VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis is planning to visit Turkey “in the last days of November” but said the length of his trip and his agenda in the country have yet to be determined. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, made the announcement to reporters Sept. 12, noting that a formal invitation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had arrived at the Vatican earlier the same day.
WASHINGTON (CNS) – United in the suffering of their people, five Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs from the Middle East urged Westerners to take action to help ensure that Christians and other minorities can remain in the Middle East.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – More than 250 participants, including 14 married couples from around the world, were expected to attend October’s extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family.
WASHINGTON (CNS) – A federal judge upheld an amendment to Louisiana’s state constitution in early September that defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but later that same week, a federal court struck down same-sex marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana.
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The canonization cause of Archbishop Fulton Sheen has been suspended indefinitely, according to a statement issued Sept. 3 by the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., where the archbishop was born.
BEIRUT (CNS) – Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs of the Middle East denounced attacks on Christians and called upon the international community to work toward eradicating terrorist groups.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio called for more dialogue with diocesan employees as he celebrated Mass Sept. 4 that opened the pastoral year. It was held at the newly renovated Holy Name of Jesus Church in Park Slope, just two blocks from the Chancery Office.
In the days that followed Pope Francis’ Aug. 18 remarks on U.S. airstrikes earlier in the month against Islamic State, the buzz was about whether the pope had actually given his consent to them.
OKLAHOMA CITY (CNS) – A stolen consecrated host that was at the center of a lawsuit filed by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley and intended for use at a planned Satanic “black mass” in Oklahoma City has been returned.
ST. LOUIS (CNS) – With the strife and violence in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s shooting death by a police officer in Ferguson, more than 500 St. Louis Catholics gathered for a votive Mass for peace and justice Aug. 20 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.
