HONG KONG (CNS) -- Some churches in China have suspended community activities, including Mass, over fears of the deadly coronavirus virus that has already killed six people and continues to spread, reported ucanews.org.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pro-life supporters are "deeply honored to welcome" President Donald Trump to the 47th annual March for Life Jan. 24 rally in person, said Jeanne Mancini, March for Life president, in a statement late Jan. 22.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia and has appointed Bishop Nelson J. Perez of Cleveland as his successor. Archbishop Chaput, who has headed the Philadelphia Archdiocese since 2011, turned 75 last September, the age at which canon law requires bishops to turn in their resignation to the pope. Archbishop Perez, 58, was installed as the 11th bishop of Cleveland Sept. 5, 2017.
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican announced that a suspension imposed on its financial oversight office by a prominent financial watchdog network has been lifted. In a statement released Jan. 23, Carmelo Barbagallo, head of the Vatican Financial Information Authority, said that Mariano Federici, president of the Egmont Group, "decided to revoke the decision taken on Nov. 13, 2019, to suspend the Financial Information Authority from the international information circuit, Egmont Secure Web."
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The controversy surrounding retired Pope Benedict XVI's contribution to a new book on priestly celibacy demonstrates just how much both substance and appearances matter. And, as far as substance goes, the book paid scant attention to the uninterrupted presence of married priests in all but two of the Eastern Catholic churches.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- During oral arguments Jan. 22 about the constitutionality of excluding religious schools from a scholarship aid program, a divided Supreme Court seemed like it might lean toward finding a way to allow religious schools to participate.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Showing hospitality makes a person a better human being and a better Christian and is an important part of promoting Christian unity, Pope Francis said. "Working together to live with ecumenical hospitality, particularly toward those whose lives are most vulnerable, will make us -- all Christians, Protestants, Orthodox, Catholics, all Christians -- better human beings, better disciples and a more united Christian people," the pope said Jan. 22 during his weekly general audience.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Archdiocese of New York has confirmed it has begun an investigation of an abuse claim against Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, New York, who was threatened with a lawsuit by an attorney in November, alleging the prelate had abused a child decades ago while serving as a priest in New Jersey.
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MINNEAPOLIS (CNS) -- Catholics may be surprised to learn that many U.S. bishops describe their lives as both all-consuming and satisfying, a priest-researcher said. "These are guys who generally get up very, very early in the morning, pray about two hours every day and work about 10 hours a day," Father Stephen Fichter, a research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate in Washington, which conducted the survey. "(They) just really do some interesting things and there are a lot of difficulties that they're dealing with all the time."
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Little Sisters of the Poor are once again going to the Supreme Court. The order of women religious who care for the elderly poor have been down this road before, twice defending their right to not comply with the government's health law requiring employers to provide contraceptive coverage in their health plans.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairmen of the U.S. bishops' religious liberty and Catholic education committees Jan. 20 praised the Trump administration for issuing guidance on prayer in public schools. The chairmen also welcome the administration's nine proposed rules to ensure the nation's faith-based service providers and organizations are not discriminated against by federal agencies' regulations or in their grant-making processes because of religion.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis told global business and government leaders that everyone has the moral responsibility to seek the integral development of all people, but especially those who are in need, suffering injustice or whose lives are threatened.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Sometimes the political choices people face can seem like a choice between supporting a "snake" or supporting a "dragon," but Pope Francis told a group of U.S. bishops their job is to step back from partisan politics and help their faithful discern based on values, said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis condemned the "barbaric resurgence" of anti-Semitism and criticized the selfish indifference that is creating the conditions for division, populism and hatred. "I will never tire of firmly condemning every form of anti-Semitism," the pope told a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles that combats hate and anti-Semitism around the world.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said he hoped that an international summit in Berlin would be the first step toward peace in war-torn Libya. "I very much hope that this summit, which is so important, will be the start of a path toward an end to violence and a negotiated solution leading to peace and the much-desired stability of the country," the pope told pilgrims Jan. 19 during his Sunday Angelus address.
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MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. (CNS) -- Alonna Mertz prayed in front of abortion clinics as a teenager in Michigan, driven by her well-formed, pro-life conviction. Then, in 2017 as a young adult, she went to such a clinic in Minneapolis for a different and unexpected reason: She was pregnant.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Strong opinions on both sides of the abortion debate are front and center in the paperwork currently filed with the Supreme Court for its upcoming abortion case. The case challenges a Louisiana law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The court also will examine a separate petition by the state that questions if the abortion providers have the legal standing to challenge the state law on behalf of their patients.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholics across the country are invited to take part in the 9 Days for Life is a novena for the protection of human life. Each day's intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- An icon of the encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus was chosen as the official logo for the worldwide celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God. The colorful logo is based on an icon written by the late-Benedictine Sister Marie-Paul Farran, a member of the Our Lady of Calvary Congregation, who lived and worked at its monastery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
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BRAINTREE -- With seven months left in the current legislative session, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference is once again asking Catholic voters to voice their opposition to proposed legislation that would expand access to abortion in the commonwealth.
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MARLBOROUGH -- The community of Immaculate Conception Parish gathered on Jan. 11 for a trilingual Mass during which Cardinal Seán O'Malley blessed the reopening of the upper church and officially installed Father Steven Clemence as the pastor.
Read moreBOSTON -- A Massachusetts superior court has ruled that the Commonwealth's laws and constitution do not guarantee a right to physician-assisted suicide, though physicians may provide advice and information about it to their patients.
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BOSTON -- Boston College will hold a screening next week of "Revolution of the Heart: The Dorothy Day Story," a new documentary by Martin Doblmeier and Journey Films. "Revolution of the Heart" is the latest installment in "Prophetic Voices," Doblmeier's series of documentaries about American religious figures of the 20th century.
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On Thursday, I had dinner with Father Antonio Nardoianni from St. Leonard's Parish in the North End, who announced in December that he would be leaving St. Leonard's and will move on to minister in Canada.
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