Maronite Catholic bishops from around the world warned against plans to partition the Middle East and urged Christians to stand firm and to preserve coexistence with Muslims.
International News
Piano-Playing Cardinal Releases His Third CD
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri’s priesthood always has had a musical soundtrack. In fact, he bought a piano while living in Haiti and shipped it to his new posts first in Paraguay, then India, Brazil and on to his Vatican apartment. The well-traveled piano is still in his apartment. Another […]
Jesus’ Tomb Gets Much Needed Restoration
For the first time in 200 years, experts have begun a restoration of the Edicule of the Tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where, according to Christian tradition, Jesus was laid to rest after his crucifixion.
Archbishop Seeks Refounding Of Puerto Rico’s Identity
By Wallice J. de la Vega SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (CNS) – Saying his Caribbean island is emptying, dying and disappearing, Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan called on Puerto Ricans everywhere to help “refound” their common motherland. Speaking at Hunter College’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies in New York, he was not referring […]
Orlando Victim Is First to Be Buried in Puerto Rico
Songs blared June 18 while a white horse-drawn hearse and a weeping crowd departed Barriada Esperanza sector of Guanica with the body of Angel Candelario Padro.
Pope: Most People Don’t Understand Marriage
Raising a point he has raised before, and one also raised by now-retired Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis insisted that the validity of a marriage implies that a couple understands that sacramental marriage is a bond that truly binds them to another for their entire lives.
Mary Magdalene Now Has Her Own Feast
Recognizing St. Mary Magdalene’s role as the first to witness Christ’s resurrection and as a “true and authentic evangelizer,” Pope Francis raised the July 22 memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to a feast on the Church’s liturgical calendar, the Vatican announced.
Two New Saints: Pope Sees Sts. Mary Elizabeth and Stanislaus As Witnesses to God’s Mercy
Even in the midst of suffering and death, Christians can become witnesses of the resurrection and the power of God’s compassion, Pope Francis said as he proclaimed two new saints. In the Sunday Gospel reading, Jesus’ raising of a young widow’s child was not a magical performance but rather a reminder that he takes death upon himself to restore the suffering to new life, the pope said June 5.
Becket ‘Returns’ to England
Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, carries a reliquary containing what is believed to be a bone fragment of St. Thomas Becket during a Mass at Westminster Cathedral in London.
Speculation Continues Around Fatima ‘Secrets’
When then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger met the press in 2000 for the formal release of the so-called Third Secret of Fatima, he said he knew many people would be disappointed. Almost 16 years later, at the beginning of a yearlong preparation for the 100th anniversary of the apparition of our Lady of Fatima in 2017, now-retired Pope Benedict XVI is still dealing with people not convinced the secret is really out.