News
Pope’s embrace was heavenly, says man with disfiguring disease
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For someone who has frequently been shunned and humiliated because of a disease that has severely disfigured his entire body, receiving the pope's loving embrace was like being in paradise. Vinicio Riva, who is afflicted with neurofibromatosis, said his brief encounter with Pope Francis Nov. 6 at a general audience in St. Peter's Square "seemed like forever."
Photo of the day
A 6-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy hold their soft toys Nov. 19 in the devastated waterfront shanty town of Guiuan, Philippines, in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. (CNS photo/Wolfgang Rattay, Reuters)
‘Bishop Bling’ pays fine in perjury case
HAMBURG, Germany (CNS) -- The so-called "luxury bishop" or "Bishop Bling" of Limburg agreed to pay a fine of 20,000 euros rather than contest charges that he perjured himself before the Hamburg District Court.
Bishops: To respond to pope’s call for mission, parishes need new model
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa, Ontario, recalled once having a parish that needed a new furnace and was considering hiring a youth pastor. The parishioners raised $90,000 in three weeks for the furnace, but failed to find funds for the youth pastor, figuring there were few young people to serve. Archbishop Prendergast cited the story as an example of "the maintenance model of the church versus a missionary model of the church." It's a model that has been deployed by too many dioceses in the United States and Canada and one that some senior clergy recognize as outdated and doing nothing to put people in church pews or contribute to parish life -- much less increasing the kingdom of God.
Religious liberties worldwide in ‘crisis,’ says U.K. cabinet minister
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Attacks and threats to religious liberties throughout the world has "become a global crisis," declared Britain's cabinet-level minister of state for faith and communities. Sayeeda Warsi, an official in British Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party government, said, "The religious fault lines are being exploited" in country after country.
Sheryl Crow sings at St. Mary’s event for breast cancer survivors
St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne and radio station 92.5 FM WXTU partnered for the first time to offer a special recognition luncheon honoring breast cancer survivors Nov. 13 at the Triumph Brewery in New Hope. About 30 survivors and a guest were invited to the special luncheon, which included an empowering and inspirational program […]
Call to ‘ask not …’ still resonates in commitment to public service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated 50 years ago this week, admonished Americans to "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." He didn't live to see how it played out, but there are plenty of people trying to keep his vision alive.
Bishop Shanahan student wins leadership award
Audrey Rucker of Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown received the Widener University High School Leadership Award. A plaque her name will be displayed in the school. Rucker was selected from among 17 nominees from high schools in the tri-state area to receive the award, along with a $20,000 scholarship to Widener where she will […]
As president, John F. Kennedy faced challenges of fast-changing world
DALLAS (CNS) -- A young first family, captivating and chipper, reinvented life in the White House during John F. Kennedy's 34-month presidency in the early 1960s. As Kennedy, then 46, arrived in Texas in November 1963, the visit came against a backdrop of the Cold War, the space race and the nation's volatile civil rights scene. Reflecting on the president who was assassinated 50 years ago this week, a historian argues Kennedy earned a reputation for inspired crisis management at a time when humanity grappled with unprecedented fears.
Boehner remarks raise questions on immigration reform
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Depending on how one interprets House Speaker John Boehner's recent comments on the prospects for immigration reform legislation to be passed in the House, it might be out of the question or the measure might just take a different form than the bill already passed by the Senate. According to one advocate of reform, the House can instead move to the floor five separate bills that deal with aspects of immigration reform, which have already moved through relevant committees.