News
Captors release Franciscan priest kidnapped in Syria
There was no immediate word on 20 other Christians who were abducted Oct. 5-6 from a small Christian village in northwestern Syria. Groups linked to a branch of al-Qaida operating in Syria are believed to be behind the abductions.
New rules to opt out of HHS mandate still unsatisfactory, says USCCB
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Oct. 8 urged the federal government "to reconsider" its new rules to allow religious institutions -- and potentially some for-profit companies -- to opt out of the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act.
Nurse says listening to God’s call to volunteer ‘changed my life’
When Alexis Weber decided to answer a classified advertisement for volunteer nurses in the Pittsburgh Catholic diocesan newspaper in 1994, it led her to a mutually beneficial relationship with St. Joseph House of Hospitality.
U.S. bishops emphasize traditional marriage after Supreme Court action
After the Supreme Court Oct. 6 declined to review rulings overturning five states' bans on same-sex marriage, several U.S. bishops criticized the court's inaction and reiterated that according to church teaching, traditional marriage is a union between one man and one woman.
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.