Pope Francis has invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to pray together at the Vatican for peace between their nations.
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Agenda for US Bishops’ Meeting
The U.S. bishops, meeting in New Orleans June 11-13, will discuss today’s economy and its impact on marriages and evangelization.
Bethlehem residents look forward to papal visit, despite inconveniences
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) — A long line of cars trailed down the road next to the Church of the Nativity as Franciscan Father Ibrahim Faltas helped coordinate the placement of the electricity generator for the May 25 papal Mass. “We are working night and day,” he said calmly May 23, as he worked to quickly free up the road while drivers waited patiently in their cars. “I think it will be very nice. The people here are happy.”
Pope’s Holy Land Visit Continues the Dialogue
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America welcomed the May 25 meeting between Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Jerusalem.
Cause of Archbishop Romero Is Proceeding
Pope Francis assured the bishops of El Salvador that the sainthood cause of slain Archbishop Oscar Romero was proceeding well, and the bishops asked him to come to El Salvador to preside personally over the archbishop’s hoped-for beatification.
Photo: Dialogue on Nuclear Weapons
The meeting was part of a dialogue between the U.S. bishops and Iranian Muslim leaders on nuclear weapons.
Pope Offers Some Frank Advice to Seminarians
Pope Francis told seminarians not to become “orphan priests,” who are motherless without Mary; “businessman priests,” who are after money; or “prince priests,” who are aloof from the people.
Heirs to Holiness
PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) – Phu Nguyen, a University of Portland sophomore, is descended from a saint. Phu’s great-great-great-grandfather died for abiding by his faith. The Vatican considers the torture endured by the renowned Vietnamese martyrs among the worst in the history of Christianity. St. Matthew Nguyen Van Phuong was born in Vietnam in 1801. After his parents died, he was raised by the local priest in Quang-Binh, in the central part of the Southeast Asian nation.
Harvard ‘Black Mass’ Is Called a Sacrilege
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (CNS) – A Harvard University student group’s plan to conduct a satanic ritual “black mass” May 12 on campus brought a public outcry, leading to its formal cancellation and an apparently impromptu off-campus version of the event, as well as a well-attended alternative Catholic holy hour. The planned event had drawn wide criticism from religious leaders as well as students, alumni and faculty at Harvard.
Nuns’ Group Responds To Cardinal’s Criticism
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The recent rebuke of the officers of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) by the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office should be viewed as one part of his entire remarks and one aspect of the group’s visits and ongoing dialogue with Vatican officials, according to a statement by LCWR officers.