News

Couples invited for Valentine’s Day evening of reflection

Malvern Retreat House is hosting a retreat for all married, engaged and dating couples Sunday evening, Feb. 9.

Lost firefighters from past and present to be honored at Mass

St. John the Evangelist Church in center city Philadelphia will host a memorial Mass honoring firefighters who died in the line of duty on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m.

New Mexico bishop to visit Trooper parish

Bishop Ricardo Ramirez, C.S.B., bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, will be the celebrant at a Mass in English and Spanish at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, at Visitation B.V.M. Church in Trooper, Montgomery County. He will preach on the theme “Welcoming the Stranger.”

Separated and divorced Catholics get retreat day in Malvern

Valentine’s Day may be fun for those in a relationship but it is also a time of remembering broken promises, dreams and lives for many others. Malvern Retreat House offers a day of reflection for them on Feb. 12.

Author of book on parish revitalization coming to Media parish

Tom Corcoran will offer his insights into the renewal of his Baltimore parish during a seminar at St. Mary Magdalen Parish Feb. 20.

Archbishop Chaput named to Vatican council

Pope Francis appointed the archbishop a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity Feb. 6. He is the only American member of the council.

‘Unjust’ criticism won’t force Vatican to drop treaty, spokesman says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican said it would continue to adhere to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and give an attentive response to the U.N. committee monitoring adherence to the treaty, despite what it views as unfair criticism and suggestions from the committee that would violate church teaching.

Pope says relativistic ideas of marriage lead to divorce

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said contemporary ideas of marriage as an arrangement defined by personal needs promote a mentality of divorce, and he called for better preparation of engaged couples as well as ministry to Catholics whose marriages have failed.

New study on abortion rate doesn’t tie drop to new state restrictions

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Almost two weeks after the national March for Life rally in Washington, the Guttmacher Institute reported a 13 percent drop in national abortion rates from 2008 to 2011 -- making for the lowest rate since 1973 when abortion on demand was legalized in the U.S.

From tarps to steel roofs: Filipinos move to transitional shelters

TANAUAN, Philippines (CNS) -- Two-week-old Jesse Awa did not seem to mind the sound of loud hammering and saw blades cutting through wood as he slept peacefully, snuggled in his mother's arms. Just a few feet away, carpenters worked under a hot midday sun constructing a new home, albeit temporary, for his family.