orans an option for the people and finally decided to leave hand gestures unmentioned. When the bishops’ conference deliberately leaves a matter open, a diocesan bulletin should not close it.

Aquinas and the Reform of the Roman Rite
by Andrew Likoudis

A Thomistic objection to the liturgical reform, answered

A question was recently posed to me by a Catholic professor, one that he tells me comes up every year when his students read Aquinas on the change of law. He asked:

The passage in Aquinas is from ST, I-II, q. 97, a. 2: “Whether human law should always be changed, whenever something better occurs?” Aquinas argues that human law is rightly changed insofar as the change is conducive to the common good. But, to a certain extent, he writes, “the mere change of law is itself prejudicial to . . .

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Marcus Mescher - Deformed Consciences

Third Space Podcast: Marcus Mescher - Deformed Consciences
by Paul Fahey

It’s so great to have Marcus Mescher back on the podcast. A couple of months ago, the Sisters of the Little Way published a conversation with Marcus about moral injury. And while Marcus and I have talked about moral injury before, he said some things in that conversation that resonated with some of my personal experiences. So I dove into that more with him. And we discussed some of Pope Leo’s teaching from Magnifica Humanitas about ecclesial repentance and renewal. It was so good speaking with Marcus again!
You can watch here or listen on your . . .

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Argentina welcomes Pope Leo XIV

In Argentina, Leo urges leaders to safeguard democracy

In his first speech in Buenos Aires, Pope Leo XIV told President Javier Milei and Argentina’s leaders that democracy “needs to be safeguarded” and is strengthened by “careful use of words.” Addressing authorities and diplomats at the Palacio Libertad after a 40-minute private meeting with Milei at the Casa Rosada, he said authority “is most authentic when it is exercised as service,” drawing applause that made him repeat a line on acknowledging “the limits of the power entrusted” to leaders. He urged that growth also benefit the disadvantaged, asked why young people must emigrate to realize their dreams, defended the unborn and people with disabilities, and warned against corruption and organized crime. CNN, AP, and the BBC read the speech as a diplomatic critique of Milei’s austerity agenda; Milei defended his policies in his own remarks. — Full text (Holy See Press Office) · CNN · AP · America · BBC · Vatican News

Leo arrives in the homeland Francis never revisited

Pope Leo landed in Buenos Aires Sunday afternoon, welcomed by Milei at the foot of the plane, in the first papal visit to Argentina since St. John Paul II in 1987. In his speech he said he was “in some sense retracing” Francis’ steps; Milei, who once insulted Francis, called him “the most important Argentinian in history.” He paused in silent prayer at the San Martín monument and received the keys to the city from Mayor Jorge Macri. — National Catholic Reporter · Vatican News · America · Official account (Holy See Press Office) · Also: Where Peter Is (Claudio Iván Remeseira)

Leaving Uruguay, Leo reconsecrates the country to Mary

At his farewell Mass before about 50,000 people at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three in Florida, Leo placed a Golden Rose before Uruguay’s patroness and consecrated the nation to her anew. He thanked the mothers, grandmothers, and catechists who passed on the faith, telling those grieving children who no longer pray to “never tire” and remember St. Monica: “There are doors that you cannot open, but God can.” He asked fathers to show that a man can kneel before God, and urged Uruguayans to go out to those who have drifted. — Full text (Holy See Press Office) · Vatican News · Vatican News (farewell)

Pope mourns victims of Kraków shooting

In a telegram signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin to Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, Pope Leo said he was “deeply saddened” by Saturday’s shooting in Kraków’s Main Market Square, which killed six people. He invoked Our Lady, Queen of Poland, and urged mourners to “persevere tirelessly in the search for peace and harmony.” Prosecutors are treating the attack as terrorism; the 24-year-old gunman, who officials said held far-right views, died in a hospital early Monday, police said. — Telegram (Holy See Press Office) · Vatican News · AP · BBC

Pope and Holy See

Today in Argentina: a center for people with disabilities, then Mass in Buenos Aires. Leo visits the Don Orione Little Cottolengo in Claypole, home to more than 400 residents — a stop observers link to the government’s disability-aid cuts — and celebrates an open-air Mass at the Monument of the Spaniards. Córdoba follows Tuesday and Luján Wednesday. — Vatican News · [ES] La Nación (schedule) · AFP
From the Holy See Press Office, Nov. 8: farewell from Uruguay, a stop on the way to Florida, and a meeting with fellow Augustinians. Leo prayed at Santa Teresita parish and greeted about 2,000 people en route to Florida; at Montevideo he took leave of President Yamandú Orsi and sent him a farewell telegram thanking Uruguay for its “warm reception”; and in Buenos Aires he met privately with members of the Augustinian Order at the nunciature. — Farewell and arrival (Holy See Press Office) · Florida Mass account · Casa Rosada account
[IT] Leo names Bishop Abel Apigo of Mati archbishop of Davao, Philippines. Today’s bulletin, the only entry so far, reports that the pope accepted the resignation of Archbishop Romulo Valles and transferred Apigo, 58, a longtime rector of Davao’s regional seminary, to lead the archdiocese. — Holy See Press Office
Tornielli: Leo’s Uruguay vigil asks whether believers themselves make room for Christ. Vatican News editorial director Andrea Tornielli reflects on the pope’s Bethlehem image for secular societies, from Saturday’s stadium vigil. Where Peter Is excerpted the passage (“Is there room for him?”). — Vatican News · Where Peter Is
Leo voted in the U.S. midterms but not in Peru. What does that say about papal identity? Justin McLellan looks at the debate over the first documented vote by a sitting pope, ahead of Leo’s visit to his adopted country. — National Catholic Reporter

United States

Democrats with a Christian message helped flip Congress. AP reports on candidates who spoke openly about faith in winning races across the country in last week’s midterms. — AP via Crux
New York archdiocese joins sisters’ lawsuit against assisted suicide. Global Sisters Report’s Monday roundup also notes that the Sisters of Charity of New York were “troubled” by bishops’ photo-op with President Trump, and a new coordinator for Mexico’s office on women religious’ health. — Global Sisters Report via NCR (Rhina Guidos)

Around the World

Belarus sentences Catholic priest who opposed the Ukraine war to three years. Fr. Anatoly Parakhnevich, 66, who helped Ukrainian refugees, was convicted of “insulting the authorities” and “extremism” in a closed-door trial; the Viasna rights group calls him a political prisoner. — AP via National Catholic Reporter
80 Spanish Civil War martyrs beatified in Santander. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, representing Leo, beatified Francisco González de Córdova and 79 companions, calling holiness “the common vocation of every baptized person.” — Vatican News
[ES] Sisters and religious march against pollution from El Salvador’s megaprison. Residents near the Cecot prison say their water changed color and smell after its construction. — Global Sisters Report (Rhina Guidos)

Liturgy and Church Life

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. The Church worldwide marks the dedication of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the bishop of Rome — this year celebrated while the pope is on pilgrimage in Argentina. — USCCB readings

Video and Podcasts

Colleen Dulle on papal politics and Peru. America’s Vatican correspondent and Inside the Vatican co-host analyzes the trip’s Argentina leg on France 24. — France 24
Third Space: Marcus Mescher on “deformed consciences.” WPI co-founder Paul Fahey talks with the Xavier University ethicist about moral injury and Magnifica Humanitas on ecclesial repentance and renewal. — Third Space

Commentary

Opinion: Newly beatified Sheen deserves a closer look by all. David Mihalyfy reflects on the joyful, unpolarized beatification day in St. Louis and on lesser-known sides of Fulton Sheen — his care for ex-Communist Bella Dodd, his Byzantine-rite practice, and his Vatican II plea for poverty. — Where Peter Is
Opinion: Not from the pulpit. Msgr. Arthur Holquin responds to a widely shared post-election homily by Fr. Chris Alar, arguing it misstated Church teaching and set aside the day’s readings. — Liturgy and Truth
Opinion: The elected now face the challenge of governing. Fr. Thomas Reese says politics as usual will not serve the country after the midterms. — Religion News Service via NCR

Also today

Pope wraps up Uruguay visit and heads to most fraught stop of his tour in Milei’s Argentina — Nicole Winfield, Nayara Batschke, and Isabel Debre, AP (via Crux)
[ES] Pope Leo XIV meets Milei at the Casa Rosada at the start of his Argentina visit — EFE
Kraków shooting suspect who killed six has died, say police — Angela Giuffrida, The Guardian
Argentina welcomes Pope Leo XIV — Fr. Paul Samasumo, Vatican News
Ahead of COP31, climate disruptions in Africa force children out of school — Doreen Ajiambo, Global Sisters Report
USCCB and CRS call on world leaders to act decisively at COP31 — USCCB
Podcast: “Jesus doesn’t win by violence, only by nonviolence,” says John Ashworth — John Dear, National Catholic Reporter

How do we prepare for Jesus' return

How do we prepare for Jesus' return according to Paul in 1 Thess 5?

How should we interpret the 'times and the seasons' as we look for the return of Jesus? Paul actually gives a very clear answer!

The lectionary reading for the Second Sunday before Advent in Year A is 1 Thess 5.1–11.

It forms a pair with last week’s reading; then, Paul explored the hope of Jesus’ return in relation to those who had died, now he considers its significance for those who remain alive.

Paul draws on the metaphors of being awake or asleep, sober or drunk, being children of the day or children of the night. In doing so, he is drawing extensively on the teaching of Jesus—especially in the image of the thief coming unexpectedly in the night—which the Thessalonians are clearly familiar with.

And all in all, Paul is concerned that our hope of Jesus’ return is not a matter for speculation, but of pastoral encouragement.

Notes on the Greek text are included below.

The gospel reading is closely related, being Matthew 25.14-30, the parable of the talents—in which the master returns at an unexpected time!

Written commentary can be found here, and the video discussion here.

https://youtu.be/6RZBfTXmKAo

Questions about liturgy: Protestant Songs Within a Catholic Mass

Confession Is Not Psychotherapy, Says the Vatican: Four Keys to a Good Confession

Rafael Llanes

Monsignor Nykiel’s presentation summarized the preceding contributions, which outlined «a comprehensive map — biblical, spiritual, psychological-existential, and pastoral — of the path of conversion.»

A Controversial Sponsorship: Bill Gates, Main Sponsor of a Prayer Gathering in Assisi

Valentina di Giorgio

The organisers have not disclosed the amount contributed by the Gates Foundation or whether its sponsorship involved specific commitments or conditions

Argentina Prepares to Welcome Leo XIV: Papal Vehicles, a Mass of 2,000 Ministers and a Nation Invited to Rise Together

Enrique Villegas

Toyota Argentina formally handed over the Buenos Aires vehicle to Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Michael Wallace Banach on October 28, at the Kansai dealership, which represented the Holy See in the arrangement. The second vehicle is already in Córdoba, where it is being held under the protection of the National Gendarmerie until the Pope’s activities there

Mexican Bishop Demands Justice After Priest Is Abducted, Tortured and Threatened with Death in Sinaloa

Enrique Villegas

Morales, pastor of the parish of Jesus Christ Risen, was seized on October 24 by a group of unidentified individuals and taken to an undisclosed location. According to a circular letter issued on November 1 by Bishop Jesús José Herrera Quiñónez, his captors demanded information that the priest did not possess

Everything That Is Known About the Alleged Eucharistic Miracle in Guatemala

Rafael Manuel Tovar

The Host has been kept in safekeeping since the news became public, and the priest has noted «greater participation by thousands of people» at the church, attending Mass, going to confession, and taking part in Eucharistic Adoration.

Former Head of the German Bishops’ Conference Lashes Out at Pope Leo XIV

Joachin Meisner Hertz

The controversy stems from Leo XIV’s return flight from France on September 28, following a visit that included a meeting in Lourdes with seven survivors of sexual abuse

Leo XIV Appoints New Vatican Envoy to Medjugorje as Church Recognises Its Spiritual Fruits

ZENIT Staff

In an interview with the Italian Catholic news agency SIR, Cavina described his new responsibility as both an unexpected source of joy and a demanding pastoral commitment.

US Bishops Face a Financial Turning Point as Federal Refugee Funding Comes to an End

ZENIT Staff

The bishops’ conference was not itself operating a nationwide network of refugee shelters or directly providing most of the assistance involved. Rather, it functioned as an intermediary, securing federal grants and distributing the money to Catholic organisations working in communities where refugees were being resettled

The Part of Mexican History the Government Doesn’t Tell: When Catholics Were Persecuted and Killed

Rafael Manuel Tovar

It is common for some Mexican leaders to criticize the excesses committed by Spanish conquistadors against the indigenous peoples of Mexico, while overlooking the actions of those who governed the country following independence, such as the many extrajudicial killings carried out by the Federal Army against innocent citizens, including women and children, during the Cristiada (Cristero War), in contrast to the legitimate military combat engaged in by the Cristeros.

Five years of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform: A renewed call for ecological conversion

ZENIT Staff

At the Vatican, Church leaders reflected on five years of ecological action and introduced new tools to help communities turn their commitments into lasting change.

Referendums in favor of killing babies in the womb prevail in U.S. midterm elections

Tim Daniels

US Midterm Elections Deliver Major Setbacks for Pro-Life Movement, but Idaho Offers a Sign of Hope

Criteria for Understanding the Social Dimension as Part of Faith in Jesus Christ: An Explanation by Leo XIV

ZENIT Staff

Pope’s General Audience, November 4, 2026, on Faith and Social, Political, and Economic Life

False Priest in Turin Exposes Gaps in Church Verification After Four Months of Unauthorized Ministry

Valentina di Giorgio

The episode raises questions extending beyond the conduct of the alleged impostor. How was a man claiming to have been ordained in January 2025 allowed to exercise ministry without his credentials first being confirmed directly with the Church authorities supposedly responsible for him? And was he given permission to celebrate according to the Latin rite, or did he present documentation granting him faculties in both rites?

From Podcaster to Founder of a New Religious Community

Alma Recinas

The religious Sister explained that her many years working in the healing ministry — collaborating with other religious Sisters, priests, and Bishops — have allowed her to «see and experience the need and the longing for ongoing healing and renewal among our clergy and religious Sisters.»

German Survey Shows Support for the Unification of the Catholic and Protestant Churches

Joachin Meisner Hertz

The most striking result emerges among Catholics themselves: 44% favour a merger, compared with 30% who oppose it.

Six Years of Accountability in Abuse Prevention: The Legionaries of Christ Present Their Sixth Report on Truth, Justice, and Healing

ZENIT Staff

In the 2026 Chapter Communiqué, the new general government made an honest assessment of the path taken and asked for forgiveness on behalf of the entire Legion for the errors committed in implementing these commitments: instances in which attention to victims was not provided with due promptness or sensitivity, and occasions when transparency did not fully harmonize with regards to the presumed innocence of the accused.

Can the Catholic Church be fully Chinese without compromising its universal identity? A conference in Rome addresses a controversial issue

ZENIT Staff

This aspect of the decision could have far-reaching implications for dioceses and religious orders that continue to maintain such lists. The judges also noted the climate of fear that the practice can create among priests, who may feel that their reputations and ministries can be destroyed by an administrative decision without a prior criminal or even administrative process and without an effective means of appeal.

Leo XIV Strengthens the Vatican’s Social Leadership with Two New Appointments, Including Chilean Theologian Claudia Leal Luna

ZENIT Staff

For Leo XIV, the choices also signal the importance he attaches to strengthening the people responsible for translating the Church’s social teaching into practical engagement with the world.

Vatican Tribunal Questions the Practice of Dioceses and Religious Congregations of Publishing Lists of Priests Accused of Abuse

ZENIT Staff

The Political Throne Put to the Test in the Midterm Elections: Faith as a Battleground in American Politics

Simone Varisco

A mosaic demonstrating how American Catholicism defies simplistic, caricatured portrayals. Caught between the promptings of the Social Doctrine and the siren calls of identity politics, the Catholic electorate embodies the very arena where the sense of the sacred continues to shape — and contest — the form of American democracy.

Pope Leo XIV’s appeal to mothers: ‘Never tire of passing on the faith!’

The pontiff celebrated Mass at Uruguay’s principal Marian shrine.

Built to flex, made to last: Inside New Zealand's first new cathedral in a century

Architects say Christchurch's new Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, the first Catholic cathedral built in New Zealand in more than 120 years, is designed to serve for the next 200 years.

In Argentina, Pope Leo XIV highlights social problems

The pontiff met with President Javier Milei on his first day in the country.

Thousands of students, many Jewish, are joining the Young DSA

Secular voters are increasing. Can ‘the nones’ become a political force?
Religion News Service: In the 2026 midterms, the Rev. Adam Hamilton and James Talarico emphasized their Christian faith but won stronger support among nonreligious voters than among Christians.

What Talarico’s win reveals about Christianity in Texas*
The New York Times: Senator-elect James Talarico’s progressive Christianity seemed to resonate for many in a state whose politics and culture have been dominated by conservative evangelicalism.

Thousands of students, many Jewish, are joining the Young DSA on campuses across the country. Here’s why.*
The Forward: “YDSA chapters have become sort of like homes for anti-Zionist Jews on campus who are seeking a community,” said YDSA co-chair Mae Bracelin.

‘He’s manipulating its power’: Why did Russell Brand convert to Christianity?
The Guardian: Sincere or self-serving, the disgraced comedian’s case shows how the church became a culture war frontier.

The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult is sentenced to 200 years in prison
NPR: The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult linked to the deaths of more than 400 people was sentenced on Friday to 200 years in prison for the murders of 191 people.