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August 2015

August 1

At 20, Radio Maria undergoes a facelift

August 1, 2015

TORONTO - Fr. Augusto Menichelli was saying Mass at Toronto’s St. Charles Church last year when he noticed two new faces in the pews. Later, the two men introduced themselves and set Menichelli’s life on a new course.

Videos on value of fetal tissue prompt renewed call to pro-life awareness

August 1, 2015

OXNARD, Calif. - It is uncertain that a California pro-life group's ongoing series of undercover videos that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the illegal marketing and sale of fetal tissue will lead to defunding for the nation's leading provider of abortion services.

August 2

Papal parenting guide: Francis delivers his own how-to for families

August 2, 2015

Pope Francis knows the family is made up of real people living in the real world, which is why he often gives down-to-earth advice.

Synod’s task is to open hearts to Church views on family

August 2, 2015

Pope Francis is asking for prayers and hoping for miracles ahead of this October’s Synod on the Family.

August 3

Don’t be afraid or ashamed to go to confession, Pope says

August 3, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Trusting in God's infinite mercy, people should not be afraid or embarrassed to go to confession, Pope Francis said. "There are people who are afraid to go to confession, forgetting that they will not encounter a severe judge there, but the immensely merciful Father," Pope Francis told thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square Aug. 2 for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer.

Polish bishop suggests World Youth Day 2016 should be 'open to all'

August 3, 2015

WARSAW, Poland - The Polish bishop overseeing preparations for World Youth Day 2016 has urged priests to ensure that no young people are excluded because of poverty.

Serra canonization should be call to respect cultures, superior says

August 3, 2015

ROME - The canonization of Blessed Junipero Serra honours a famous missionary who was motivated by love of God, but it also is a call to recognize how the process of evangelization must respect peoples and their cultures, said the head of the Franciscan order.

New study shows link between TV viewing and Alzheimer's

August 3, 2015

WASHINGTON - As if it couldn't get worse for the television industry. Younger people are leaving TV for other modes of visual entertainment -- the computer and the smartphone, for example. This makes TV viewing more and more the province of older Americans, who have been watching the boob tube ever since the kids of the baby-boom generation welcomed the first TV set their parents brought into the house.

August 4

Pro-life groups condemn Health Canada abortion drug approval

August 4, 2015

OTTAWA - Pro-life groups and at least one pro-life Member of Parliament have condemned Health Canada’s July 29 approval of abortion drug RU-486 or mifepristone.

Pope Francis shuns summer palace again; locals say town losing tourism

August 4, 2015

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy - Pope Francis is shunning the expansive papal summer palace in Castel Gandolfo for the third time since 2013, a choice that is causing frustration among locals who rely on the tourists a papal visit brings.

Judge sides with L.A. archbishop on contested convent sale, Katy Perry’s offer in limbo

August 4, 2015

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County Superior Court James Chalfant ruled July 30 that the contested sale of the former convent of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to restaurateur and urban developer Dana Hollister is invalid. At the time of the unauthorized transaction, the archdiocese had already accepted an alternate offer from pop star Katy Perry, supported by three of the five sisters.

U.S. cardinal urges senators to back measure to defund Planned Parenthood

August 4, 2015

WASHINGTON - The head of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee Aug. 3 urged U.S. senators to take the federal money that goes to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and instead fund women's health care providers that do not promote abortion.

Ambassador expects Pope to challenge Americans to live nation’s ideals

August 4, 2015

VATICAN CITY - The U.S. ambassador to the Holy See believes Pope Francis is not traveling to the United States in September to scold anyone, but to challenge the country's people to live up to their ideals.

August 5

First Chinese bishop ordained publicly since 2012

August 5, 2015

HONG KONG - When Fr. Joseph Zhang Yinlin was ordained coadjutor bishop of Anyang Diocese, he became the first publicly ordained Chinese bishop in three years and the first since the Vatican and China restarted its dialogue in June 2014.

After small explosion, New Mexico bishop urges 'increased vigilance' at parishes

August 5, 2015

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces has asked pastors, deacons and parish leaders in the diocese "to exercise increased vigilance in our parish surroundings and activities."

Church must welcome divorced, remarried Catholics, Pope says

August 5, 2015

Speaking out on one of the most contentious issues of his papacy, Pope Francis issued a powerful call for the Church to embrace Catholics who have divorced and remarried, telling a gathering at the Vatican Aug. 5 that such couples “are not excommunicated, and they absolutely must not be treated that way.”

August 6

Margaret taught us to give

August 6, 2015

The richness of a gentle August day was all round. A drive in the countryside featured lush fields ready or almost ready for harvest, with merry little breezes riffling through. Such a day will always make me think of Margaret O’Gara, for I heard the news of her Aug. 16 death during that country drive in 2012.

Healing through positive growth in our hearts

August 6, 2015

All of us live with some wounds, bad habits, addictions and temperamental flaws that are so deeply engrained and long-standing that it seems like they are part of our genetic make-up. And so we tend to give into a certain quiet despair in terms of ever being healed of them.

Knights of Columbus convention opens with 'Life and Liberty' as theme

August 6, 2015

PHILADELPHIA - Approximately 2,000 members of the Knights of Columbus from around the country and abroad gathered Aug. 4 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia to open the Catholic fraternal organization's 133rd Supreme Convention.

Pope condemns world's silence on Iraqi refugees

August 6, 2015

VATICAN CITY - The world continues to be silent in the face of widespread persecution of Christians and other religious minorities, Pope Francis said.