Msgr. Brown Receives National Recognition

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that Msgr. John Brown, Walgreens drugstores and the New York Mets have been awarded the 2013 Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience, recognizing their contributions to their communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Msgr. Brown, the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas parish, Flatlands, was the pastor of St. […]

Mandela Touched The Heart of a Fellow Prisoner

JOHANNESBURG (CNS) – Former South African President Nelson Mandela looked down on the tens of thousands of people gathered at his memorial service in Johannesburg and smiled as he watched them celebrate his legacy, said Andrew Mokete Mlangeni, a Catholic who was imprisoned for decades with the late anti-apartheid icon. The first to address the […]

Mandela – Religious Leaders Recall Struggle for Peace and Equality in South Africa

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Pope Francis joined Church and government leaders from around the world in crediting Nelson Mandela for a steadfast commitment to promoting human rights and upholding the dignity of all people in response to the death Dec. 5 of the former president of South Africa. In a message to South Africa President Jacob […]

Newsmaking Pontiff

Pope Francis, seen here arriving in St. Peter’s Square for a recent general audience, continues to make news as he: chatted this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu, https://thetablet.org/israel-at-vatican-pope-and-netanyahu-discuss-peace-in-middle-east-and-popes-impending-visit/; continued his efforts to “purify” the Church, https://thetablet.org/pope-purify-church-by-looking-within/; and stirred up a controversy with his remarks about economic issues, https://thetablet.org/pope-stirs-controversy-with-words-on-economy/.

US Bishops Applaud Deal With Iran

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The interim multilateral accord that could put the brakes on Iran’s nuclear development program is a steppingstone for a long-range deal that “enhances genuine peace in the region,” according to Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. In a letter […]

German Bishops May Allow Communion for Divorced

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) – Church officials in Germany defended plans by the country’s bishops’ conference to allow some divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion, insisting they have the pope’s endorsement. “We already have our own guidelines, and the pope has now clearly signaled that certain things can be decided locally,” said Robert Eberle, spokesman […]

Nuns in Syria Kidnapped by Terrorist Troops

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The kidnapping of five Orthodox nuns from a Christian village near Damascus has shocked Syria’s Christian community and filled many Christians with fear, said Chaldean Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo, Syria. Speaking to Vatican Radio, Bishop Audo said the latest information is that the superior and four of the nuns belonging […]

Pope Worked as a Bouncer

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In addition to having worked sweeping floors and running tests in a chemical laboratory as a teenager, Pope Francis revealed he also used to work as a bouncer. No longer kicking troublemakers out of clubs, he has discovered the secret to bringing people back, this time, into the church, according to […]