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December 23, 2014
BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Coming to Bethlehem during Christmas is like a family reunion for Afif Hazboun.
HONG KONG - Hong Kong Christian leaders urged reconciliation in their Christmas messages, issued within a week of the end of a 79-day protest.
NEW DELHI - Sri Lankan church officials confirmed that Pope Francis' January trip to the country is on schedule, despite calls by Catholic clergy and organizations to postpone the visit because it is being politicized as the country prepares for a presidential election.
I remember this scene from childhood. A couple of days before Christmas I came back home from delivering papers, and was surprised to see my mother standing in the snow-packed driveway, bundled up against non-stop snowflakes and the December chill.
The great adventure continues with amazing sights under the Northern Lights in the Christmas season. My own adventures and travels are too many to put into one short Christmas letter. However, I will share a dog rescue story as the Christmas story has some four-legged creatures, too. There were cattle lowing, donkeys braying and probably a dog or two at the first Christmas in the manger of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born of Mary.
Editor's note: for nearly 50 years the late Msgr. Thomas Raby penned his The Little World of Fr. Raby column for The Catholic Register. The following, Christmas lights in September, is a Msgr. Raby classic, along with one of the Christmas poems he wrote annually.
The candy cane has been a Christmas treat and tradition for so long that no one is completely sure of its origin. In lieu of a history as solid as the hard candy itself, myths and legends have popped up in its place, including a tale that ties every aspect of its existence to Christianity.
In Pope Benedict’s 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate, he wrote, “It is good for people to realize that purchasing is always a moral — and not simply economic — act. Hence the consumer has a specific social responsibility, which goes hand-in-hand with the social responsibility of the enterprise.”
December 24, 2014
NEW YORK - Positive values permeate the inspirational fact-based drama "Unbroken" (Universal). Despite its admirable qualities, however, the film also represents something of a missed opportunity.
December 26, 2014
TORONTO - Having their views heard on a world stage has made students from a Toronto Catholic high school realize their voice on climate change does matter.
When it comes to celebrating New Year’s, going to Mass is often the last thing on peoples’ minds. I always wondered why Jan. 1 is a day of obligation, requiring Catholics to attend Mass at the start of the year.
VATICAN CITY - The crying of Baby Jesus is not the only cry people should hear on Christmas; many children around the world are crying because of war, maltreatment and abuse, Pope Francis said.
VATICAN CITY - The day after Christmas, Pope Francis warned Catholics about two related temptations: giving Christmas a "false, sugary coating" and not putting the faith one professes into action.
JERUSALEM - Jesus' message of love and peace resonates among Palestinians seeking justice, said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his Christmas message.
December 27, 2014
SED EL BOUSHRIEH, Lebanon - Aramaic, Syriac and different Arabic dialects from Iraq and eastern Syria can be heard on the narrow hilly streets of Sed El Boushrieh. Strings of Christmas lights adorn neighborhood churches and hang from balconies of apartments, whose residents many never return to their own homes in Iraq and Syria.
MEXICO CITY - A Catholic priest was kidnapped from a seminary and found murdered in Guerrero, the same state in southern Mexico where 43 students were kidnapped and probably killed in September.
BEIRUT - Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East lamented the suffering of their people in violence-wracked areas and offered words of hope while calling for prayers for their safety.
December 29, 2014
VATICAN CITY - Exactly 31 years after St. John Paul II personally forgave him for shooting and trying to assassinate him, Mehmet Ali Agca returned to the Vatican with a bunch of white roses and laid them at the late pope's tomb.
VATICAN CITY - Becoming a mother or father is a gift from God, but women and men have a duty to embrace that gift and be astonished by its beauty, Pope Francis said.
December 30, 2014
VATICAN CITY - In addition to its annual report on church workers murdered during the year, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples highlighted the sacrifice of pastoral workers who died of Ebola contracted while caring for others and reminded Catholics that the fates of five kidnapped priests remain unknown.