News
CSS to close 2 social service offices in Archdiocese
Catholic Social Services (CSS) of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will close two of its locations in Chester and Delaware counties, the Archdiocese announced, Friday, Jan. 4. The plan affects the Community-Based Services division of CSS, which operates outreach sites in each county. Of the division’s 317 full-time employees, 13 were laid off as a result of the restructuring.
2.3 million people joined pope at Vatican in 2012
VATICAN CITY — More than 2.3 million pilgrims and visitors joined Pope Benedict XVI for an audience, liturgy or prayer at the Vatican or Castel Gandolfo in 2012, the Vatican said. The Prefecture of the Papal Household, the Vatican office that coordinates the audiences and distributes the free tickets to papal audiences and liturgies, said […]
US Catholics’ efforts help Syrian refugees in Turkey, bishop says
ISTANBUL (CNS) — The relief efforts of U.S. Catholics are helping Syrian refugees in Turkey face their ordeal in a dignified manner that respects their priorities, said Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz. Bishop Kicanas, chairman of the board of Catholic Relief Services, traveled to the Turkish-Syrian border to see programs the agency has […]
German bishops criticize country’s growing arms industry
BERLIN (CNS) — Germany’s Catholic bishops criticized the country’s growing arms industry and urged greater commitment to settling the world’s armed conflicts. The message was included in a 24-page bishops’ conference brochure for the Jan. 1 World Day of Peace. “Peace isn’t just a job for politicians,” said the conference president, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of […]
Migration Week renews push for immigration legislation
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Catholic Church's observance of National Migration Week Jan. 6-12 this year comes at a time when the outlook seems promising for improving migrants' legal situations in the United States. The annual observance of Migration Week this year focuses on encouraging Congress to approve comprehensive immigration reform and marking the 10th anniversary of a joint pastoral letter by U.S. and Mexican bishops: "Strangers No Longer: Together on a Journey of Hope."
Volunteer’s special touch helps others live, and die, peacefully
Trevor Lanham, a 26-year-old who is mentally disabled, volunteers at a Maryland nursing home three afternoons a week, helping the staff with entertainment and activities. He also takes on more solemn duties: praying for dying residents and staying with them in their final hours. "Dear Lord, I need your help," Lanham prays in the words he wrote, "I have a friend who asked for prayers. A request was sent to me and I can only do my part, so I have to ask you to do the rest because you know what is best. I pray that you will help me say words of faith and love, and heal the blessed ones and take them in your care."
Cardinal George warns against Illinois same-sex marriage law
CHICAGO (CNS) — Cardinal Francis E. George told Chicago-area Catholics that the passage of a same-sex marriage law in the state would be “acting against the common good of society.” “This proposed legislation will have long-term consequences because laws teach; they tell us what is socially acceptable and what is not, and most people conform […]
Atlanta pastor named auxiliary bishop
ATLANTA (CNS) — A former Southern Baptist who became a Catholic at the age of 24 and has served at various archdiocesan parishes, Msgr. David P. Talley, 62, who has been named by Pope Benedict XVI as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. At a press conference in Atlanta, Archbishop Wilton T. Gregory […]
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Moses B. Anderson of Detroit dies at 84
LIVONIA, Mich. (CNS) -- A funeral Mass was scheduled for Jan. 7 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit for retired Auxiliary Bishop Moses B. Anderson, who died Jan. 1 at the age of 84. A Jan. 2 statement from the Archdiocese of Detroit said Bishop Anderson died of cardiac arrest. Born in Selma, Ala., in 1928, he was ordained an Edmundite priest in 1958. During his 25-year anniversary as a priest, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop of Detroit, a post he held for 20 years before retiring from active ministry in 2003.
French bishops encourage rally against same-sex marriage bill
PARIS (CNS) — France’s Catholic bishops are backing plans for a national demonstration against same-sex marriage legislation, which is expected to be approved by lawmakers later in January. “I won’t be participating — not because I don’t agree with the demonstration, but because I don’t think I need to march when I have to make […]