News
World War II vet says time as POW of Nazis deepened his Catholic faith
DUNDALK, Md. (CNS) -- U.S. Army Air Corps Cpl. Leo Wojciechowski had just unloaded bombs targeting the Blechhammer synthetic oil refinery on the Nazi-occupied Czech-Polish border when he felt his B-24 shudder. Anti-aircraft fire had struck the nose gunner's plane during the Aug. 7, 1944, mission, causing it to lose speed and altitude as gasoline flooded the rear of the compromised aircraft.
Wood vs Ryan rematch for girls soccer championship
Archbishop Ryan girls’ soccer team will face Archbishop Wood again this season for the championship. The girls from Archbishop Wood defeated Little Flower in a close 1-0 game to make it to the finals. Archbishop Ryan shut out Lansdale Catholic in a 4-0 game. The championship game will take place at Archbishop Ryan High School […]
First U.S. edition of missal in Spanish may be on the horizon
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Anyone who’s familiar with the arduous, years-long process of getting English-language liturgical texts into use might be a bit surprised to learn that there is no comparable system for single-source Spanish translations of missals and other liturgical books. In the United States, priests celebrating daily or weekly Mass, a wedding or other […]
Missionary team plants Catholicism in Mongolia, but challenges remain
PERTH, Australia (CNS) -- When Bishop Wenceslao Padilla arrived in Mongolia with two other missionary priests in 1992, there were no Catholics in the Central Asian country. His mission was much like that of the early apostles: to take Catholicism to a land that had not yet encountered it.
Theory of one hominid species is compatible with faith, experts say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A group of scientists has proposed that human beings emerged from one single evolving human species rather than branching from a tree of multiple, early ancestral species. The new hypothesis, while still disputed, fits even better with the Catholic Church's position that humans came from one source, in that they were freely created by God, said two experts in science and faith.
Prospective high school site in Hilltown sold for $2.6 million
As part of a continuing strategy to plug its financial holes, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has sold a large property previously set aside for construction of a new Catholic high school. A 68-acre tract in Hilltown, Bucks County, is under agreement of sale for $2.6 million, archdiocesan spokesman Ken Gavin confirmed Oct. 24. Proceeds of the sale will go toward easing an $82 million shortfall in the archdiocesan Trust and Loan Fund.
Charges of sexual assault against priest dropped after death of accuser
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams announced Wednesday, Oct. 23 that he has dropped charges of charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault against Father Robert L. Brennan. The charges stemmed from an allegation of sexual abuse by 26-year-old Sean McIlmail, who was found dead from a drug overdose.
Catholic college mourns death of alumna slain at her school
WORCESTER, Mass. (CNS) -- Assumption College planned to hold a noon prayer service Oct. 25 in the school's Chapel of the Holy Spirit to remember Colleen Ritzer, a 2011 graduate found dead early in the morning Oct. 23.
New U.S. envoy to Vatican: Areas of agreement bigger than differences
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Disagreements need not hinder the Vatican and the Obama administration from collaborating on a broad range of peace and justice issues, including the promotion of religious freedom, said Ken Hackett, the new U.S ambassador to the Holy See.
Defense of family must not justify women’s oppression, speakers say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church must defend the traditional family without perpetuating the subjugation of women or forcing them to bear the greatest burden for keeping the family going, said speakers at a Vatican conference. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said a renewed approach to the pastoral care of the family must involve the participation of married men and women.