News
Holy Land bishops criticize Israeli treatment of Palestinians
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Catholic leaders in the Holy Land called for an end to the cycle of violence and criticized Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and its collective punishment of Palestinians.
Vatican names new bank president, restructures financial offices
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the restructuring of Vatican financial institutions moves into high gear, "our ambition is to become something of a model of financial management rather than a cause for occasional scandal," said Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy.
Minors at border should be thought of as refugees, speakers say
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- From the head of the U.S. agency in charge of the welfare of more than 50,000 Central American children who have been apprehended at the Mexican border, to the Honduran cardinal who heads the international Catholic relief agency, Caritas, the message was clear, those minors are as much refugees as the people fleeing upheaval in Syria or South Sudan.
Vatican forms panel to revamp communications, media outreach
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Seven months after hiring a consulting firm to study the Vatican's communications structures, the Vatican has set up an 11-member committee -- which includes Our Sunday Visitor's Greg Erlandson -- to suggest ways to increase collaboration and cut costs.
Catholic owners of Indiana business hail high court ruling as victory
INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) -- Bill Grote jumped out of his chair when he saw a television report the day the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision regarding Burrell v. Hobby Lobby.
New radio program covers life issues, ways to spread culture of life
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CNS) -- A new radio program launched in the Palm Beach Diocese in June with a focus on shedding light on pro-life issues, and sharing ways to get involved in promoting the culture of life in the not-so-pro-life world.
The mafia and religion make headlines after pope’s condemnation
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When the 30 men carrying a large statue of Mary and the hundreds of people accompanying the statue in southern Italy paused and bowed in front of the house of a presumed mafia boss, the local bishop denounced them as blasphemous.
Why children run from their Central American homes
The reasons for a 92 percent increase in unaccompanied minors coming to the United States from Central America include rising violence from gangs, joblessness from a new coffee blight and the perception that children might be granted asylum in America just because they are children.
Iraqi patriarch: Situation perhaps ‘darkest and most difficult period’
AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) -- The patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad called the current situation in his country "perhaps the darkest and most difficult period in (the church's) recent history."
Vatican budgets for 2013 show modest surplus
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican's final budget figures for 2013 showed a deficit on the part of the Roman Curia, but a strong performance by entities falling under the separate Vatican City State budget covered the deficit and helped the Vatican end the year 8.5 million euros ($11.6 million) in the black.