News
Faith is source of strength for slain Catholic U.S. journalist and his family
U.S. officials confirmed a video showing Muslim extremists beheading freelance journalist James Foley, a Marquette University graduate and Catholic native of New Hampshire, as authentic. He had prayed the rosary during captivity in Libya in 2011.
Clergy assignment changes announced
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput announced three clergy appointments effective as noted.
St. Louis archbishop urges prayers for peace to calm chaos in streets
Residents of Ferguson "are struggling to find peace in the chaos" that has followed the shooting death of an unarmed teen by a police officer and "as people of Christ, we are struggling to find direction in the unrest," said Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis.
Elderly Iraqi Christians stand up to extremists
A group of 11 sick, disabled and elderly Iraqi Christians defied terrorists who ordered them to convert to Islam or be beheaded, saying they preferred death to giving up their faith. The Islamic State extremists dropped their demands and ordered the Christians to leave their village, after first robbing them, a survivor said.
‘Mass mob’ packs long-empty pews of inner city churches
The movement to invite thousands of people to fill beautiful, once-vibrant churches for Mass with has hit Detroit in spectacular fashion, as it has in Philadelphia and other cities from its beginnings in Buffalo, N.Y.
Archbishop Chaput hears of suffering in Syria first hand
The Catholic archbishop of Damascus wrote a letter to Philadelphia’s archbishop detailing violence in Syria and an upswing in religious vocations among the young, despite persecution of Christians in the Middle East.
Pope asks prayers after great nephews, their mother die in car crash
Pope Francis asked people to join him in prayer Aug. 19 after he learned that two of his little great nephews and their mother had died in a car crash in Argentina and his nephew was in critical condition.
U.S. Dominicans praying, ‘agonizing’ for Iraqi Dominicans, villagers
Dominican Sister Attracta Kelly in Adrian, Michigan, has been able to speak a few times with the superior of a group of Iraqi Dominicans and knows how desperate their situation is since they escaped Islamicists in northern Iraq.
Federal court says accommodation process on HHS mandate ‘a subterfuge’
A U.S. District Court Aug. 13 ruled in favor of a Baptist-run college in its fight against the federal contraceptive mandate and the directive that nonprofit employers who are not exempt from the mandate but who object to it must authorize a third party to provide contraceptive coverage to employees.
Special U.S. collection urged to help those suffering in Middle East
The president of the U.S. bishops' conference Aug. 19 asked Catholic bishops across the country to take up a special collection for humanitarian needs and pastoral support for Christians and other victims of violence in the Middle East.