Browse › 2014 › December

December 2014

December 6

Smoking gun? Pope Francis’ critics cite new book in questioning his papacy

December 6, 2014

NEW YORK - Was there a secret plot to elect Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio at the papal conclave last year? Did Bergoglio — who became Pope Francis at that conclave — give the go-ahead to such a plan? And does that campaign call his election, and his papacy, into question?

Religious freedom, Ukraine are priorities for European security

December 6, 2014

VATICAN CITY - A top Vatican official emphasized religious freedom worldwide and a peaceful solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine as urgent priorities for Europe's main security organization.

December 7

Catholics recall the winds of change brought by Mass in the vernacular

December 7, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS - The Second Vatican Council brought about renewal to many aspects of the life of the church. But for many Catholics, the most noticeable developments appeared 50 years ago. On Nov. 29, 1964, parts of the Mass began for the first time to be prayed in English, priests started facing the congregation, and the approach to liturgical music sounded a different note.

Toronto parish in tune with Pope on autism

December 7, 2014

TORONTO - If every Catholic is supposed to go to Mass on Sunday, Pope Francis wants every one of them to be well and truly welcomed when they get there — including the ones who randomly shout, rock back and forth in the pew, moan or unexpectedly laugh.

Atheist takes an intellectual journey to faith

December 7, 2014

Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It by Jennifer Fulwiler (Ignatius Press, hardcover, 248 pages, $25.95). When God answered Jennifer Fulwiler’s prayers, she was upset. It was just another confirmation for the former, self-proclaimed militant atheist that God does in fact exist.

December 8

Pope Francis calls for solidarity in creating a world without nuclear weapons

December 8, 2014

VIENNA - Pope Francis called on world leaders, activists and people of faith to pull together to rid the world of the threat of nuclear weapons.

English cardinal: Young Africans being seduced into modern slavery

December 8, 2014

MANCHESTER, England - Young Africans are being seduced into modern slavery by the promise of a dream that never comes true, an English cardinal told a conference on human trafficking.

Spend time in silence and service before Christmas, pope suggests

December 8, 2014

ROME - In the heart of Rome's high-end shopping district, sparkling with Christmas lights and shiny baubles in the windows of famous designers, Pope Francis prayed that people would spend time in silence and in service as they prepare to celebrate Jesus' birth.

Pope calls for more 'integration' of divorced Catholics, gays

December 8, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis said the Catholic Church must find new ways to integrate the divorced and civilly remarried in the life of the church and to make it easier for Catholic families to accept their homosexual members.

Is updated Band Aid charity song demeaning to Africans?

December 8, 2014

NAIROBI, Kenya - Some church leaders are criticizing a British musicians’ charity group raising funds for the West African Ebola crisis, saying its new single reinforces negative stereotypes of Africa.

As Hagupit slows, flooding becomes concern in Philippines

December 8, 2014

MANILA, Philippines - Tropical Storm Hagupit dumped heavy rain as it slunk its way to the Manila area Dec. 8, after passing across the northern half of the central Philippines at typhoon strength.

December 9

N.B. pro-lifers demand vote on abortion

December 9, 2014

Members of Right to Life New Brunswick are demanding a vote in the provincial legislature on the Liberal government’s plans to make it easier to procure an abortion in the province.

Rose of Durham expanding services

December 9, 2014

The Rose of Durham continues to bloom in new and different ways. What began in 1988 with parish-based pro-life activism to help young mothers through crisis pregnancies and the hardship of single motherhood is becoming a professional resource ready to help young mothers up to the age of 25.

Pope Francis speaks: 5 takeaways from another blockbuster interview

December 9, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Gay marriage was never on the agenda at the recent Synod of Bishops on the Family and the subject “did not cross our minds,” Pope Francis said in a new headline-grabbing interview.

Former Protestant loved stumping Catholics with Bible verses

December 9, 2014

OTTAWA - Catholic apologist Tim Staples used to love stumping Catholics with Bible verses in the days he was a Pentecostal, until he met a Catholic who stumped him.

Pope issues decrees in sainthood causes of eight women

December 9, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis recognized the miracles needed for the canonization of two Palestinian nuns and of a French woman who founded a religious order.

In Philippines, lessons from Haiyan helped lessen Hagupit's impact

December 9, 2014

MANILA, Philippines - Initial assessments by Catholic emergency responders showed significant damage to coastal areas of an island province in the east-central Philippines, where a powerful typhoon first made landfall Dec. 5, but Church officials said in some parts, chapels that were used as shelters held their own.

Vatican investigates two former bank managers in embezzlement case

December 9, 2014

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican City prosecutor has opened an investigation into possible embezzlement by two former top officials at the Institute for the Works of Religion, more commonly called the Vatican bank.

Cyberslums where online abusers prowl need pastoral care, say speakers

December 9, 2014

VATICAN CITY - A new kind of ghetto needs the church's presence and people's solidarity: the "digital slum" where cyberbullying and online pornography and abuse run rampant, said speakers at a Vatican news conference.

Vatican seeks input for 2015 Synod

December 9, 2014

To help set the agenda for the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the family, the Vatican is sending the world's Catholic bishops' conferences a list of questions on a range of topics, including matters of marriage and sexuality that proved especially controversial at the 2014 family Synod.