By Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis deplored the “abuses and inhuman acts” of Islamic State militants, and called on all religious leaders to condemn them “unanimously and unambiguously.” He also said he hoped to travel to the Middle East to comfort persecuted Christians there. The pope’s words appeared in a Christmas […]
International News
Pope Warns Curia on ‘Spiritual Alzheimer’s’
By Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ Christmas greeting to the Vatican bureaucracy this year was an extended warning against a host of spiritual ills to which he said Vatican officials are prone, including “spiritual Alzheimer’s,” “existential schizophrenia,” publicity-seeking, the “terrorism of gossip” and even a poor sense of humor. The pope […]
Filipinos Eagerly Await Pope’s Visit
By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) – Filipino Catholics living in the U.S. say the pope’s upcoming visit to the Philippines will be a big boost for their homeland that has experienced so much suffering. “After all the travesties” the country has faced, the visit will provide a “flicker of light and a glimmer of hope,” […]
Peace Light Arrives With Message of Hope
An open flame, referred to as the Peace Light, arrived by plane in JFK Airport, Dec. 11 escorted by officials from Austrian Airlines. After a welcome ceremony at Our Lady of the Skies Chapel, the flame began its pilgrimage across the U.S. in trucks and cars, lighting wicks in homes, churches and community centers along […]
Increase in Tourism Not Happening in Bethlehem
By Judith Sudilovsky BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) – Palestinian hopes for a tourism windfall following Pope Francis’ spring pilgrimage did not pan out because the Gaza war broke out shortly after his visit, Palestinian Tourism Minister Rula Ma’ay’a told journalists. At the start of the year, the Bethlehem tourism sector had experienced a 19 percent […]
Pope: Prepare for Christmas With Joy
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – No saint was ever known for having a “funeral face,” Pope Francis said; the joy of knowing one is loved by God and saved by Christ must be seen at least in a sense of peace, if not a smile. Celebrating the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, […]
West Bank Town Puts Faith in St. Nicholas
By Judith Sudilovsky BEIT JALLA, West Bank (CNS) – Bethlehem might have the Church of the Nativity, but residents of this largely Christian town adjacent to Bethlehem say they have St. Nicholas. “People believe he is the protector of the city,” said Father Faysal Hijazen, parish priest of the Church of the Annunciation. “In all […]
Vatican Thanks U.S. Nuns, Calls for a New Dialogue
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A massive, detailed Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious ended with a call to the women themselves to continue discerning how best to live the Gospel in fidelity to their orders’ founding ideals while facing steeply declining numbers and a rapidly aging membership. Although initially seen […]
Austrian Markets Reflect the Spirit of Christmas
By Cristina Muller VIENNA (CNS) – Tucked behind the Austrian capital’s well known Museumsquartier – a complex of art, natural history and cultural museums – is a little side street Christmas market called Spittelberg. No more than a medieval alleyway, gray cobblestones and slightly wobbly Tudor-like white and dark timber buildings, Spittelberg is a place […]
Ireland to Make Parish Records Free Online
A National Library of Ireland statement called the records the single most important source of information on Irish family history prior to the 1901 census.