Pope Announces Reform of the Annulment Process

Two weeks before the start of an extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family, the Vatican announced the formation of a special commission to reform the process of granting marriage annulments.

Seniors in Queens Take to the Road, Thanks to Councilman

Councilman Eric A. Ulrich (R-Queens) and Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens (CCBQ) held a press conference on Monday, Sept. 22, to announce city funding to support bus service for seniors at four CCBQ centers in Howard Beach, Woodhaven, Rockaway Beach and Ozone Park.

Newark Will Host First Beatification in the US

NEWARK, N.J. (CNS) – Although Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovich was personally unassuming, the spiritual impact she had on other Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth was so unmistakable that they began the effort to have her canonized soon after her May 8, 1927, death in Paterson, N.J.

Laypeople Will Be Consulted

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September, 2015 will serve as a forum for debating issues on the agenda for the world Synod of Bishops at the Vatican the following month, said the two archbishops responsible for planning the Philadelphia event.

Faith Groups Joined Climate Change March

Myriad Catholic groups joined a singing, chanting sea of people who streamed along Manhattan’s West Side Sept. 21 to urge global action on climate change. Organizers of the People’s Climate March estimated nearly 400,000 men, women and children rallied to the cause.

The Pope in Albania

TIRANA, Albania (CNS) – In a world “where an authentic religious spirit is being perverted and where religious differences are being distorted and exploited,” Albania is an “aspiring example” to everyone that peaceful coexistence is possible, Pope Francis said during a one-day visit to the country Sept. 21.

Remembering War’s Victims

Pope Francis looks at tombstones as he walks through the Austro-Hungarian cemetery for soldiers of World War I in Fogliano di Redipuglia, Italy, Sept. 13.

Peruvian Artists Create

CHACAS, Peru (CNS) – Freddy Cerna is about the same height as the statue he carves from Italian Carrara marble. His backward baseball cap and buggy protective goggles are a sharp contrast to the delicate face he perfects with his carving tools. The statue of Mary, her hands folded in prayer, stares back at him.

Diocese Asks Reversal of Seal of Confession Ruling

BATON ROUGE, La. (CNS) – The Diocese of Baton Rouge has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Louisiana Supreme Court decision that a priest may be compelled to testify as to what he heard in the confessional in 2008 concerning an abuse case. The legal step is the latest in a case involving Father Jeffrey Bayhi, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Zachary, La., and the sanctity of the seal of confession.