JERUSALEM (CNS) — Christians and moderate Muslims quietly expressed concern about what their place in the Gaza Strip would be now that Hamas remains strong after a three-week Israeli offensive. Several businessmen who spoke to Catholic News Service questioned the outcome of the war, which began with Israeli bombardments Dec. 27 and ended with separate […]
Continue readingWASHINGTON (CNS) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over human trafficking grants allocated to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The federal agency is violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment “by permitting USCCB to impose a religiously based restriction […]
Continue readingROME (CNS) — The traditional U.S. model of church-state relations has been praised by Pope Benedict XVI as a form of “healthy secularism,” but it risks being eroded by those who want to limit religion’s influence in public life, speakers at a Rome conference said. The conference Jan. 13 marked the 25th anniversary of formal […]
Continue readingMEXICO CITY (CNS) — The Sixth World Meeting of Families opened Jan. 14 with a warning from the Mexican president that a breakdown in family values is leading to increased social problems and crime. “Many of those that die in confrontations are young people that are detached from a nuclear family, something that results in […]
Continue readingJERUSALEM (CNS) — Despite the bombings and Israeli ground-force incursion into the Gaza Strip, the six Missionaries of Charity working in Gaza City say life has some normalcy and they plan to remain. But for other Gazans, life has changed dramatically since Israeli airstrikes began Dec. 27 in an effort to stop Palestinian militants from […]
Continue readingWASHINGTON (CNS) — Thousands of pro-life marchers are expected to rally in Washington Jan. 22 to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, just days after President-elect Barack Obama is inaugurated. Abortion opponents also will hold multiple events in the nation’s capital and throughout the U.S. the […]
Continue readingSAN FRANCISCO (CNS) — Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco and the administrative offices of the Archdiocese of San Francisco were vandalized in early January with graffiti critical of the church’s support of Proposition 8, the California voter initiative that overturned last May’s state Supreme Court ruling declaring that all couples have the right […]
Continue readingNEW DELHI (CNS) — The recent election for seats in the Jammu and Kashmir state legislative assembly has produced hoped-for results, said church leaders in India’s northernmost state. Bishop Peter Elampassery of Jammu-Srinagar told the Asian church news agency UCA News that he expects the new government to take the state forward “provided the separatist […]
Continue readingVATICAN CITY (CNS) — Gazans are in need of urgent medical care and a humanitarian corridor, Catholic Church officials told Vatican Radio. “Many have lost hands or legs and need immediate care. Their situation is very difficult: They cannot go to Israel, to Egypt or to Jordan and they can’t even leave their homes,” Claudette […]
Continue readingWASHINGTON (CNS) — The reauthorization of an anti-trafficking law signed at the White House Dec. 23 was hailed by the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee as “an important step toward eradicating this scourge.” Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City said in a statement that President George W. Bush had done much […]
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