News
Church workers fight fear, myths as Ebola worsens in Sierra Leone
It is hard for people in Sierra Leone not to lose hope as the death toll rises to 729 in three West African countries and worldwide fear grows over the worst Ebola outbreak on record, said the head of Caritas in the Archdiocese of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
With focus on Gaza, Islamists can kill at will in Iraq, Anglican cleric says
Some Christian leaders working in Iraq feel that brutal Islamist militants are literally getting away with murder, now that the world's attention is focused on Gaza's increasingly desperate situation.
Desperation of people in Gaza spurs violence, church leaders say
Israeli and Hamas leaders should use binoculars so they could see that "most of your victims are innocent people," said Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of Caritas Internationalis, adding that reconciliation requires recognizing each other as human beings.
Happily married to Jesus
Dozens of women from across the United States who have vowed their virginity as spouses of Christ discussed their lives and unique roles as consecrated virgins, and what it means for the Catholic Church.
Some seeds take time to cultivate
Deacon Michael Pascarella, who has been named to lead the permanent diaconate ministry in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, hesitated when he heard God’s call to ordained ministry as a child, as a young man, and as a family man. Then he answered, and by grace, his life and ministry are full.
Meeting 200 Pentecostals, Pope Francis talks of unity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- His voice breaking with emotion, Giovanni Traettino, a Pentecostal pastor in southern Italy and longtime friend of Pope Francis, welcomed the pope, who said he knows people were shocked that he would make a special trip to visit a group of Pentecostals, "but I went to visit my friends."
High in the Andes, Peruvian artisans create sacred art
Freddy Cerna is about the same height as the statue he carves from Italian Carrara marble. His backward baseball cap and buggy protective goggles are a sharp contrast to the delicate face he perfects with his carving tools. The statue of Mary, her hands folded in prayer, stares back at him.
Idaho campus ministers see colleges as ‘places of evangelization’
They are, without a doubt, an odd couple. One is a Jesuit with a history in campus ministry, taking over the reins at St. Paul Catholic Student Center in Boise. The other is a tattooed, earring-and-bandanna-wearing, lifelong youth minister stepping in at St. John Catholic Student Center in Pocatello.
Pope, visiting Albania Sept. 21, will meet officials, children
After a quick flight over Italy and the Adriatic Sea, Pope Francis will make an 11-hour visit to Albania Sept. 21, making time to meet with the nation's leaders and bishops, but also spending time with disadvantaged children and other people assisted by Catholic charitable organizations.
Court overturns law requiring hospital privileges for abortion doctors
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans July 29 overturned a 2012 Mississippi law requiring doctors at the state's only abortion clinic to have admitting privileges at local hospitals.