News
CRS, Special Olympics link to aid people with intellectual disabilities
WASHINGTON (CNS) — A partnership between Catholic Relief Services and Special Olympics International is expected to bring together the expertise of both organizations to help people with intellectual disabilities move from the margins of society. Announced Nov. 6, the partnership will connect the development work of CRS, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency, […]
Pope leads prayers, calls for aid for people hit by deadly typhoon
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis led prayers in St. Peter's Square Nov. 10 for people hit by a deadly typhoon in the Philippines and surrounding region, and asked that concrete aid be sent soon.
At Manila air base, distraught family members hope for plane to Leyte
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- The back entry to the grandstand at the Villamor Air Base was teeming with people as the noon sun peaked. It was Nov. 11, three days after Super Typhoon Haiyan pounded the central Philippine islands, leaving a path of overwhelming destruction that emergency and relief workers were hard-pressed to penetrate.
Church workers lose contact with central Philippines as typhoon hits
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — As Super Typhoon Haiyan barreled across the central Philippines, national and international church aid officials lost contact with their local counterparts. “I’m just monitoring the news and I’m just hoping for the best,” said Josephine Ignacio of Caritas Philippines. “I’m just hoping that the government’s massive pre-emptive evacuation operation did miracles.” […]
Archdiocesan parishes pray for immigrants this weekend
Parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will pray for and remember immigrants who have died crossing the border or remain separated from their families at Masses Sunday, Nov. 10. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office for Cultural Ministries invites everyone to join participating parishes in praying for the passage of immigration reform. The parish churches and […]
Catholic advocates to add church voice to Warsaw climate discussions
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- When government delegates begin debating climate change in Warsaw Nov. 11, Catholic representatives will be working to ensure the church's voice is heard. The Conference of the Parties, running until Nov. 22, will review progress since the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which committed industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Marriage tribunals must provide justice and pastoral care, pope says
Meeting with members of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature, the church's highest tribunal, Pope Francis said church workers who deal with marriage annulments must recall "the icon of the Good Shepherd, who bends down toward the lost and wounded sheep."
Bones of St. Peter to go on display at Vatican for first time
No pope has ever declared the bones, discovered during excavations in the 1940s, to be authentic. However, after scientific tests were conducted on the bones in the 1950s and '60s, Pope Paul VI said in 1968 that the "relics" of St. Peter had been "identified in a way which we can hold to be convincing."
St. Bridget Parish hosts talk on life of parishioner Grace Kelly
St. Bridget Parish in the East Falls section of Philadelphia hosted a talk by Louise Feder of the Michener Museum in Doylestown on Grace Kelly Nov. 3 at the church. Kelly and her siblings were all baptized in St. Bridget Church, and her family was an integral part of the parish’s history. Some current parishioners remember her as a child sitting in the pews of the church.
Lansdale regional Catholic school to honor veterans
Mater Dei Catholic School, Lansdale, will honor and pray for all U.S. military veterans during a school assembly Nov. 11. The school represents the parishes of St. Maria Goretti in Hatfield, St. Rose of Lima in North Wales and St. Stanislaus in Lansdale, and their surrounding communities. All are welcome to attend a prayer liturgy […]