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February 13, 2019
CUCUTA, Colombia – The bishop of a Colombian diocese bordering Venezuela has said that “we can't be still” in face of the Venezuelan people's suffering, and noted that the Church has responded to the humanitarian crisis from its beginning.
BUDAPEST, Hungary – In an effort to encourage Hungarians to have more babies, the prime minister of the country has announced that women with four children or more will be exempt from paying income tax for life.
SAO PAOLO – Responding to news reports that the Brazilian intelligence agency was monitoring the Catholic Church, the secretary-general of the bishops' conference downplayed the idea that prelates would use the October Synod of Bishops on the Amazon to criticize their government's policies.
BANGKOK – Recent credible sexual abuse allegations in India and East Timor have underscored the fears of many in the church that clerical sex abuse is rife in South, Southeast and North Asia, which have a collective population of at least 120 million Catholics.
OTTAWA – Plans for a pro-life march in Toronto on the same day as the National March for Life in Ottawa is evidence the movement is “divided,” says Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast.
Ever since Pope Francis announced in September that he was calling the heads of the world’s bishops’ conferences to Rome for an unprecedented summit on sexual abuse, expectations have been mounting.
February 14, 2019
VATICAN – Time, experience and reflection have "purified" liberation theology and its attempts to make clear what the Gospel says about social injustice, Pope Francis said.
VATICAN – The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, told Pope Francis that a "human voice" was needed to speak up in the world of technology today.
ROME – Sustainable development in rural areas is key to making poverty and hunger a thing of the past, Pope Francis said.
VATICAN – Pope Francis has named Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, 71, the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, to serve as the camerlengo or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church.
VATICAN – The sacred liturgy is meant to help the people of God conform their heart, mind and actions more closely to Christ, Pope Francis said.
LETICIA, Colombia – Rafael Noteno Capinoa, a Kichwa Indian, worries about what could happen to the forest around his village on Peru's Napo River if an oil company begins drilling in the area.
PARKLAND, Fla. – One day before the anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, neighboring Mary Help of Christians School held a prayer service to pay tribute to the victims.
I am writing this for all who suffer and for those of your family members and friends who suffer with you. In particular, I am writing this for those who, like myself, realize that their suffering may not end soon, or ever end.
Winter was settling in and it was a blustery, cold evening as I walked around the streets with Tracey, a survivor of the street who for 14 drug-addled years had called the alleys and drug dens of the downtown area “home.”
The much-anticipated Vatican summit on clerical sexual abuse of minors is still days away but perhaps the strongest declaration to be expected from this unprecedented gathering of bishops has already been made.
The Saint John Paul II Academy community is larger than the school’s modest membership would seem to suggest.
Another Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and sometimes it feels like just another excuse for the greeting card industry to make a grab for your money. Though biblical in origin, the sweet secular sentiments of love have been overshadowed by pressure to be in a relationship, purchase grocery-store flowers and indulge the chocolate makers.
February 15, 2019
VATICAN – Italian Archbishop Luigi Ventura, 74, a Vatican diplomat who once served in Canada, Chile and western Africa, is under investigation by police in Paris for allegedly sexually assaulting a city official.
VATICAN – Even if Christians struggle to recognize him with his "torn clothes (and) dirty feet," Jesus is present in the migrants and refugees who seek safety and a dignified life in a new land, Pope Francis said.