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July 21, 2014
VATICAN CITY - It began with the murder of an innocent three-year-old boy who burned to death in his grandfather’s car in a Mafia ambush in January. Pope Francis was so shaken by the death of Nicola “Coco” Campolongo that he spoke out against the ferocity of the crime and those behind it.
July 22, 2014
OTTAWA - Living With Dignity and the Physicians’ Alliance Against Euthanasia have launched a lawsuit challenging Quebec’s euthanasia law.
OTTAWA - Pope Francis’ friend Bishop Tony Palmer of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (CEEC) died in England July 20 after his motorcycle collided with another vehicle.
JUTICALPA, Honduras - Franciscan Father Alberto Gauci's field of dreams unfolds in a remote corner of Central America, far from the limelight of the recently concluded World Cup. His soccer stadium sports a full-size pitch, floodlights for night games and covered seating for 20,000 screaming fans. There's even a parking lot.
VATICAN CITY - Going by the pseudonym "X," Pope Leo XIII anonymously crafted poetic puzzles in Latin for a Roman periodical at the turn of the 19th century.
July 23, 2014
Christians in Sudan frequently face arrests, impromptu questioning and expulsion. But this month, conditions worsened after the government announced a ban on the construction of new churches.
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican representative to the UN Human Rights Council urged the Israeli military and fighters in the Gaza Strip to stop targeting civilian areas.
VATICAN CITY - Backed up by death threats and property seizures, the expulsion of the entire Christian community from Mosul is "a crime against humanity," said an archbishop from Mosul.
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement July 22 denouncing the persecution of Iraqi Christians.
July 24, 2014
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Aug. 3 (Isaiah 55:1-3; Psalm 145; Romans 8:35, 37-39; Matthew 14:13-21) Remember when pillows and blankets on airplanes were free and there was no charge for baggage? Those days are gone forever, and increasingly every dimension of daily life has charges and costs tied to them.
JERUSALEM - With most international airlines cancelling their flights into Israel's Ben Gurion airport after several Hamas missiles were launched toward the area July 22, Anton Mousallam has only three words on his mind: cancellation, cancellation, cancellation.
VATICAN CITY - Meeting a Sudanese woman who risked execution for not renouncing her Catholic faith, Pope Francis thanked Meriam Ibrahim for her steadfast witness to Christ.
JERUSALEM - Two priests on either side of the Gaza border are trying to help their small communities confront the realities of war.
I’ve reported from war zones, covered some awful stories, seen things I wish I hadn’t, so I’ve never considered myself unworldly. But what I have experienced in the past few weeks has genuinely shocked me.
July 25, 2014
TORONTO - A new grassroots initiative is reminding young women in the Archdiocese of Toronto that they are made for more than settling with the wrong man.
VATICAN CITY - Church law has procedures and penalties for effectively dealing with allegations of clerical sexual abuse, but the Vatican is working to revise a section of the Code of Canon Law to make those norms and procedures clearer and, therefore, more effective, said the president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.
When a friend broke up with her long-time boyfriend, I asked her what she would do next. She replied, “I need to take some alone time and figure myself out.” An admirable thing to do, especially right after breaking up with the boyfriend.
WASHINGTON - The college experience — and the Catholic college experience, especially — can influence a young man’s decision toward considering a priestly vocation, according to a study issued in early July by Boston College.
Half a world away from Europe, where the First World War erupted 100 years ago July 28, Washington National Cathedral will mark the occasion with a liturgy created especially for the anniversary.
July 26, 2014
NOGALES, Ariz. - A shirtsleeve waved from the top of the border fence like a signal flag.