Fifty years ago this coming week, on Oct. 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council, gathering some 2,000 bishops from around the world to decide what was needed to renew the Church internally, engage it with the world in new ways and enter into a new era of friendship and dialogue with […]
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Here Are the Movers and Shakers Of the Second Vatican Council
by Michael Swan TORONTO (CNS) – The Second Vatican Council was the biggest stage in the history of the Church. There were more bishops present than at any of the 20 previous councils stretching from the First Council of Nicaea in 325 to the First Vatican Council in 1870. The bishops present came from more […]
Douglaston Conference Focuses on John Paul I
Join experts from Europe and the United States at an international conference focusing on the life of Pope John Paul I and his brief pontificate Oct. 12-13 at the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston. Speakers at the conference on “The True Pope John Paul I: A Man of Faith for Our Time” will include the […]
Second Vatican Council Teachings Are Not Optional
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The teachings of the Second Vatican Council are neither optional nor second-class, but must be seen in the proper context, the former prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said as he opened a conference at The Catholic University of America in Washington. The talk by Cardinal William […]
Religious Freedom: Conference Speakers See Threats, Say Now Is the Time to Act (with audio)
Religious liberty is facing such grave threats in the United States that Catholics must take immediate and courageous action to defend fundamental values in the public forum and in the privacy of the voting booth, according to speakers at a Sept. 20 forum. Almost 500 people assembled at St. John’s University, Jamaica, heard impassioned calls […]
Bishop’s Dinner for Scouting (with slideshow)
The 2012 Bishop’s Dinner for Scouting, Sept. 20, paid tribute to an auxiliary bishop, a police detective, a police inspector, a politician and local Scout leaders. Held at El Caribe, the dinner is an annual event sponsored by the Catholic Committee on Scouting in the Diocese of Brooklyn. The Bishop’s Good Scout Award recipients were: […]
Little Credence Given to To Jesus’ ‘Wife’ Papyrus
ROME (CNS) – Biblical scholars are putting little credence in the authenticity of a newly published text containing a reference to Jesus’ “wife.” But the tiny papyrus fragment, purportedly dating to the fourth century A.D., is being used to stir a debate about the Church’s attitudes toward marriage, sex and the role of women. The […]
Rochester Bishop Retires
Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop Matthew H. Clark, 75, of Rochester, and named Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, 69, of Syracuse, as apostolic administrator of the Rochester Diocese until a successor to Bishop Clark is named and installed. Bishop Clark celebrated 33 years as Rochester’s bishop and the 50th anniversary of his priestly […]
Largest Ever Number of Women to Advise Synod
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Choosing men and women from every part of the world and from a wide variety of professions, Pope Benedict XVI nominated 45 experts and 49 observers for the upcoming world assembly of bishops. The Oct. 7-28 gathering will include the largest bloc of women — 10 experts and 19 observers — […]
In Germany, If You Stop Paying Church Tax, Stop Receiving the Sacraments
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) – The German bishops’ conference defended a controversial decree that said Catholics who stop paying a church membership tax cannot receive sacraments. “There must be consequences for people who distance themselves from the church by a public act,” said Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg, conference president, in defending the Sept. 20 decree. […]