News
Pope bans cigarette sales at the Vatican
"The reason is very simple: The Holy See cannot contribute to an activity that clearly damages the health of people," Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman, said in a Nov. 9 statement.
Rohingya crisis may grow worse, Caritas official warns
Although Bangladesh has welcomed a massive influx of Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar in recent weeks, a Catholic aid official is worried that the welcome may soon be wearing thin.
Pope remembers Ukrainian priest who mentored him
peaking to a group of professors, students and alumni from the Pontifical Ukrainian College of St. Josephat, a seminary in Rome, the pope said he valued the lessons he learned as a boy from Bishop Stepan Chmil.
Groups urge passage of law protecting conscientious objection to abortion
Rep. Chris Smith, the New Jersey Republican who co-chairs the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, made another push Nov. 8 for passage of the Conscience Protection Act.
Young immigrants at Dreamers Symposium offer heartfelt plea for support
During a Dreamers Symposium at Trinity Washington University, some of the more than 100 Dreamers attending the school shared their stories of growing up as immigrants living in the United States without documents.
St. Frances Cabrini is modern model for handling migration, pope says
St. Frances Cabrini, the missionary to Italian immigrants in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, "teaches us the path to handling the epochal phenomenon of migration by joining charity and justice," Pope Francis said.
Catholic official: Bangladesh should apologize to India for nun’s rape
Theophil Nokrek, secretary of the Bangladeshi bishops' justice and peace commission, spoke Nov. 7 after a local court in Kolkata, India, convicted Nazrul Islam of raping the nun at her Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ranaghat March 14, 2015.
Q&A with Good Shepherd Sister after she visited her hometown in Syria
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CNS) — Good Shepherd Sister Monique Tarabeh’s visit home in July and August was gut-wrenching. Sister Tarabeh grew up in Damascus, Syria, and her family still lives there, despite the civil war that started in 2011. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee to safety […]
Montreal rectory becomes transition center for asylum seekers
The Archdiocese of Montreal calls the new center Le Pont (The Bridge). In the rectory halls, residents hear the contagious laughter of Alessandra Santopadre, head of the refugee sponsorship program for the Archdiocese of Montreal.
Advocates decry Homeland Security’s TPS decision for Nicaraguans
UPDATED - Immigration advocates decried a Department of Homeland Security decision to end Temporary Protected Status for 2,500 Nicaraguans who have been living in the United States for nearly 20 years.