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Imprisonment without hope for the future is torture, pope says
Punishment can be fruitful only when inmates are helped to look toward the future rather than only back at a past lived out in shame, the pope said in a video message Aug. 24 to inmates at the Ezeiza federal penitentiary in Argentina.
Vatican II liturgical reform ‘irreversible,’ pope says
The Catholic Church must continue to work to understand the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council and why they were made, rather than rethinking them, Pope Francis said.
The NAC diaries: U.S. seminary in Rome revives ‘house chronicler’ job
The Pontifical North American College has an important story to tell, and it is not one any official records will reveal: the tale of what daily life is really like at the U.S. seminary in Rome.
Bishop at forefront of initiative says racism demands church’s attention
By creating a committee to deal with racism, the country's Catholic bishops are standing up for the American value of equality and for a Gospel that refutes the hatred and violence the country witnessed Aug. 11 and 12 during white supremacist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, said Bishop George V. Murry.
Catholics urged to help fight racism in U.S. and pray for healing, unity
The United States is seeing "a new kind of racism and nationalism" that is "rooted in fear," and Catholics must work to overcome such new forms of racism and "every ideology that denies the equality and dignity of the human person," the archbishop of Los Angeles said.
African-American couple demands apology from priest for past KKK actions
When Father Aitcheson was in his early 20s, he was the leader of a KKK lodge in Maryland and was arrested and charged with making bomb threats, manufacturing bombs and burning a cross on the front lawn at the house of an African-American couple.
Priest asks forgiveness for having been KKK member years ago as young man
Father William Aitcheson said that 40 years ago, "as an impressionable young man," he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and called his actions "despicable."
Central African priests use Facebook to express outrage, appeal for help
One priest accused U.N. peacekeepers of "deliberately abandoning" his town and leaving parishioners to be murdered by rebels.
Prophetic words against the evil of racism
A sampling of quotes on racism, from Pope Francis and from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, show the church's clear call to reject this sin firmly and completely.
Free course, study guides help Christians learn of persecution
Christians face persecution in countries around the world. A new free online course and materials from the University of Notre Dame help individuals, parish groups and schools learn about the issue and ways to help.