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November 2016

November 25

Advent workshop targets a youthful audience

November 25, 2016

Celebrating Advent doesn’t have to just be about Advent calendar chocolates and writing letters to Santa Claus.

Homily: Eternal damnation is not a torture chamber but distance from God

November 25, 2016

Pope Francis said eternal damnation is not a torture chamber but distance from God and warned Christians never to converse with the devil, calling him a seducer who ruins lives. His words came during his Mass celebrated on Friday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.

Why next U.S. House minority leader will be a pro-abortion Catholic

November 25, 2016

WASHINGTON – When the Democratic Party makes its decisions about leadership at the end of the month, the House Minority Leader will be a self-proclaimed “pro-choice Catholic.”

Path to God lies in applying spiritual ideals

November 25, 2016

2nd Sunday of Advent Dec. 4 (Year A) Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12

Drugs a 'new form of slavery', says Pope at Vatican workshop

November 25, 2016

VATICAN CITY – Drug addiction is a contemporary form of slavery, Pope Francis lamented Thursday, emphasizing that a rehabilitation which restores victims' joy and dignity is much needed.

Shroud of Turin replica caught in bylaw battle

November 25, 2016

TORONTO – It takes faith to thumb your nose at city hall, and Reg Hartt has plenty.

There is light within dark nights of the soul

November 25, 2016

Atheism is a parasite that feeds on bad religion. That’s why, in the end, atheistic critics are our friends. They hold our feet to the fire.

Parish thankful after natural gas explosion damaged church and other buildings

November 25, 2016

CANTON, Ill. – A deadly natural gas explosion that rocked the downtown square of Canton Nov. 16 also temporarily knocked the faith community of St. Mary Parish out of their damaged church, located just a block east of the blast site.

One dead in attack on retired missionaries' home in France

November 25, 2016

MONTPELLIER, FRANCE – An attack at a French retirement home for missionaries to Africa late on Thursday has left dead one caregiver. The residents have been evacuated and are now safe, but the perpetrator is still at large.

Indigenous couple live a life of reconciliation

November 25, 2016

OTTAWA – Reconciliation between the Catholic Church and indigenous peoples has been a lifetime journey for Harry and Germaine Lafond.

November 26

Iconography classes draw non-Orthodox in search of spiritual images

November 26, 2016

WASHINGTON – Anna Schalk finds herself weeping each time she enters an Orthodox church and gazes at the flat, colorful icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

Indian church looks to sainthood for murdered nun

November 26, 2016

BHOPAL, India – The grave of a nun murdered in central India 21 years ago has been exhumed as part of a process that may eventually lead to her canonization.

In South Africa, stigma still keeps HIV patients from seeking treatment

November 26, 2016

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Each week, 2,000 women ages 15-24 are infected with HIV in South Africa.

Recent polls point to Canadians demanding better palliative care

November 26, 2016

If there’s anything that unites Canadians, it’s their overwhelming support for something very few of us have.

November 27

Welcome to the club: Cardinal-elders talk about Pope's 80th birthday

November 27, 2016

VATICAN CITY – Three years ago Pope Francis described retired Pope Benedict XVI as being like a wise grandfather, although there is less than 10 years' difference in their ages; today, Pope Francis tends to include himself in the category of grandfatherly figures.

What do you say to a homeless person? Advice from Catholic urban missionaries

November 27, 2016

DENVER – It’s a common sight at a city intersection. A man or a woman holds a cardboard sign: “Homeless, Hungry. Please Give. Anything Helps.”

Cardinals called 'disloyal' after dubia request goes unanswered

November 27, 2016

There is little tradition of cardinals correcting popes on matters of Catholic Church teaching. But citing tradition, canon law and dogma, Cardinal Raymond Burke has reached back almost 700 years and threatened to initiate a “formal act of correction” if Pope Francis refuses to answer five questions launched by Burke and three other cardinals.

November 28

Homily: To meet Jesus, we must go on the journey

November 28, 2016

The Christian faith is not a theory or a philosophy – it is the encounter with Jesus. That was the message of Pope Francis at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta at the beginning of Advent. The Pope emphasized that in order to truly encounter Jesus we undertake the journey with three attitudes: vigilant in prayer, industrious in charity, exultant in praise.

Pope's Advent advice: Don't be dominated by material things

November 28, 2016

VATICAN CITY – The season of Advent is a reminder to us to open our horizons and have concern for more than just material things, the Pope said Sunday during his Angelus address.

Father Kolvenbach, former Jesuit superior, dies in Beirut

November 28, 2016

ROME – Jesuit Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, whose service as superior general of the Society of Jesus marked a return to normal governance after a period of tension with the Vatican, died in Beirut Nov. 26, four days before his 88th birthday.