News
Freedom of speech gets bumpy ride on U.S. college campuses
At a March 21 panel discussion at the Newseum in Washington, panelists bemoaned that it has "been a bad year for free speech" on campuses and placed the blame on government regulations, school administrators and more increasingly, campus students.
Vatican: Pope Benedict is frail, but his mind remains ‘perfectly lucid’
"In April, Pope Benedict XVI turns 89 years old. He is like a candle that is slowly, serenely fading, as it happens with many of us. He is calm, in peace with God, with himself and the world," Archbishop Ganswein told the Italian magazine BenEssere.
Franciscan sister says there was ‘no limit’ to Joe Garagiola’s generosity
Baseball legend and popular sports broadcaster Joe Garagiola, who died March 23 at age 90, recounted in a Catholic News Service interview 20 years ago how St. Peter Mission School in the Gila River Indian Community south of Phoenix claimed his heart.
Boston U. alum murdered in Congo was martyr of truth, says Assumptionist
Father Machozi had been threatened with death because he repeatedly "denounced the suffering of the Nande population caused by the presence of different armed groups dedicated to the illegal exploitation of coltan."
Report says poverty, racial disparity, other major issues face Gulf South
Louisiana ranks 51st -- dead last among all states and the District of Columbia -- in an index of nine "social justice indicators." Finishing just ahead of Louisiana on the index among Gulf South states -- but far down the national list -- were Mississippi (50th), Texas (49th), Alabama (48th) and Florida (41st).
Salesian priest kidnapped in Yemen believed still alive
The bishop leading the church in Yemen dismissed as false rumors that a priest kidnapped in the raid that killed four Missionaries of Charity this month was to be killed, and that he is still being held by his captors.
Pope to refugees: Despite differences, all people are God’s children
In a moving gesture of brotherhood and peace, Pope Francis washed the feet of several refugees, including Muslims, Hindus and Copts on Holy Thursday evening. Such gestures "speak louder than words," he said.
Cuban-born Catholic sees benefit of warming U.S.-Cuba relations
Local Catholic Jorge Fernandez remembers the oppression in his Cuban homeland, but he thinks it's time for engagement rather than isolation, which the visit of President Obama represents.
Rally at cathedral supports sisters’ religious freedom case
About 100 people prayed for relief of the federal contraceptive mandate on the Little Sisters of the Poor and other church organizations March 23 in Philadelphia, just as the Supreme Court was hearing the case.
Pope tells priests to avoid worldliness, identify with excluded people
During the Chrism Mass he celebrated Holy Thursday in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Pope Francis advised priests not to be blinded by complex theology or watered-down spirituality, and to beware of worldliness in the digital age.