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July 23, 2013
AURORA, Colo. - One year after the Aurora theatre shooting, victims' families still ached for those lost.
July 24, 2013
BISMARCK, N.D. - A U.S. federal judge's temporary injunction stopping enforcement of a new North Dakota law barring abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected "is not surprising and is typical in most legal challenges to pro-life laws," said the North Dakota Catholic Conference.
RIO DE JANEIRO - The mosaic of hundreds of national flags waving in the cold wind on Copacabana beach was symbolic, as pilgrims from all backgrounds, driven by a single faith, participated in the opening Mass for World Youth Day.
Below is the homily of Pope Francis during Mass July 24 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida.
APARECIDA, Brazil - Comfortable in the presence of Mary and at a shrine that symbolizes one of his most important experiences as a member of the Latin American bishops' council, Pope Francis kicked off five days of intense activity with an act of devotion.
RIO DE JANEIRO - The cancellation of a scheduled Popemobile ride through a working-class neighborhood suggests that, despite official assurances, Pope Francis' chaotic entrance into the city July 22 may have raised concerns among those responsible for his safety during his first international trip as Pope.
UNITED NATIONS - The papal nuncio to the United Nations criticized the "persistent refusal" of Syria's warring factions to negotiate an end to the country's 28-month-long civil war.
OTTAWA - Conservative MP Joy Smith has called for Canada to follow Britain’s lead getting Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block pornography in order to protect children.
July 25, 2013
OTTAWA - The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has named Fr. Terrence J. Fournier its new director of the National Liturgy Office.
RIO DE JANEIRO - Pope Francis addressed a group of recovering drug addicts in a working-class neighborhood of Rio, offering them a message of compassion and hope as well as a call to self-determination.
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis is the most influential world leader on Twitter, with the highest number of retweets worldwide.
LONDON - The legalization of gay marriage cannot change Christian teaching on sexual morality, and the Catholic Church cannot accept marriages of same-sex couples, the bishops of England and Wales said in a document that was to be distributed in parishes July 27-28.
Pope Francis is the first pope from Latin America and he ensured South America was the destination for his first foreign trip. So it was no surprise that the Argentine Pope was welcomed to World Youth Day in Brazil by huge, adoring crowds who brought his motorcade to a standstill.
When my mother invited me on a bus tour of the English countryside, I was delighted. But I had a troubling thought: How would we get to Sunday Mass? It is a law of the Church that Catholics attend Mass on Sunday, so if I can, I do. Some may call this legalism. I call it Canon 1247.
It never fails to amaze me how much the secular media loves to take shots at the Church. Pope Francis offering indulgences — or opportunity for forgiveness of sins — to those following him on Twitter during World Youth Day festivities in Rio de Janeiro is the latest hit and gigglefest for the media.
I write just as Pope Francis has arrived in Rio, before any of the major events have taken place. Yet on his travelling day alone, one already sees the hallmarks of reporting on this pontificate — a focus on style over substance. The two things the world learned about the Holy Father’s departure and arrival was that he carried his own hand luggage on to the plane, and that his more informal motorcade in Rio got lost amid the joyous throngs. Interesting, but irrelevant to what Francis wants the world to hear about Jesus Christ. Pope Francis is a genuinely humble man of simple tastes, who desires that nothing get in the way of the proclamation of the Gospel. So it must bother him when his comportment draws even more attention to himself, especially when it involves implicit invidious comparisons to his predecessors...
The case of Mary Stachowicz has become a public issue once again, and thank God for it. She was murdered in 2002 by 19-year old co-worker Nicholas Guiterrez after urging him to abandon his homosexual lifestyle. In response the young man beat, stabbed and strangled the 51-year-old mother of four to death and stuffed her body in a bag which he hid in a crawl space in his apartment.
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis sent condolences to the archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, after a train crash left at least 80 dead and more than 100 injured.
RIO DE JANEIRO - The culminating events of World Youth Day have been moved from their planned location in Guaratiba, 30 miles outside the city, which three days of heavy rain has reduced to a field of mud. The new venue for a prayer vigil and final Mass, scheduled for July 27 and 28 respectively, will be the city's Copacabana beach.
July 26, 2013
RIO DE JANEIRO - Visiting one of this city's notorious "favelas," or slums, Pope Francis denounced corruption and a "culture of selfishness and individualism," and called for a "culture of solidarity" in pursuit of social justice.