An image of Mary and the Christ Child is projected on the facade of a hotel during the opening day of the Festival of Light in Berlin Oct. 9. Several landmarks and tourist spots in the German capital will be illuminated from Oct. 9 to Oct. 20.
International News
Vatican Grabs the .catholic Domain
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As top-level Internet domain names are being rolled out and up for grabs, the Vatican has scored control of .catholic. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which coordinates the assignment of Internet domain names and addresses around the world, has been allowing entities to apply for ownership of […]
Filipino Church Assessing Damages
BOHOL, Philippines (CNS) – Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran said the Church in central Philippines is assessing damage after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake left dozens dead. The bishop, who said the Oct. 15 quake “was so strong,” told the Asian church news portal ucanews.com that Spanish-era churches in the towns of Loon and Carmen collapsed. […]
New Papal Style Speaks A Different Language
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When Pope Benedict XVI answered a journalist’s 2010 question about condom use by offering a nuanced reflection on the ethical complexities of a hypothetical case, his words led to a worldwide media sensation, a clarification by the Vatican spokesman and a statement from the Congregation for the […]
Outgoing Vatican Secretary Stresses Continuity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who as Vatican secretary of state drew rising criticism for failures of the Vatican bureaucracy he oversaw, stepped down Oct. 15 with a speech praising the pontificate of retired Pope Benedict XVI and stressing its continuity with that of Pope Francis. The cardinal made his remarks at a […]
Pope Warns About Restricting Role of Women in the Church
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis said women’s “vocation and mission” today remain essentially connected to their capacity for motherhood but warned against unjustly restricting their participation in the Church or civil society on that basis. “Many things can change and have changed in our cultural and social evolution, but the […]
Pope Dedicates World to Mary
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Before a congregation of more than 100,000 in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis formally entrusted the world to Mary. “We are confident that each of us is precious in your sight,” the pope said Oct. 13, facing the statue of Mary that normally stands in the shrine […]
St. Therese’s Writing Desk on First US Tour
by Mark Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) – The Mission Month of October has been an eventful one for St. Therese of Lisieux, the patroness of the missions and missionaries, as the small wooden writing case she used to compose her spiritual masterpiece, Story of a Soul, is on a 20-diocese tour in the U.S. For the […]
Opera Star Urges Students to Dream Big
by Jill Ragar Esfeld PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (CNS) – Imagine a place filled with more than 400 children yet so quiet you can hear someone breathe. That was the scene at St. Ann School in Prairie Village – and the person doing the “breathing” was world-renowned opera star and Grammy Award winner Joyce DiDonato. “The […]
Assisi: Pope Makes First Visit to Birthplace Of His Papal Namesake
by Francis X. Rocca ASSISI, Italy (CNS) – Making his first pilgrimage as pope to the birthplace of his papal namesake, Pope Francis called on the whole Church to imitate St. Francis of Assisi, embracing poverty and stripping itself of the “spirit of world.” “A Christian cannot coexist with the spirit of the world,” he […]