VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A three-judge panel of Vatican jurists found Paolo Gabriele, the papal butler, guilty of aggravated theft and sentenced him to 18 months in jail for his role in leaking private papal correspondence and other confidential documents. The verdict was read Oct. 6 by Giuseppe Dalla Torre, president of the three-judge panel, […]
Author: settinger
Indulgences for the Year of Faith
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Catholics who participate in events connected with the 2012-2013 Year of Faith can receive a special indulgence, the Vatican said. Pope Benedict XVI authorized the granting of a plenary, or full, indulgence in order to highlight the Year of Faith and encourage the “reading, or rather, the pious meditation on” the […]
Chinese Order Priests, Nuns to Be Reeducated
SHANGHAI (CNS) – Priests and nuns in the Shanghai Diocese were forced to attend compulsory “study classes,” which observers believe were imposed by Chinese authorities in response to the new Shanghai auxiliary’s renunciation of the Catholic Patriotic Association. In September, approximately 80 diocesan priests and 80 nuns of the Our Lady of Presentation Congregation were […]
New Doctors Of the Church
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Benedict added a 16th-century Spanish priest and a 12th-century German abbess to the roster of doctors of the universal church. The pope proclaimed the new doctors, St. John of Avila and St. Hildegard of Bingen, at Mass Oct. 7 in St. Peter’s Square, where the thousands […]
2012 – The Issues – Religious Freedom – At Home and Abroad
by Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) – Over the past several months, the U.S. Catholic bishops and other religious leaders have urged Americans to defend religious liberty in the United States in the face of what they see as threats to that freedom. And the issue continues to gain momentum as the November election draws near. […]
The Word Is Meant to Be Living and Effective
by Father William R. Dulaney When someone dies leaving money and possessions the adage “you can’t take it with you” comes to mind. Chances are none of us recall seeing an armored car following the hearse in a funeral procession. Reason, common sense and our experience of the passing of loved ones and friends assure […]
Hidden Dynamo Drives Human Spirit Toward the Infinite Good
by Father Robert Lauder Almost everything that I have read in W. Norris Clarke’s book, Person and Being (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1993, p. 113), I want to share with others. When, in rereading the book, I come upon what I think is an exciting insight, I want to tell friends about it. While preparing […]
Beyond the Packaging
As the campaign season winds down to the wire, both press and pundit crave the latest zinger (or gaffe) that could fuel the next news cycle. To be at their most persuasive yet, without overly taxing the intellect or attention span of their audiences, candidates will strive to make their pitches with clarity and conviction. […]
The Heavenly Sounds of The Glenn Mohr Chorale
by Father Frank Mann A few months ago, prior to the start of a newly ordained’s First Mass, my soul was stirred by the wondrous music emanating from the choir loft. Many of the inspirational and moving selections were unfamiliar to me. I thought, “Where is this choir from? What is this music?” I introduced […]
What Mormons Believe – Teaching on Baptism Remains a Stumbling Block
by Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) – With Mitt Romney at the top of the Republican Party presidential ticket and Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate, the Republicans for the first time do not have a Protestant on the ticket. Ryan, the vice presidential candidate, is Catholic. GOP presidential hopeful Romney is a member of […]