by Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis ditched a 1,250-word prepared speech to students saying it would be “a tad boring” to read out loud and opted instead to quickly hit the high points and spend the rest of the time answering questions. “Would you like that?” he asked as some 9,000 students, […]
by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Unlike many of his predecessors since the early 1600s, Pope Francis has decided not to spend the summer at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo although he will observe a reduced schedule in July and August. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters that Pope Francis has […]
by Betty Ellen Walter ANNANDALE, Va. (CNS) – Veronica “Ronnie” Royal of Virginia has been an iconographer since 1998, working diligently to hone her craft and encourage the use of icons in contemplation and prayer. Born in Nancy, France, she was raised in the Ukrainian Catholic Church by her Russian mother and Ukranian father. Icons […]
Fourteen students from Sacred Heart School, Bayside, competed in the local History Day Competition, and half of them made it to the state finals. Each year, more than half a million students participate in National History Day by choosing a historical topic and conducting a research presentation. This presentation is not simply a few […]
PHILADELPHIA (CNS) – Twenty-four parishes will merge into 10 as a result of the latest wave of parish consolidations in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s parish planning initiative. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput accepted the recommendations for the mergers from the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee. The mergers, in which the parishes will form new, consolidated parishes with […]
by Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) – Don’t look now, but Dolores Hart is about to become a star again, 50 years after her last movie. Hart – that’s Mother Dolores, the prioress of a Benedictine women’s monastery in Bethlehem, Conn. – has just had her memoir published a year after a documentary featuring her life […]
by Tanya Connor WORCESTER, Mass. (CNS) – The Catholic Church has led the way in addressing the sexual abuse of minors, said the new chairman of the National Review Board. Francesco C. Cesareo, president of Assumption College in Worcester and a member of the review board for one year, succeeded Al Notzon III as board […]
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio addressed the proposed changes in the state’s abortion law in a statement that was read at all Masses on the weekend of June 8-9. In the statement, the bishop said: “Women in our state have a right to expect equal treatment under the law. They have a right to employment that respects […]
A former high school teacher at two Queens Catholic schools has been ordained a Jesuit priest. Father James T. Donovan, who taught at Christ the King R.H.S., Middle Village, and St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, is one of 16 Jesuit priests ordained this month in the U.S. He was ordained at Fordham University, the Bronx, […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Catholic laity have an obligation to root out traces of xenophobia in their hearts and recognize refugees as their brothers and sisters – children of God whose dignity must be protected, said a new Vatican document. “Welcoming Christ in Refugees and Forcibly Displaced Persons,” a document of pastoral guidelines for providing […]
