News
Vatican’s new top diplomat ready to ramp up network for peace
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A veteran diplomat, the Vatican's new secretary of state, plans to put the church's vast global diplomatic network into high gear as champions for peace. Archbishop Pietro Parolin said Pope Francis has already injected a new impetus into the Vatican's Secretariat of State structure and given a new push for church-led diplomacy.
Vatican’s U.N. nuncio calls military strikes on Syria ‘unjustified’
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Military strikes on Syria are unjustified and will create a far larger humanitarian disaster for people already suffering from hunger, displacement and critical lack of medical care, said the Vatican nuncio to the United Nations. Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt urged, instead, that world leaders work toward a "cessation of violence, not an escalation of violence" in Syria during a Mass Sept. 7 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.
Three Chester County parishes set to offer Alpha Course for evangelization
The primary goal of the Year of Faith was to inspire Catholics to renew their relationship with Christ and His Church. One example of a successful evangelization effort in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is the Alpha Course. Three parishes in Chester County are offering the 10-week course one night a week starting this month.
Just war in attacking Syria? Some see cloudy, some see clear answers
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Even with just war theory as a guide, the answers remain murky to moral and ethical questions about whether a military strike is the appropriate response to what U.S. officials believe was a chemical attack against Syrian civilians, analysts said. While President Barack Obama, Congress and other world leaders weigh how to respond to the reported chemical weapons attack Aug. 21 that killed as many as 1,400 civilians, the church's just war teachings on when a military response is appropriate were being raised as a guide to decision-making.
Aid agencies fear increase in Syrian refugees if U.S. launches strikes
ISTANBUL (CNS) -- Tanil Kahiaian, a refugee from the Syrian city of Aleppo, said he is doing what he can for the others fleeing his country. He, his wife and two children escaped the Syrian war almost a year ago, and since he has watched "tens of thousands" pour into neighboring Turkey as he did. "It is so difficult for me to see this, their poverty. I am donating clothes from my work," Kahiaian told Catholic News Service Sept. 8 from near his home in Istanbul's Kumkapi district.
Thousands flock to Rome armed with power of prayer in fight for peace
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For the thousands of people who turned out for a solemn vigil in St. Peter's Square, the power of prayer and hopes for peace are still mightier than the world's weapons and wars. "Instead of using hatred, we are using prayer because it's the only thing that can bring calm and peace to everything," Michele Di Stadio, 20, told Catholic News Service.
Praying for peace in Syria, pope calls selfishness the cause of war
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Leading a crowd in prayer for peace in Syria, Pope Francis said that war is ultimately caused by selfishness, which can be overcome only though expressions of fraternity and never with violence. "Leave behind the self-interest that hardens your heart, overcome the indifference that makes your heart insensitive towards others, conquer your deadly reasoning, and open yourself to dialogue and reconciliation," the pope said Sept. 7 before an estimated 100,000 people in St. Peter's Square.
Pope calls for ‘war against evil,’ including illegal arms trade
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Repeating his recent calls for peace in the Middle East, Pope Francis urged Christians to wage a "deeper war" against evil, including the illegal arms trade that he said drives much of the world's military conflict. The pope made his remarks Sept. 8, before praying the noon Angelus with a crowd in St. Peter's Square, where the previous evening he had led a four-hour vigil for peace in Syria, the Middle East and the world.
College leaders say plan to reduce student loan debt needs improvement
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- This summer -- when college campuses were virtually empty -- the subject of out-of-control college loans was a hot topic. Now that students are back in school, the price tag on their loans -- set to greet many of them when they graduate -- looms larger than their dorm room bunk beds and is getting close scrutiny by students, parents, college leaders and government officials.
Teachers’ tent city drives people away from Mexico City cathedral
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- They come and go, running riot in the Mexican capital, but they always return to a tent city in the central Zocalo Square -- right in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral, which Catholic officials say has been negatively affected by the presence of so many protesting teachers. "It's not very easy to access for the faithful or visitors," said Father Hugo Valdemar Romero, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mexico City.