News
Vatican acquires archive of pope’s former archdiocesan TV station
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican Television Center has acquired and can distribute hundreds of hours of television images of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires from 2005 until his election as Pope Francis in March. The images were filmed by Canal 21, the television station owned by the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires; the […]
Knights set record for giving $167 million, 70 million volunteer hours, in 2012
The Knights of Columbus set a new all-time record for charitable donations and service hours in 2012, according to the results of an annual survey of activity by the New Haven, Conn.-based fraternal organization for the year ending Dec. 31, 2012. The Knights’ financial contribution for the year grew by more than $9.4 million to […]
At Vatican, Salt and Light Television screens documentary on synod
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As the Catholic Church prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the world Synod of Bishops in 2015, the Vatican and Canada’s Salt and Light Television thought it was time to let more people into the synod hall. The result is the documentary, “Go and Teach,” which was screened June 26 […]
European churches welcome EU move to link aid to religious freedom
OXFORD, England (CNS) — Churches in Europe have welcomed pledges by the European Union to make financial help for countries around the world conditional on their protection of religious freedom. The Brussels-based Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community, COMECE, said June 25 that action was needed “given the systematic and increasing violations […]
Catholic presence at Battle of Gettysburg still shines 150 years later
They were Poles, Austrians, Germans, Czechs, Italians, Irish -- especially Irish -- and they had one thing in common. They were Catholics, many of them new immigrants but loyal Americans. Seven score and 10 years ago, as Abraham Lincoln might say, many of them participated in the crucial Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863. Certainly Catholicism was still very much a minority religion in 19th century America, but Catholics were there.
St. Gabriel’s Hall wins award for keeping resident boys healthy, fit
St. Gabriel’s Hall of Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia recently won a Silver Award and $1,000 from the HealthierUS School Challenge, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As part of the challenge St. Gabriel’s improved the health of its students by offering healthy items on its school lunch menu […]
Ireland to pay women who worked in church’s ‘Magdalen laundries’
DUBLIN (CNS) -- The Irish Government will provide lump-sum compensation between $15,000 and $130,000 to former residents of church-run institutions. An independent report released in February found "significant" state involvement in the religious-run institutions, known as Magdalen laundries, where young women, many placed by the state, worked without pay.
Listening with heart gives one courage to tell truth of faith, nun says
Telling the truth means that media professionals must overcome the temptation to be shrewd and secretive, Mother Dolores Hart told Catholic journalists June 20 in Denver. Leaving her cloistered Benedictine monastery to promote her new book, "The Ear of the Heart," was like seeing a movie in color for the first time. But the promotional tour also has awakened her to some of the harsh realities the Catholic Church is facing in modern-day society, added the nun, who is still a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
U.S. bishops view Supreme Court’s rulings as ‘tragic day for marriage’
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- U.S. Catholic bishops said the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 rulings on same-sex marriage were a "tragic day for marriage and our nation." Same-sex unions "copy marriage and family, and in the process, they compete with and diminish the uniquely important status of both," said Archbishop Charles Chaput in a statement. "The court got it wrong," said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco in a statement.
Supreme Court overturns federal marriage law on 5-4 vote
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, defining marriage as between one man and one woman, is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause, the Supreme Court ruled June 26 in a 5-4 opinion. In a separate case, the court declined to hear a challenge to California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved initiative barring same-sex marriage in that state. The apparent result is that same-sex marriage will again be legal in California as soon as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals formally dismisses the case, as the high court instructed it.