Browse › 2018 › April

April 2018

April 4

China official: Vatican can't fully control naming bishops

April 4, 2018

BEIJING – In a rare move, a top Chinese official answered journalists' questions about a new white paper on religious freedom and the ongoing talks between his government and the Vatican.

April 5

Youth poverty intensifies inequality, study warns

April 5, 2018

WARSAW, Poland – Growing poverty among young people across Europe is impeding access to fundamental rights and intensifying feelings of injustice and hopelessness, a new report warns.

Pope's exhortation on holiness to be released April 9

April 5, 2018

VATICAN – "Rejoice and Be Glad," Pope Francis' new apostolic exhortation on "the call to holiness in the modern world" will be released April 9, the Vatican announced.

Speaking Out: Vietnamese Archbishop Paul Đọc Văn Bùi lived the Gospel

April 5, 2018

I was shocked when I learned of the death of Vietnamese Archbishop Paul Đọc Văn Bùi of Ho Chi Minh City.

Pope prays for parents, toddler who risks losing life-support

April 5, 2018

VATICAN – Pope Francis asked that all efforts be made to accompany a seriously ill toddler in Great Britain whose parents are fighting a legal battle to keep him on life-support.

Mexican diocese apologizes for failing to stop abusive priest

April 5, 2018

MEXICO CITY – A Mexican diocese has apologized and asked for forgiveness for failing to stop a priest from sexually abusing Catholic school children. At the time, the priest had been banned from his priestly duties in a neighboring archdiocese.

Pope blesses statue of 10th-century Armenian saint in Vatican Gardens

April 5, 2018

VATICAN – During a brief ceremony in the Vatican Gardens, Pope Francis blessed a new statue of a 10th-century Armenian monk he had declared a "doctor of the church" in 2015.

Quebec bishops ponder possibility of married priests

April 5, 2018

QUEBEC CITY – The Catholic bishops of Quebec have discussed the possibility of ordaining married men to priesthood.

Faith leaders battle Sudbury casino

April 5, 2018

More than 50 faith leaders, including Sault Ste. Marie Bishop Marcel Damphousse, have banded together to oppose a $60 million casino project on the eastern edge of Greater Sudbury.

Editorial: More work to do

April 5, 2018

The Catholic relationship with Canada’s Indigenous peoples no doubt wobbled with the announcement that Pope Francis is not coming here to offer the apology so explicitly called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. After so much suffering, it could hardly be otherwise.

Catholic leaders react to Trump's plan to send National Guard to border

April 5, 2018

WASHINGTON – Catholic leaders in Texas criticized President Donald Trump's April 4 announcement that he would be deploying National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

April 6

Cardinal Nichols asks for healing prayers at disgraced cardinal's funeral

April 6, 2018

MANCHESTER, England – Celebrating the funeral of a disgraced Scottish cardinal, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales invoked the mercy of God and asked for prayers of healing.

Humanae Vitae at 50: Catholic tradition guides teaching on contraception, archbishop says

April 6, 2018

WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church's teaching on marriage, abortion, human sexuality and contraception is rooted in the same respect for human dignity that guides its work for social justice and care for poor people, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput told a Catholic University of America audience.

Msgr. Philip Kennedy led Catholic Missions in Canada for a decade

April 6, 2018

Once a missionary, always a missionary. It didn’t matter whether bedridden with illness or looking off into retirement, Msgr. Philip J. Kennedy kept Canada’s mission territories close to his heart.

Lithuanian martyr stood up to the Soviet regime

April 6, 2018

Russian poison attacks are nothing new — just ask the Lithuanians.

April 7

The life and turbulent times of Blessed Oscar Romero

April 7, 2018

For Francisco Rico-Martinez, Archbishop Oscar Romero may well be the saint of silence.

Canadian producer launches Catholic children's show

April 7, 2018

If we can teach children the importance of sharing and tidying up through a cheerful song on a TV show, then why can’t we use this same medium to teach them about the faith?

Peter Stockland: It’s our turn to ride the wave of change

April 7, 2018

There is a deeply Catholic sense of hope in standing on history’s shore watching a major wave break while sensing another building, barely visible, on the horizon.

Vatican jails former diplomat accused of child pornography

April 7, 2018

VATICAN – After months of investigation, Vatican police arrested Msgr. Carlo Alberto Capella, a former staff member at the Vatican nunciature in Washington, on charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography.

God's word on Sunday: Loving one another builds path to God

April 7, 2018

Second Sunday of Easter, April 8 (Year B) Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 118; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31