News
‘24 Hours for the Lord’ calls for all churches to stay open March 4-5
Responding to Pope Francis' initiative to focus on the mercy of God, Catholic churches around the world will offer eucharistic adoration and confessions for 24 hours. See details and a map of participating parishes in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
Quebec sexual abuse victims settle class action for $21.6 million
About 150 former pupils and boarders of the former Montreal Institute for the Deaf who were sexually abused between 1940 and 1982 will share US$21.6 million after their class action was settled.
Little Sisters of the Poor are the public face of fight against HHS mandate
The Little Sisters and other plaintiffs, in a case the Supreme Court will hear March 23, cite a 1993 religious freedom law to argue the HHS mandate amounts to an undue burden on their free exercise of religion.
Use wealth, power for common good, not to exploit others, pope says
When power loses that sense of service, it "turns into arrogance and becomes control and subjugation," he said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square Feb. 24.
Plan to close detention center leaves unanswered questions for advocates
As President Barack Obama offered a long-awaited plan to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, organizations advocating for the closure welcomed the news and called for an end of the policy of holding remaining detainees without charges.
Ministry in Aleppo is about keeping hope alive, priests say
Even in the midst of constant bombing, Jesuit and Salesian priests remain in war-torn Aleppo, Syria, trying to create a sense of normalcy for those unable to leave.
Catholic archbishop, Orthodox leader see significance in Havana meeting
"The new and critical factor at this point in history is the emergence of the Russian Orthodox Church in its willingness to join the world community at the ecumenical table."
Bishops want Nigeria to invest in small businesses to boost economy
Such investments would end up strengthening local enterprises, allowing more people to access the basic necessities of life, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria said Feb. 19 at the end of its weeklong meeting in Abuja.
Head of Ukrainian Catholic Church consoled by pope’s words
The pope's remarks were "truly the opening of the doors of mercy," said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
Full day of confessions is opportunity for mercy, Minnesota priests say
An extended opportunity for the sacrament of reconciliation will begin at the St. Paul and Minneapolis co-cathedrals at noon March 4 and last until noon March 5 as part of 24 Hours for the Lord, a worldwide Year of Mercy event backed by Pope Francis.