News
Australians turned to prayer during siege, Sydney priest says
Father Brendan Purcell is based at St. Mary's Cathedral, just a five-minute walk from the nearby Lindt Cafe, where Iranian-born Islamic cleric Man Haron Monis took dozens of hostages on morning of Dec. 15.
U.S. nuns see new beginning as Vatican report affirms their ministry
U.S. women religious welcomed the conciliatory tone of a Vatican report on religious life and appreciated acknowledgement of the important ministry that they practice day in and day out in the life of the church.
Msgr. Menna, remembered as a selfless priest, dies at 84
Msgr. Francis J. Menna, a former pastor, regional vicar and rector of Villa St. Joseph, the archdiocesan home for retired priests, died Dec. 10.
Pakistani Catholic official calls attack on school ‘barbaric, inhuman’
The Catholic Church in Pakistan has joined the chorus of condemnation of the deadly attack by the Taliban on a school that has left at least 126 children and others dead and 250 injured.
New pope, new leadership changed tone of visitation of U.S. religious
ANALYSIS -- During the visitation of communities of U.S. religious women, a shift in tone took place. The Vatican's final report on the visitation, released Dec. 16, made observations, not accusations. Instead of giving the women instructions, it made suggestions
Though painful at times, visitation was positive, speakers say
"Your message to us today shows that you do understand our ongoing struggle to faithfully serve the church in challenging times, despite our shortcomings and limitations," Mother Mary Clare Millea told the head of the Vatican congregation for consecrated life.
Vatican report calls U.S. sisters to fidelity while facing challenges
A massive Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious ended with a call to the women themselves to continue discerning how best to live the Gospel while facing steeply declining numbers and a rapidly aging membership. The report offered the nuns six key recommendations.
Today’s teaching on the family
See the daily excerpt from the preparatory catechesis for the 2015 World Meeting of Families, “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.”
Lithuanian archbishop worried Russian will move against Baltic states
A top Baltic church leader voiced concern about possible Russian aggression against Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and appealed to Western Catholics to be better informed about the situation.
Kerry asks Vatican for help in relocating Guantanamo detainees
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Vatican counterpart Dec. 15, and asked him to support the Obama administration's efforts to close the U.S. detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.