VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholics who dedicate themselves to special prayers and efforts to promote the holiness of Christian families can receive special indulgences during the World Meeting of Families May 30-June 2 in Milan. Pope Benedict XVI authorized the indulgences for those who, “truly repentant and motivated by charity, dedicate themselves to the sanctification […]
Continue readingWASHINGTON (CNS) — After receiving the inaugural Religious Freedom Award May 24, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori encouraged people of all faiths to stand together to defend religious liberty. “U.S. bishops and faithful Catholics in this country, numerous though we may be, cannot fight the tide of radical secularism alone,” Archbishop Lori said at the […]
Continue readingVATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI urged American Catholics to strive for greater unity, especially among ethnic groups and between bishops and religious orders, in order to carry out the church’s mission in an increasingly hostile society. The pope made his remarks May 18 in a speech to U.S. bishops from the Chaldean, Ruthenian, […]
Continue readingBy: By Nancy Frazier O’Brien, Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Forty-three Catholic dioceses, schools, hospitals, social service agencies and other institutions filed suit in federal court May 21 to stop three government agencies from implementing a mandate that would require them to cover contraceptives and sterilization in their health plans. “Through this lawsuit, plaintiffs […]
Continue readingVATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Italian television journalist who set off the “VatiLeaks” controversy by releasing private letters to Pope Benedict XVI and between Vatican officials has published a large collection of leaked documents in a new book called “Your Holiness.” In a statement May 19, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, called the publication […]
Continue readingCHICAGO (CNS) — Eighteen simple wooden caskets containing indigent adults and unborn babies sat atop graves at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery awaiting burial April 25. Beside them stood funeral directors dressed in black and holding single white carnations. Just minutes before, each casket was removed from funeral hearses, which made a procession with a police […]
Continue readingNASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) — Priests from across the country met in Nashville April 23-26 to learn about and discuss “The Emerging Church of the 21st Century,” the theme for the 44th annual convention of the National Federation of Priests’ Councils. Speakers addressed a range of topics including immigration and multiculturalism in the church today; how […]
Continue readingVATICAN CITY (CNS) — Preparing children for their first Communion must be done with both great zeal and moderation, Pope Benedict XVI said. Around the world, many children receive their first Communion during the Easter season, he told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square April 22 for the recitation of the “Regina Coeli,” a Marian […]
Continue readingWASHINGTON (CNS) — A document on the new evangelization from the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis exhorts Catholics to at all levels in the church to step up to invite Catholics who have stopped practicing their faith to do so once again. “Bishops, eparchs, pastors, catechists and indeed all Catholics reaching out to […]
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Photo Caption: Members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious march through Woldenberg Riverside Park in New Orleans for a prayer service to preserve the wetlands in this 2009 file photo. By: By Francis X. Rocca, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Citing “serious doctrinal problems which affect many in consecrated life,” the Vatican […]
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