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March 2018

March 13

Vatican official urges support for Mideast Christians on Good Friday

March 13, 2018

VATICAN – Christians in the Middle East, particularly those who have been forced from their homes by violence and persecution, need the support of the Catholic Church, a Vatican official said.

Nun involved with Katy Perry real estate dispute dies in court

March 13, 2018

LOS ANGELES – Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, 89, was one of five remaining members of her religious community, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Angeles.

Faith groups rally support to remove attestation for summer jobs program

March 13, 2018

OTTAWA – Faith groups have stepped up their efforts to rally their members and urge MPs to support a Conservative motion that calls for removal of the attestation requirement for the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program.

Salvation of souls the primary purpose of pastoral care, Doctrine of Faith prefect says

March 13, 2018

VATICAN – Promoting and defending Catholic teaching is itself a pastoral practice, said Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Cardinal Sarah delivers a quiet message at St. Michael's Cathedral

March 13, 2018

One of the Church’s most outspoken leaders urged a rapt audience in St. Michael’s Cathedral to embrace silence and be alert to the danger of filling their days with constant news and distraction.

Cardinal Muller: Overturning Humanae Vitae's teaching a 'crime against the Church'

March 13, 2018

VATICAN – Speaking at a presentation of a book on Humanae Vitae, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, stressed Wednesday that attempts to change the Church’s teaching are “a crime against the Church.”

March 14

Hindu extremists demolish wall of Catholic hospital in central India

March 14, 2018

BHOPAL, India (CNS) -- Suspected Hindu extremists demolished the wall of a Catholic mission hospital and manhandled staff, including nuns, in the latest incident in Madhya Pradesh state, considered a hotbed of anti-Christian violence in central India.

Pope Francis: How many people go beyond the mindless recitation of the Lord's Prayer?

March 14, 2018

VATICAN – Forgiving those who have caused pain or offense is not easy, Pope Francis said.

Church leaders praise Hawking for contribution to science, dialogue

March 14, 2018

VATICAN – Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who said he did not believe in God, was still an esteemed member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and fostered a fruitful dialogue between science and faith.

Argentine Church to release baptismal records from dictatorship period

March 14, 2018

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The Argentine Bishops' Conference will release to the justice system, in accordance with Pope Francis' wishes, dozens of baptismal records from the country’s dictatorship period.

Vatican office altered photo of Benedict's letter on Francis's theology

March 14, 2018

VATICAN – A Vatican office has acknowledged blurring portions of a letter written by Benedict XVI regarding Pope Francis' philosophical and theological formation, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

March 15

Vatican invites youth to participate in pre-synod meeting via Facebook

March 15, 2018

VATICAN – As the pre-synod gathering on youth approaches, Vatican organizers are inviting young people around the globe to join in the discussion through Facebook groups in six different languages.

U.S. Catholic schools take prayerful approach to National School Walkout over guns

March 15, 2018

DENVER, Colo. – On Wednesday, thousands of students throughout the United States walked out of classrooms as part of National School Walkout, a demonstration calling for safer schools and increased gun control, in the wake of the February high school shooting that left 17 Florida students dead.

Human trafficking called 'one of darkest, most revolting realities' today

March 15, 2018

UNITED NATIONS – Mely Lenario quietly described her harrowing journey from ambitious, naive rural girl trafficked to hopeless, drug-fueled urban prostitute, through slow rehabilitation to a new life as an outreach worker.

Trump looks at prototypes for border wall that bishop calls 'grotesque'

March 15, 2018

WASHINGTON – On the day that marked the fifth anniversary of the election of a pope who has called on others to "build bridges, not walls," the president of the United States toured Southern California to look at prototypes for a wall he promised to build on the border with Mexico.

Priest who served Venezuelan immigrants murdered in Colombia

March 15, 2018

BROOKYLN, N.Y. – A priest who served a number of parishes in Brooklyn and moved back to Colombia four years ago to retire was brutally murdered there March 10.

Blurred lines: Vatican manipulation of photo becomes the story

March 15, 2018

WASHINGTON – What was meant to be an intellectual tribute to Pope Francis has instead become the backdrop to the latest tempest over transparency and this pontificate.

Editorial: Hare-brained rule

March 15, 2018

It is a frightening world when those with power assume they can dictate to those without how they must think and what they must say.

Peter Stockland: There is nothing silly about this bunny tale

March 15, 2018

Something’s topsy-turvy when a Canadian Christian couple must go to court to clear their names because they refused to lie on the State’s orders.

'Easter bunny' ruling is fuel for religious freedom fight

March 15, 2018

OTTAWA – A court ruling that has upheld the rights of religious freedom and expression in the so-called Easter Bunny case seems to support those who will to take the federal government to court over the controversial Canada Summer Jobs application, said lawyer John Carpay.