News
He used to be poor, but that was long ago
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Contrary to the beliefs of some, it is possible for people who are poor to break out of poverty. Clarence Simmons is one of them. Few people know him as Clarence. "Call me Clay," he says.
Religious order files HHS lawsuit; Catholic college joins another suit
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Little Sisters of the Poor and a Catholic college are the latest Catholic entities to file a lawsuit or join an existing suit against the Department of Health and Human Services over its mandate that most religious employers' health insurance plans cover contraceptives, sterilization and some abortion-inducing drugs free of charge.
Pope: Church must show what unity looks like, avoid divisions, gossip
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Backstabbing and gossip hurt people and harm God's desire for a united human family, Pope Francis said. Unity is a gift from God, "but often we struggle to live it out," he said. "We are the ones who create lacerations."
Connecticut bishop urges Catholics to be builders of spiritual bridges
TRUMBULL, Conn. (CNS) -- Bridgeport's new bishop used a famous image of his hometown -- the Brooklyn Bridge -- to describe how, like a physical bridge, a "spiritual bridge" pulls communities together and draws Catholics closer to God, the Gospels and one another as members of the body of Christ.
Agencies stretching to meet needs of Syrians displaced by civil war
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Governments and nongovernmental agencies are struggling to keep up with the needs and pressures created by the displacement of nearly a third of Syria's population because of the country's civil war. Assistance to the refugees and displaced people is coming from around the world, although resources are thinly stretched.
As migration rises worldwide, pope calls for international cooperation
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called for greater international cooperation to improve conditions for the world's rising numbers of migrants and called on the media to combat prejudices that make immigrants unwelcome in their new countries. The pope's words came in his annual message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which will be celebrated Jan. 19, 2014. The message was released by the Vatican Sept. 24.
Pope Benedict challenges atheist, says he never hid abuse cases
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a letter to an atheist Italian mathematician, retired Pope Benedict XVI defended his own handling of allegations of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and politely criticized the logician's total reliance on scientific facts for meaning. "I never sought to conceal these things," the pope said of cases of clerical abuse, and lamented the scholar depicting the church as the only place where such "deviation" and "filth" occur.
Sister Mary De Angelis, former principal of St. Nicholas of Tolentine, dies at 92
Sister Mary De Angelis, 92, died Sunday, September 22, 2013, at Saint Joseph Hall, Villa Walsh, Morristown, N J. Viewing will be held Wednesday, September 25, 2013, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. at St. Lucy Chapel, Villa Walsh, Morristown, New Jersey, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 4 p.m. by Rev. John Rossi, Director of Catholic Identity, at Paul VI High School in the Diocese of Camden. Interment will take place following the liturgy at Ave Maria Cemetery. Arrangements are by the Doyle Funeral Home, Morristown, N J.
Catholic Foundation aims to engage lay Catholic donors in Philadelphia
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will not ask Catholics for money. Instead, the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia will not only “make the ask” but it will invite donors to indicate how they would like their contributions to be used in support of the good works of the church in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The new organization was announced at a press conference Tuesday, Sept. 24 at its center city Philadelphia headquarters at 20th and Arch streets.
Pope: Digital domain needs loving dialogue, not spiritual engineers
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Helping the church get the Gospel message out to the digital world depends more on a loving passion for reaching out to others than being tech savvy or a verbal warrior, Pope Francis told Catholic communicators. “I believe that the goal is to understand how to enter into dialogue with the […]