News
St. John’s U probe reveals ‘errors in judgment’ but no crime
JAMAICA, N.Y. (CNS) -- An independent investigation by St. John's University found "no criminal wrongdoing" on the part of its recently retired president, but "errors in judgment" by top university officials over financial conflicts of interest and lack of disclosure to the school's board of trustees.
Dozens of World Youth Day pilgrims seek asylum in Brazil
SAO PAULO (CNS) — More than 50 pilgrims who attended World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro are seeking asylum in Brazil. Aline Thuller, Caritas’ coordinator for refugees in the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, said the archdiocese received approximately 40 asylum requests from pilgrims from Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Congo. Thuller said two parishes […]
Here comes the cavalry! Nashville Dominicans join Scottish diocese
ABERDEEN, Scotland (CNS) -- A bishop has likened the arrival of American nuns in his Scottish diocese to a Western, with the cavalry coming over the hill at the moment Catholics thought they were going to be scalped. In a homily during an Aug. 24 Mass to welcome the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia into the Diocese of Aberdeen, Bishop Hugh Gilbert said the nuns were rescuing the local church in the same way that the U.S. Cavalry saved cowboys from Indians in the movies.
Nations ponder what to do about chemical attack in Syria
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were consulting with other world leaders about how to respond to Syria's apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron was convening an emergency session of Parliament to consider a motion allowing a British military response.. Chaldean Catholic Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo told Vatican Radio Aug. 26 that "If there were a military intervention, I think this would lead to a world war. There is this risk."
Priest chaplain nurtures soldiers’ faith in Afghanistan deployment
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (CNS) — After more than a year of preparation, Father Christopher Butera has made his way to Afghanistan, serving as chaplain to an Army unit helping train Afghan soldiers as the U.S. presence in the mountainous country winds down. A priest of the Diocese of Allentown, Father Butera began his deployment in mid-August. […]
Black Catholics felt the need to be at March on Washington anniversary
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The presence of Catholic priests and religious was unmistakable at the first March on Washington in 1963; their clerical collars and full habits with wimples stood out even among the black-and-white images of the day. Clergy and religious weren't as visible at the first of two major anniversary events in 2013, but African American Catholics were in attendance, just as they were a half-century earlier. There was, they said in interviews with Catholic News Service, no place else they could imagine being on Aug. 24.
Hawaii bishop urges Catholics to mobilize against same-sex marriage
HONOLULU (CNS) -- Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu urged Catholics across the island state to oppose same-sex marriage in an "urgent request" to pastors. In a letter that was included in parish bulletins the weekend of Aug. 24-25, Bishop Silva asked Catholics to pray the rosary daily over the next several weeks, "if possible" while walking around the state Capitol block, "so that just as God tumbled down the walls of Jericho, he will be able to do so through the prayers and action of his beloved people."
Egypt’s Christians proud of history traced to Jesus, St. Mark
CAIRO (CNS) --The Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary sits in a tiled courtyard a few miles outside Cairo, on the left bank of the Nile as the river bends south toward Upper Egypt. The structure's front doors overlook the famed river, which Egyptian Christians who pray and worship here are convinced transported Mary, Joseph and their small boy, Jesus, to safety from persecution back home.
Pope to meet Jordan’s king, discuss ongoing strife in Middle East
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As international leaders increasingly discussed the possibility of some form of armed intervention in Syria, the Vatican announced Pope Francis would interrupt the last week of his summer break in order to meet Aug. 29 with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. Jordan and Syria share a border, and Jordan is hosting some […]
Fear of Egyptian violence doesn’t stop nuns’ hospital work
The Egyptian army's takeover in early July has led to deadly clashes with militants throughout Egypt, including within ear-reach of the century-old Italian Hospital in Cairo, where nuns from five different Catholic orders live and work. But fears of what is outside the hospital gates -- including a spike in attacks on the country's Christian institutions -- appeared to interfere little with the sisters' chores inside the historic medical facility built by Egypt's one-time vibrant Italian community.