National News
Four wounded in church stabbing in Albuquerque; suspect held
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (CNS) — A suspect was being held on $75,000 bond after being arrested following the stabbing of four worshipers at an Albuquerque parish near the end of Mass April 28. The suspect, Lawrence Capener, 24, also had his hand lacerated in the scuffle following the initial attack. Two stabbing victims remained hospitalized the […]
Education key to globalization, says Christian Brothers’ superior
MORAGA, Calif. (CNS) -- Brother Alvaro Rodriguez Echeverria, superior general of the Christian Brothers, stressed the need for all people to have access to education during an April 24 gathering at St. Mary's College of California. "Tomorrow's dilemma will not be between the haves and the have-nots but rather between those who know and those who do not," he said.
Archbishop at Red Mass: Traditional marriage is ‘best for children’
MIAMI (CNS) -- Traditional marriage is "best for children" and efforts to legalize same-sex marriage will "open a Pandora's Box of unforeseen and, to be sure, unintended consequences," Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski said during the annual Red Mass. Delivering the homily at the April 23 Mass, Archbishop Wenski said the growing movement in support of same-sex marriage would "redefine marriage for all as existing solely for the gratification of two consenting adults" rather than for the creation of life.
Laity key to Irish church’s renewal, Dublin archbishop says
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Renewal of the Catholic Church in a "post-Catholic" Ireland depends on a homegrown effort by the laity to overcome clericalism and witness the Christian message in a secular society, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin told a New York audience. Once considered "one of the world's most deeply and stably Catholic countries," Ireland, like other parts of Europe, can now be classified as post-Catholic because of sociological changes and lingering fallout from the child sexual abuse scandals that swept the country in recent years, he said.
U.N. speeches recognize reality of global migration
NEW YORK (CNS) - Addresses on migration by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, struck similar chords about the reasons for and problems of migration, while disagreeing about some solutions.
A new constitutional amendment? Even if it fails, it may work
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The process to amend the U.S. Constitution can be a long and winding road that may have no end. Just ask those who have been working for the Human Life Amendment since shortly after abortion was legalized in 1973. Though it failed in 1983, pro-lifers who have backed a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade have seen in the succeeding years a string of successes that partially achieve the amendment's aims.
Archdiocese drops subpoena for White House records in HHS case
NEW YORK (CNS) — The Archdiocese of New York has dropped its legal demand that the Obama administration provide documents from the White House staff related to the church’s lawsuit against the government’s insurance mandate for birth control coverage. Reuters reported that the archdiocese filed a notice with the U.S. District Court April 22 dropping […]
Archbishop at Red Mass: Traditional marriage is ‘best for children’
MIAMI (CNS) -- Traditional marriage is "best for children" and efforts to legalize same-sex marriage will "open a Pandora's Box of unforeseen and, to be sure, unintended consequences," Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski said during the annual Red Mass. Delivering the homily at the April 23 Mass, Archbishop Wenski said the growing movement in support of same-sex marriage would "redefine marriage for all as existing solely for the gratification of two consenting adults" rather than for the creation of life.
Rev. Bob Edgar, former NCC head, ecumenical activist, dies
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Rev. Bob Edgar, a former member of Congress who headed the National Council of Churches for two terms, died April 23 at the age of 69. Rev. Edgar, a United Methodist minister, had a heart attack while exercising at his home in Burke, Va., according to Mary Boyle, a spokeswoman for Common Cause, the advocacy group he had headed since 2007.
Bishops say health, retirement reforms should not contribute to poverty
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Reforms in health and retirement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security must not increase poverty or economic hardship among the people they are designed to help, the chairman of two U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committees said in a letter to Congress. Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., chairman […]