News
Speakers ask pope, synod to clear up ‘confusion’ on contraception
A married couple from Brazil told Pope Francis and the Synod of Bishops that the church should stop giving "contradictory advice" on birth control and help Catholics obey church teaching against contraception.
Black Catholics’ traditional home in archdiocese to close
The St. Peter Claver Center, which runs programs and Masses for African-American Catholics, will close Oct. 31. A lack of funding for deferred maintenance on the center’s buildings in center city Philadelphia was cited as the cause.
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.”
Vatican official urges rethinking of policies toward migrant families
Migrant families whose members are often separated pose unique challenges as globalization sweeps the world and deserve special consideration so that family unity remains a priority, a Vatican official told a United Nations meeting.
Because of Ebola crisis, people ‘can’t even go to church,’ says priest
Father McDonald Nah is praying that the people of Liberia are just as resilient with the Ebola outbreak as they were following the country's civil war more than a decade ago.
Lay missioner in Liberia says Ebola devastating villages, local economy
When Joe Sehnert moved to Liberia in 2011, he knew the risks of going to a Third World country. Ebola wasn't among them; the deadly virus historically has been limited to countries in East and Central Africa.
Real-life experience can strengthen church teaching, bishops tell synod
When Catholics see couples who are patient, kind, never jealous or rude, they "behold the beauty and simplicity and strength of married love," but the church also must learn to help and to heal those whose dreams for lifelong love have been shattered, said Scottish Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow.
Mixing it up: Synod members turn to metaphor to get message across
Pope Francis may be the universal church's undisputed master of metaphor and analogy, but other members of the Synod of Bishops on the family are showing a willingness to use snappy images to get their points across, too.
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.”
U.S. couple at synod calls for ‘robust, creative’ family programs
Existing diocesan programs and Catholic organizations aimed at helping Catholic families fulfill their vocation clearly are not strong enough to meet modern needs, a Wisconsin couple told the Synod of Bishops.