News
Migrant advocate flees Catholic-run shelter after death threats
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- An advocate for undocumented migrants has left a Catholic-run shelter in southern Mexico after receiving death threats, a statement from a coalition of nine Catholic and human rights organizations said. The departure of an activist, Ruben Figueroa of the Mesoamerican Migrant Movement, marks yet more difficulties for the shelter and its operator, Franciscan Father Tomas Gonzalez Castillo, whose work with undocumented migrants on the Mexico-Guatemala border has brought him into conflict with both criminals and government officials.
Pope, Anglican leader meet, pledge to continue search for unity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, pledged to support each other with their prayers and to continue the search for full unity between their communities. "As you yourself have observed," Pope Francis told the archbishop, "we Christians bring peace and grace as a treasure to be offered to the world, but these gifts can bear fruit only when Christians live and work together in harmony."
Anglican leader says he and pope discussed their spirituality, prayer
ROME (CNS) -- Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury said his private conversation with Pope Francis was "very personal," with the new leaders of the Catholic Church and of the Anglican Communion discussing how their positions have influenced their prayer lives. In addition to delivering speeches and praying together, the two spent more than 30 minutes speaking privately and later had lunch together in the pope's residence.
Maronite, Orthodox leaders call for release of kidnapped Syrian bishops
BEIRUT (CNS) — Lebanon’s Maronite Catholic patriarch and Syria’s Greek Orthodox patriarch called for the release of two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in Syria. “We demand the kidnappers and the countries concerned” to release the two bishops and the two priests kidnapped before them, and all those who have been kidnapped on Syrian territory, said Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, the Maronite patriarch, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X in a joint statement from Bkerke, the Maronite patriarchate north of Beirut.
Colorado wildfire destroys homes, land, forces thousands to flee
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CNS) -- For the second year in a row, a wildfire got out of hand on a hot and windy afternoon in Colorado Springs June 12, leaving thousands of people fleeing for safety and thousands of others reliving a nightmare. More than 360 homes have been destroyed in the blaze that has consumed nearly 15,000 acres. No injuries have been reported, and it is not known yet how the fire started.
Judge dismisses Serra suit; aim is for both parties to settle dispute
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CNS) -- A Chicago circuit judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Serra International against Serra's USA Council to pave the way for bishops to help settle the dispute. But the more than two years of internal strife in the vocations organization has caused at least one former U.S. Serra Club to strike out on its own. "Some of our members agonized over this, hoping that a satisfactory resolution might unfold. But it took so long that everyone lost heart and we voted unanimously to leave Serra," read the June newsletter of the Vocations Ministry of Savannah, Ga., formerly a Serra club.
What the pope’s leaked comments really tells us about the church
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A report that Pope Francis privately acknowledged the existence of a "gay lobby" inside the Vatican offers a sensational example of his unvarnished speaking style and a reminder of the challenge that style poses for the papacy in the age of digital communications and vanishing privacy. But the context of the comment is a series of remarks most illuminating for what they reveal: not about divisions within the church, but about Pope Francis' vision of its harmony and unity.
Quebec’s end-of-life bill decried as Belgian-style euthanasia
OTTAWA, Ontario (CNS) -- Pro-life and other groups joined forces to denounce a bill governing end-of-life care introduced by the Quebec government June 12 as a form of Belgian-style euthanasia. The head of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition said the bill redefines palliative care to include "terminal medical sedation" and "medical aid in dying," which he called a euphemism for euthanasia.
Bishop McDevitt grad last of a long line of high-achieving siblings
There had to be a bit of déjà vu for Mike and Mary DiCamillo and their family when Sophia, the youngest of their six children, stepped up to the podium on June 5 at Arcadia University as valedictorian for the Bishop McDevitt High School, Class of 2013, commencement exercises. She is the fourth member of the family to be McDevitt’s valedictorian.
In announcing new encyclical, Pope Francis reveals his decisive style
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis told members of the ordinary council of the Synod of Bishops that he was preparing to publish an encyclical on faith written “with four hands” — his own and those of Pope Benedict XVI. While a formal speech was prepared for the pope’s meeting with the council responsible for […]