CHAMPAIGN — Fireworks and applause from a cheering crowd greeted five cyclists at the finish line of an 860-mile, seven-day bicycle trek from New Orleans to Champaign to raise pro-life funds and awareness. “It was great for everyone to be there,” said Mike Schaefer of the welcome the “Biking for Babies” cyclists received late afternoon […]
Continue readingA robin’s nest rests still and empty on the bend of a gutter downspout just a few feet from my home’s living room window. But for four weeks this summer, that window provided a marvelous view of one of nature’s life cycles. We first noticed flapping in late June as Mother Robin sized up the […]
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Photo Caption: A sample letter as well as a contact list of legislators is found online at the Catholic Charities website. By: By Tom Dermody While encouraged by an Illinois judge’s ruling temporarily allowing Catholic Charities to continue providing state-funded foster care and adoption services, officials in the Diocese of Peoria are asking for the […]
Continue readingVATICAN CITY (CNS) — Retired Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek of Minsk-Mohilev, Belarus, died July 21 at age 96. He retired just five years ago after more than 65 years of active ministry and several run-ins with the Soviet police. In a telegram of condolence, Pope Benedict XVI said, “I recall the courageous witness he gave to […]
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Photo Caption: Bishop R. Daniel Conlon, the former Bishop of Steubenville, Ohio, was installed to head the Diocese of Joliet during a Mass on July 14. By: By Catholic News Service JOLIET (CNS) — The role of bishops as “those who are sent” requires humility, steadfastness and courage, Bishop R. Daniel Conlon said as he […]
Continue readingReligious leaders urge Obama to protect the poor in budget efforts WASHINGTON (CNS) — After a July 20 meeting with President Barack Obama, leaders of the faith-based Circle of Protection came away reassured about his commitment to protecting assistance for the poor in impending budget cuts. But they remain worried that a deal to raise […]
Continue readingThe following movie reviews are supplied by Catholic News Service in conjunction with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Film and Broadcasting. For full reviews of these films, as well as earlier releases, visit the CNS movie site here. This list will be updated regularly, and all reviews are copyright (c) 2011 […]
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Photo Caption: Maria Luebbers, a member of the Sacred Heart Comforters quilting ministry in Moline, concentrates on the stitches in her prayer shawl. By: By Jennifer Willems MOLINE — In the May 15 parish bulletin for St. Mary’s Church in Joplin, Mo., there were suggestions for how to create an emergency plan and a checklist […]
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Photo Caption: A new, oak reliquary at Sacred Heart Church in Rock Island holds a treasure of relics discovered last summer during a cleaning of a church utility cabinet. ROCK ISLAND — Called “the find of a lifetime,” the discovery last summer of a box of relics at Sacred Heart Church here was actually the […]
Continue readingBy: By Father James King Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 24 1 Kings 3:5,7-12; Psalm 119:57,72,76-77,127-128,129-130; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-52 “O Lord, my God . . . give your servant an understanding heart” (1 Kings 3:9). This prayer of Solomon in this Sunday’s first reading was pleasing to God and he answered the prayer. […]
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