News - July 2017 RSS Feed

VATICAN CITY – More than 500 boys suffered abuse at the hands of dozens of teachers and priests at the school that trains the prestigious boys choir of the Regensburg Cathedral in Germany, said an independent investigator.

HONG KONG – The Chinese Communist Party’s top leader in charge of religion has made it clear that Beijing intends to retain a tight grip on the Catholic Church.

LIMA, Peru – When Pope Francis visits Colombia in September, he will take his message of mercy and reconciliation to Cartagena, a city that still bears scars of its painful history as a slave port. And he will walk the streets where another Jesuit, St. Peter Claver, put that message into practice four centuries ago.

VATICAN CITY – U.S. politics have become increasingly colored by an apocalyptic worldview, promoted by certain fundamentalist Christians, that fosters hatred, fear and intolerance, said an influential Jesuit magazine.

WASHINGTON – The chair of the migration committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged the Trump administration to “ensure permanent protection” for youth who were brought to the U.S. as minors without legal documentation.

WASHINGTON – There are plenty of myths that surround natural family planning, but advocates say the Catholic Church can help dispel those myths and raise an awareness of which fertility-awareness options exist for married couples that embrace church teaching.

WASHINGTON – The bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, issued a pastoral letter calling for a stop to militarization along the border with Mexico and showing compassion for migrants. Bishop Mark J. Seitz followed with a passionate plea for understanding of the danger that prompts migrants to flee home.

LIMA, Peru – When Pope Francis visits Colombia in September, he will take his message of mercy and reconciliation to Cartagena, a city that still bears scars of its painful history as a slave port. And he will walk the streets where another Jesuit, St. Peter Claver, put that message into practice four centuries ago.

If you are a little shy to wear your faith on your sleeve, how about on a tote bag? Artist Amanda Barden can give you a hand.

As a retired longtime secretary in the chancery office of the archdiocese, I would like to add information to the final paragraph of the coverage of Archbishop John Quinn (“Archbishop John R. Quinn: A clear and powerful voice,” July 13, 2017).

Two decades since the publication of its first book, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling continues to draw countless readers into its pages, gaining ground among some faithful initially put off by the much-debated themes of magic and witchcraft.

LAKEWOOD, Ohio – St. Elizabeth of Hungary stands tall, the bread in her right hand, a gift to the poor, looks like it may have just come from the oven. The roses at her waist, visible from an opening in her cloak, are a symbol of God’s protection.

God wants us to desire the right things. In the readings, he approaches Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you. Ask and you will receive,” Jesus echoes (Matthew 7:7).

In a recent editorial, “Evangelical Fundamentalism and Catholic Integralism: A Surprising Ecumenism,” Civilta Cattolica identified cooperation between Protestant fundamentalists and conservative American Catholics as “a problematic fusion between religion and state, faith and politics, religious values and economy.”

An overreaction to a questionable problem – that was my thought on reading a piece about American politics and the religious right by two men said to be close to Pope Francis.

More than a century ago a proud university student boarded a train in France and sat next to an older man who seemed to be a peasant of comfortable means. The brash student noticed that the older gentleman was slipping beads through his fingers. He was praying the rosary.

I recently participated in the Convocation of Catholic Leaders in Orlando, Florida. The purpose of this large, unprecedented encounter between U.S. bishops and laity was to study what Pope Francis has termed the “new peripheries” and to form missionary disciples.

When I first visited Israel in 1988, my friend Professor Menahem Milson, a distinguished Arabist at Hebrew University who was Egyptian president Anwar Sadat’s military aide during Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977, told me that “you have to meet my friend, Colonel Yigal Carmon.”

With great profit and pleasure I’m currently reading Alec Ryrie’s new book “Protestants: The Faith that Made the Modern World.”

When Catholic couples experience trouble getting pregnant, they often seek medical help and begin to research what options are available to them.