News
China announces it will change its policy, allow all families 2 children
The Oct. 29 announcement was contained in a Xinhua news agency report on the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing. It said China would allow all couples to have two children, but did not provide additional details.
Strength in adversity: When families are everything
The Catholic Church has long defended the family as the basic unit of society and as a "school of humanity." The family as a bastion of love and protection in times of war and disaster is a reality, not a pious platitude, said two members of the Synod of Bishops.
Cardinal Parolin: Apostolic exhortation on the family could come soon
"I imagine that it won't take long because usually these things should be done in a relatively short time, otherwise it loses its strength a bit, its impact," Cardinal Parolin told Vatican Radio Oct. 28.
Pope: God doesn’t condemn sinners; he weeps, waits for their conversion
God will wait until the final moments of a sinner's life, like he did for the good thief on the cross, who mocked and derided Christ, but then repented and was saved, the pope said in his homily.
Language must change in order to build peace, cardinal says
Expressing everything in terms of balance of power -- the struggles of groups and classes, friends and enemies -- creates fertile ground for social barriers, contempt, even hatred and terrorism and their veiled or open justification.
Church concerned by potential impact of 172-mile canal across Nicaragua
"We have said that it's OK if the canal bring benefits to the people, but the government needs to act with transparency and clarity, because there is not enough information," Bishop Jorge Solorzano Perez.
Bishops to consider election document, USCCB priorities, sainthood causes
he U.S. bishops will consider whether to approve a new introductory note and a limited revision of their quadrennial statement on political responsibility during their Nov. 16-19 fall general assembly in Baltimore.
Brooklyn church one of latest to attract ‘Mass Mob’ for Sunday Mass
Inspired by the idea of a "flash mob," the NYC Mass Mob organizes people through social media to attend Mass at a set date and time at Catholic churches around New York's five boroughs.
Wisconsin clinic suspends abortions; pro-lifers hope for permanent stop
Planned Parenthood in Grand Chute suspended abortions in mid-October, citing a lack of medical staff. The building, and Planned Parenthood's office in Appleton, remains open.
Rabbi: Openness, humility transform bitter relations into blessings
The improved relations between Jews and Catholics prove that openness and humility can transform even the most poisonous rapport between religions into genuine fraternal respect, a leading rabbi said.