News
St. Joseph/St. Robert School performs Nativity play
Students from the Catholic school in Warrington performed "Silent, Holy Night," telling the story of the birth of Jesus through Scripture readings and songs.
Homeless people who died on streets remembered in prayer
The longest night of the year, Dec. 21, can feel even longer for men and women living on the streets, so for 25 years the day has also marked the nationwide Homeless Persons' Memorial Day. One service in Green Bay featured Catholics and Buddhists joined in remembrance of the dead.
At Christmas, Maronite Catholics recall births of Jesus and Muhammad
In Beirut, Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai urged Christians and Muslims to work to preserve peaceful coexistence, and he called for more help for refugees. Today there are about 500,000 Palestinians in Lebanon, plus 1.5 million Syrian refugees.
Parishioners of closed Massachusetts parish plan appeal to U.S. Supreme Court
St. Francis Cabrini Parish was one of 65 closed by the Boston Archdiocese in 2004. After 11 years of 24-hour prayer vigils and legal appeals of the closure denied by the Vatican and every state court, the nation's highest court may hear a last appeal.
Only mercy can free humanity from evil, pope says
Some 50,000 people heard the Christmas message of Pope Francis at the Vatican Dec. 25. Victims of terrorism, as well as new peace accords, were in the pope's thoughts and prayers. "All sadness has been banished, for the Child Jesus brings true comfort to every heart," he said.
Families open to God learn joy and forgiveness, pope says
The joy of families "is the result of the deep harmony between people, who savor the beauty of being together, of supporting each other on life's journey," Pope Francis said. He suggested mothers and fathers bless their children at the start and end of each day with the sign of the cross.
Msgr. Lynn’s conviction overturned, court calls for new trial
Pennsylvania Superior Court said Dec. 22 that trial evidence of decades of clergy sexual abuse predating the tenure of the former archdiocesan clergy official unfairly prejudiced the jury that convicted him in 2012.
Archbishop Chaput’s Christmas greeting
Listen to Archbishop Charles Chaput's message for the Christmas season and the new year, during the Year of Mercy.
Mass. Catholic school discriminated against man in same-sex marriage, judge says
A Massachusetts judge ruled against an all-girls Catholic school that rescinded a job offer to a man hired for food services, who listed his same-sex spouse as an emergency contact on a new hire form. One expert said the case has no legal precedent.
Hearts and doors opened to Year of Mercy at Drexel Shrine
More than 300 worshipers of various backgrounds and ages filled the pews for Mass Dec. 18 as the Holy Door was opened at the St. Katharine Drexel Shrine in Bensalem, part of a jubilee year celebration in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.