by Cindy Wooden ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM BRAZIL (CNS) – Pope Francis said he was responding to the clear wishes of the College of Cardinals when he set up commissions to study the Vatican bank, Vatican financial and administrative procedures and the reform of the Roman Curia. The pope also said he knows people […]
by Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The war in Syria is like a factory churning out nothing but death, destruction and suffering, said Archbishop Mario Zenari, Vatican nuncio to Syria. Even though the Vatican was unable to confirm July 30 news reports that a Jesuit priest had been kidnapped in Syria, the nuncio said […]
by Antonina Zielinska RIO DE JANEIRO – Following Pope Francis’ footsteps, Father Ray Roden, spiritual director at the Cathedral House of Formation, Douglaston, took two local seminarians to the Varginha “favela,” or slum neighborhood. “It wasn’t cardboard houses or anything, but the standard of living was low,” said seminarian Mike Plona. “They were so cramped.” […]
Lumen Fidei 1. The light of Faith: this is how the Church’s tradition speaks of the great gift brought by Jesus. In John’s Gospel, Christ says of himself: “I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (Jn 12:46). St. Paul uses the same image: “God […]
by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Before saying a word publicly, Pope Francis made the sign of the cross and tossed a wreath of white and yellow flowers into the Mediterranean Sea in memory of the estimated 20,000 African immigrants who have died in the past 25 years trying to reach a new life […]
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ first encyclical, “Lumen Fidei” (“The Light of Faith”), is a celebration of Christian faith as the guiding light of a “successful and fruitful life,” inspiring social action as well as devotion to God, and illuminating “every aspect of human existence,” including philosophy and the natural […]
by Father James H. Sweeney This April, I celebrated my 32nd year as a priest. I’ve spent the vast majority of that time in inner-city or poor neighborhoods – South Brooklyn, pre-hipster Williamsburg and Brownsville-East New York. The description “poor” has to do with the economic reality of those neighborhoods. It is not a reflection […]
by Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Be joyous, authentic and loving while resisting fly-by-night commitments, catty gossip and sleek cars, Pope Francis told future priests, brothers and nuns. Vocations don’t come from catchy campaigns or pursuing personal goals; the consecrated life is the result of prayer and answering an “unsettling” yet loving invitation from […]
by Barbara J. Fraser LAMAS, Peru (CNS) – Conflicts over natural resources and land rights in places like Peru and Colombia echo similar problems in the U.S., said U.S. bishops who visited the two countries in late June. “We came to express solidarity with the church in Peru and Colombia, that we are one family […]
MISSOULA, Mont. (CNS) – A federal district court judge ruled June 24 that the statue of Jesus erected on federal land at Big Mountain in Montana can stay where it is. “Leasing public land within a private ski resort to a private organization that maintains a statue of Jesus does not violate the Establishment Clause” […]
