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October 2015

October 9

Synod needs to stress importance of fathers

October 9, 2015

OTTAWA - A popular American psychologist and author told an Ottawa audience he hopes bishops attending this month’s Synod on the Family in Rome will address the importance of strong fathers in the family.

It is the humble servant who is the true disciple

October 9, 2015

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Oct. 18 (Isaiah 53:10-11; Psalm 33; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45) Suffering is bad; it is to be feared and avoided at all costs. This is the heartfelt attitude of most people. Even though this is understandable, it is incomplete. To be sure, needless suffering should be alleviated or avoided. Masochistic self-indulgence has no place in a healthy spirituality. But there is a sort of suffering that has value, and that is suffering borne freely and willingly for the sake of others.

Pope, synod join in prayers for peace in Middle East

October 9, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Gathered with a worldwide representation of bishops, including patriarchs and other bishops from the Middle East, Pope Francis dedicated the morning prayer of the Synod of Bishops on the family to pleas for peace in the Middle East.

Syrian archbishops support Russian military intervention in civil war

October 9, 2015

MANCHESTER, England - A Syrian archbishop sees “a source of hope” in Russian airstrikes against rebel groups in their country.

October 10

Faith overcomes doubt in moment of trial

October 10, 2015

“Where there is doubt, faith.”

Good News drenched in Precious Blood

October 10, 2015

If you’re going to preach in the modern world you need powerful language. The Missionaries of the Precious Blood have had that power incorporated into their very name for the last 200 years. From “blood brothers” to “Bloody Sunday,” “the blood of the Lamb” to “blood libel,” the 600 priests and brothers who call themselves Precious Bloods have the most arresting imagery in the entire story of human salvation as their calling card.

A funny thing happened in that Joke with the Pope contest …

October 10, 2015

The Joke with the Pope contest is over and the winner is … a rabbi.

Bringing light, peace through creativity

October 10, 2015

TORONTO - Sr. Helen Kluke doesn’t believe in mistakes, only in new creations.

Devoted to Christ through education

October 10, 2015

EDMONTON - When Sr. Madeleine Prince was growing up in the hamlet of Delmas, Sask., the word “providence” came up often.

October 11

A heart that leapt, providence leads sister to her vocation

October 11, 2015

EDMONTON - When Mary Truong first met the Sisters of Providence, her heart leapt.

Called from the wild to serve

October 11, 2015

Eagle River, Alaska, is a wilderness paradise with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains and clear rivers. In the 1970s it was a remote town where the closest grocery store was an hour’s drive on a partially paved road. It was the ideal location to inspire a young woman to pursue a career in wildlife biology.

In praise of religious women

October 11, 2015

TORONTO - During his visit last month to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Pope Francis described women religious as “women of strength” who work on the “frontlines in the proclamation of the Gospel.”

Mission program teaches what it’s like to serve

October 11, 2015

TORONTO - Giving up the luxuries of North America last year to do mission work in Guyana proved to be a life-giving experience for Ashley Aperocho.

October 12

Take a positive approach to families, synod members say

October 12, 2015

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The first week of the Synod of Bishops on the family ended with near unanimous calls to be more positive in describing family life today and to show more appreciation for Catholic families living close to the church's ideals. But there were also widespread questions among synod participants about the work they are expected to produce.

Synod surprises: Universal compassion, inaccurate coverage, couples say

October 12, 2015

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Two couples attending the Synod of Bishops on the family said what surprised them most about their first synod in Rome was reading inaccurate media coverage of the closed-door proceedings, the diversity of problems families face around the world and the synod fathers' great concern and compassion for the family.

October 13

Citing new rules, India's Missionaries of Charity to end adoption work

October 13, 2015

CALCUTTA, India - The Missionaries of Charity will close their adoption centres in India, citing new regulations that would allow non-traditional families to adopt children, reported ucanews.com.

Vatican inaugurates new homeless shelter for men

October 13, 2015

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican opened the “Gift of Mercy,” a shelter for homeless men, just a few hundred metres away from St. Peter’s Square.

Cardinals’ secret letter to Francis warns of plot to rig reforms

October 13, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Tensions already roiling a high-level Vatican summit spilled into the open Oct. 12 with the publication of a letter allegedly sent to Pope Francis from 13 conservative cardinals warning of plots by progressives to hijack the proceedings.

Canadian bishop says 'Nostra Aetate' can help achieve peace, justice

October 13, 2015

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Second Vatican Council's declaration on the church's relations with non-Christian religions is helping Catholics to build a world of peace, said the chairman of the Canadian bishops' committee on interfaith relations.

October 14

NJ archbishop sets rules for barring Catholics from Communion

October 14, 2015

ROME - Even as Pope Francis and Catholic leaders from around the world debate ways to make the Catholic Church more inclusive, Newark Archbishop John Myers has given his priests strict guidelines on refusing Communion to Catholics who, for example, support gay marriage or whose own marriage is not valid in the eyes of the church.