by Marie Elena Giossi Training catechists to meet the complex challenges of an evolving catechetical ministry was the focus of a daylong conference at the Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston, on Thursday, Sept. 27. New York State’s bishops, along with the state Council of Diocesan Directors of Religious Education, gathered to formally launch and discuss their […]
by Marie Elena Giossi Blessed Sacrament parish welcomed an old friend back home last Sunday, Sept. 30. Retired Auxiliary Bishop Rene A. Valero, former pastor, returned to Jackson Heights for the noon Mass and dedication of the parish hall in his honor. “Well Bishop Valero, welcome back to Jackson Heights. Good to have you […]
by Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) – With Mitt Romney at the top of the Republican Party presidential ticket and Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate, the Republicans for the first time do not have a Protestant on the ticket. Ryan, the vice presidential candidate, is Catholic. GOP presidential hopeful Romney is a member of […]
by Ed Wilkinson “The killing has come to an end,” said Father Kevin Sweeney as he celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving Sept. 29 to mark a medical center’s decision to no longer offer abortions. Brooklyn Ambulatory Surgery Center in Sunset Park has closed. It will be replaced by the New York Center for Specialty Surgery, […]
Today (Sept. 27) is the feast day of St. Vincent DePaul, considered by many to be the “star” saint of Christian charity and concern for the poor. Many people, including those who don’t know that much about this great saint from the 17th century, know of the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, […]
by Patricia Zapor WASHINGTON (CNS) – The vastly different approaches of Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on immigration share a common denominator: Both men agree that Obama didn’t accomplish what he intended to when he was elected in 2008, when he promised that comprehensive immigration reform was high on his […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The third volume of Pope Benedict XVI’s book on Jesus of Nazareth should be published before Christmas, the Vatican said. The volume, focusing on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ infancy and childhood, will be the third and final volume in the series of books the pope has written “to make known […]
by Michael Gambino PHILADELPHIA (CNS) – A vacation house at the South Jersey shore used by generations of elderly priests was sold at auction by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for $4.5 million. Steve and Ilene Berger of Newtown Square won the bidding at $4.125 million for Villa St. Joseph by the Sea, a 19-room, 9,800-square-foot […]
by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — To mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and reflect on the major changes it brought to consecrated life, the Vatican’s congregation for religious has overhauled the course it offers on theology and canon law. The Second Vatican Council’s call for religious to return to the […]
All are invited to attend a prayer service led by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio as the diocese formally launches its observance of the Year of Faith on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. No tickets necessary. Bishop DiMarzio will lead Vespers at St. James Cathedral-Basilica, Downtown Brooklyn. Pope Benedict XVI has called for Catholics around the […]
