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February 1, 2015
For most people marriage, a family — hearth and home — are the keys to a meaningful, successful life. But what if you can’t afford it? What if our economy, our society, is increasingly reserving marriage for a privileged few? What if the gap between rich and poor includes a marriage gap?
PARK CITY, Utah - Publishers discovered a long time ago that Jesus sells magazines, so it should be no surprise that one of the hottest tickets here at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival was the premiere of “Last Days in the Desert,” directed by Rodrigo Garcia and starring Ewan McGregor as both Jesus and Satan.
Moira McQueen, mother of eight and moral theologian, thought Pope Francis’ off-the-cuff remark about Catholics reproducing like rabbits was hilarious.
February 2, 2015
VATICAN CITY - In an effort to help bolster a minority Catholic population and encourage dialogue and friendship among once-warring ethnic and religious communities, Pope Francis announced he would be visiting Bosnia-Herzegovina.
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican will offer homeless people in Rome not only showers but also haircuts and shaves when new facilities open next month, the head of Pope Francis’ charity office said.
MANILA, Philippines - The recent announcement of this year's working plans of the Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs has driven a young priest from northern China to call church leaders to work for dialogue and reconciliation among Catholics in his country.
HONG KONG - Bishop Cosmas Shi Enxiang of Yixian, 94, a member of the so-called underground Catholic Church who has not been seen since his arrest in 2001, has died, a relative said.
LAGOS, Nigeria - The retired archbishop of Lagos called on candidates in Nigeria's Feb. 14 elections to focus on issues of importance to voters rather than on character assassination and smear tactics.
WASHINGTON - If you think somebody's famous because they've written scads of books on spirituality, traveled the world speaking about God's love, and have 150,000 people on a daily email list for meditations, then brace yourself for when that person sits down for a televised face-to-face interview with Oprah Winfrey.
SAN FRANCISCO - California legislators have introduced assisted suicide legislation modeled on Oregon's assisted suicide law, energized by the heartbreaking story of Brittany Maynard, a young woman with brain cancer, who moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon to end her own life Nov. 1.
February 3, 2015
VATICAN CITY - After decades of debate within the Church, Pope Francis formally recognized that Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed "in hatred of the faith" and not for purely political reasons.
LONDON, ONT. - A Polish-born Michaelite Father has been named auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of London.
CANTERBURY, England - Members of Parliament voted Tuesday (Feb. 3) to allow the creation of human embryos from the DNA of three people to try to eradicate a type of genetic disease that has caused the deaths of thousands of babies.
VATICAN CITY - Bringing the light of hope to ending human trafficking means confronting the brutal "darkness" of evil that is driving those who exploit others, said a number of women religious helping victims.
February 4, 2015
MEXICO CITY - Bishops from Mexico's southernmost dioceses issued a statement calling for Catholics to stop acting indifferently toward the difficulties faced by undocumented migrants, who continue abandoning Central America and taking dangerous trips through Mexico in their attempts at reaching the United States.
WASHINGTON - What the president of The Catholic University of America called a "three-continent endeavour" has resulted in an agreement by the university in Washington and the Australian Catholic University to share a campus in Rome.
VATICAN CITY - The only word worthy of being heard in the throes of war is "peace," and there is nothing more scandalous than a nation made up of Christians engaged in conflict, Pope Francis said.
AMMAN, Jordan - Christian churches in Jordan condemned the Islamic State militants' killing of First Lt. Muath al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot who had been held in captivity by the jihadist group.
OTTAWA - Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast warned a proposed Ontario sexual education curriculum could threaten parental rights and force “immoral” teachings on Catholic school children.
January 31, 2015
The news cycle is like a popularity contest — and Pope Francis is winning.