News
Flash flood due to snow, heavy rain, closes Lourdes shrine again
TOULOUSE, France (CNS) -- Flash flooding created by heavy rains forced officials to close the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes June 18. The Lourdes grotto, where Mary is reported to have appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, was under as much as 5 feet of water.
Adding St. Joseph’s name to Mass texts, popes share their devotion
UPDATED -- VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis and retired Pope Benedict XVI have a special devotion to St. Joseph and have assured that devotion regularly will be shared at Mass by Catholics around the world. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments said Pope Francis confirmed a decision originally made by Pope Benedict to include St. Joseph permanently in the eucharistic prayers used at most Masses in the Latin rite. (See the text of the prayers for the Mass in English.)
Quebec at a crossroads with euthanasia bill, province’s bishops say
OTTAWA, Ontario (CNS) -- As the Quebec government considers an end-of-life bill that would allow euthanasia, Quebec's Catholic bishops warn that society faces a crucial choice. "We are at a crossroads with this choice," said Archbishop Pierre-Andre Fournier of Rimouski, president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec. "This is a very important moment for the future of our country, of our society."
Irish Bishop chides Obama for echoing ‘Protestant/Catholic caricature’
DUBLIN (CNS) -- A bishop in Northern Ireland accused President Barack Obama of a "hackneyed" analysis of the political situation in the region.
International Criminal Court declines to probe Vatican over sex abuse
NEW YORK (CNS) — The International Criminal Court declined a request from victims of clergy sexual abuse to investigate Vatican officials and their responsibility for the abuse of children by Catholic priests around the world. In a two-page letter May 31, the court told the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, which represented the victims, […]
Harley Davidson riders rumble into the Vatican
Some 35,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles arrived in Rome last week to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the American motorcycle maker's founding. There was room for faith among the rumbling engines, leather jackets and elaborate tattoos. Events began early in the morning of June 14 with Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, saying Mass in St. Peter's Basilica for 2,000 of the participants.
Catholics, Lutherans look to commemoration of Reformation anniversary
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Joint Catholic-Lutheran commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation must recognize the harm caused by the split in Western Christianity, the polemics that exacerbated differences and the progress made through 50 years of ecumenical dialogue, a new document said. “From Conflict to Communion,” a document released June […]
Report says ‘witch hunt’ tactics hurting CCHD’s outreach to poor
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the U.S. bishops' domestic anti-poverty arm, should "resist efforts that isolate Catholic-funded organizations from effective coalitions that are improving the lives of low-income citizens," according to a new report examining threats to CCHD's funding. The report is titled "Be Not Afraid?: Guilt by Association, Catholic McCarthyism and Growing Threats to the U.S. Bishops' Anti-Poverty Mission."
Pope says false ideas of freedom spawn threats to human life
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ideologies and practices that destroy human life arise from false ideas of freedom without God, Pope Francis told a crowd in St. Peter's Square, including thousands of pro-life activists from around the world. "Whenever we want to assert ourselves, when we become wrapped up in our own selfishness and put ourselves in the place of God, we end up spawning death," the pope said in his homily during the Mass June 16.
Pope urges G-8 leaders to put politics, economics at service of poor, unborn people
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The goal of politics and economics is to serve all of humanity, starting with the poorest, the most vulnerable and the unborn, Pope Francis told British Prime Minister David Cameron, president of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. "Money and other political and economic means must serve, not rule," the pope said, adding that "in a seemingly paradoxical way, free and disinterested solidarity is the key to the smooth functioning of the global economy."