News
Indiana Catholic family’s business challenges HHS mandate
MADISON, Ind. (CNS) -- Although Grote Industries in Madison has been in business for more than a century, one date in May holds particular significance to the family-owned, worldwide manufacturer of vehicle lighting products. On May 22, a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago was scheduled to hear arguments in the lawsuit the Grote family filed last October to gain relief from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate that forces most employers to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilizations and contraceptives to their employees in company health plans.
Syriac bishop: Extremism jeopardizes Syrian Christians’ safety
The church leaders took part in the special Syriac blessing of the water ceremony recited over small bottles of water, later distributed to the worshippers. In his homily, Bishop Melki said the church in Syria "continues to be a victim of the total chaos and war." "We pray fervently day and night for (Christian) unity and peace, especially in Syria, and for the two bishops who have been kidnapped and their release and for others kidnapped elsewhere in the Middle East."
Ripple effect continues five years after immigration raid on Iowa plant
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNS) -- Carrying red flowers representing the 389 workers arrested during a 2008 raid, hundreds of people participated in a Walk for Justice and interfaith prayer service to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the immigration raid on the Agriprocessors Plant in Postville. The event continues to have an impact far beyond the small town in a rural corner of the Dubuque Archdiocese. During the opening blessing to a prayer service May 10, recently retired Dubuque Archbishop Jerome G. Hanus of Dubuque, who visited Postville shortly after the raid in 2008, alluded to how the event tore apart families and devastated the community of about 2,000 residents.
Cardinal Dolan cites Gosnell’s atrocities in opposing proposed N.Y. abortion law
ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) -- If New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushes to have "a right to an abortion" codified in state law, he will face "vociferous" and "rigorous" opposition from Catholic and other pro-lifers, said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York. But the cardinal hopes it doesn't come to that because Cuomo, he said, has told him "he wants to work hard on alternatives to abortion," such as expanding adoption, having "greater latitude" in maternity leave and better assisting pregnant women in need and those with small children.
Diocese of Joliet, Ill., sued for alleged sexual abuse by priests
JOLIET, Ill. (CNS) -- Five lawsuits were filed against the Diocese of Joliet May 15 alleging sexual abuse of minors by four priests and a lay teacher during the 1970s and 1980s. A Chicago law firm filed the lawsuits on behalf of victims who said they were between the ages of 8 and 16 at the time.
Diversity is a blessing when all are united in faith, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Calling for unity -- not uniformity -- in the Church, Pope Francis said diversity is a blessing only when all Catholics recognize and follow Church teaching. "It is the church which brings Christ to me and me to Christ; parallel journeys are dangerous," he told some 200,000 members of Catholic lay movements and groups during a May 19 Pentecost Mass in St. Peter's Square. "When we venture beyond the Church's teaching and community, and do not remain in them, we are not one with the God of Jesus Christ."
Archbishop Carroll’s girls lacrosse dominance ending soon? Don’t bet on it
Carroll’s latest conquest was a 20-2 Catholic League semifinal victory against overmatched St. Hubert’s. League Most Valuable Player Taryn Deck was her typical self, contributing four goals and three assists. Two of her teammates added a hat trick and four more supplied two apiece. Next up to the guillotine is Cardinal O’Hara, which doubled up on Archbishop Wood, 10-5, in the other semifinal. At 6 p.m. Monday at Neumann University, O’Hara will try do what no other team has been able to do in the past dozen years and counting: squash Goliath.
FCC to try rewriting broadcast indecency standards; will it succeed?
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After running afoul of the courts yet again, the Federal Communications Commission is taking another stab at rewriting its regulations on indecent content on over-the-air television and radio. Whether the regulations need to be rewritten, though, is another matter entirely.
Fighting poverty would limit trafficking, Vatican’s U.N. observer says
UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — The political commitment to combat human trafficking must be backed by concrete actions to ensure that victims gain their freedom from modern-day slavery, said the Vatican’s representative to the United Nations. Addressing a U.N. General Assembly meeting to develop a global plan to address human trafficking May 13-14, Archbishop Francis A. […]
Father Pavone: ‘Truth of abortion’ exposed in trial will bring end to abortion
MADISON, Wis. (CNS) — Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, predicted “the end of abortion in our lifetime” in a recent talk he gave in Madison sponsored by Wisconsin Right to Life. The trial of abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell in Philadelphia exposed the grisly truths about the abortion industry, the priest said. […]