News
Pope says religions must cooperate to remind humanity God exists
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For the good of all people, the care of the poor and the future of the Earth, religions must cooperate in reminding modern men and women that God exists and has a plan for their lives and their behavior, Pope Francis said.
Pope uniquely positioned to foster peace, says N.J.’s Congressman Smith
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Princes and presidents, diplomats and dictators, patriarchs and pastors came together in St. Peter's Square to witness the inauguration of Pope Francis' ministry. Any signs of animosity or favor were set aside as more than 130 government representatives, as well as dozens of religious leaders, sat side by side at the March 19 ceremony.
Terri Schiavo’s memory honored with upcoming Mass, dinner
Terri Schindler Schiavo, a comatose young woman who died in Florida March 31, 2005 after being denied nutrition and hydration despite a long court battle, has not been forgotten. On Friday, April 5, Archbishop Charles Chaput will celebrate a 5 p.m. Mass in Terri’s memory at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. This will be followed by a dinner at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriot Hotel at 12th and Market streets, sponsored by the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network.
St. Dominic’s 7th graders correctly picked new pope before cardinals did
The next time there is a papal election, it might be just as well to skip the white smoke/black smoke suspense and endless speculation on who will be elected pope. Just call up St. Dominic School in Northeast Philadelphia and find out what the seventh-grade kids think.
Vatican releases Pope Francis’ schedule, details of surprise visits
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican released an official schedule for Pope Francis March 17-24, but if his first two days as pope were any indication, the schedule was only an outline destined to expand at a moment's notice. The only event on the new pope's schedule March 15 was an audience with the world's cardinals. But shortly before that meeting, he shocked the receptionist at the Jesuit headquarters by telephoning the order's superior general; he made an evening visit to a Rome clinic to visit 90-year-old Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mejia who had had a heart attack; then he stopped at the replica of the grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens to pray before a statue of Mary.
Argentineans paint Pope Francis as kind, outspoken, good administrator
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNS) -- Oscar Justo, 60, begs for bills and coins from a perch next to St. Joseph Parish in Barrio de Flores, the neighborhood where Pope Francis was born. As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis passed by often, walking from the bus stop or surfacing from a nearby subway station. But he always took time to greet Justo, offer a blessing and provide a few pesos.
In Buenos Aires slum, church counters drugs, evangelicals
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNS) -- Mass at the Christ the Worker Parish is celebrated on a cement soccer pitch. There, parishioners sit on portable pews and relax on the embankment of a highway overpass. The chapel nearby is part church, part community center and serves Villa 31, one of the more than 500 shanties surrounding the Argentine capital. It's an example of the outreach to outcasts and the poor employed by Pope Francis during his 15 years as archbishop of Buenos Aires, where he wanted the church brought closer to the people and sent seminarians and priests to serve them.
Pope pledges renewed ties to Jewish community
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said he plans renewed cooperation to further Catholic-Jewish relations and hopes to contribute to a world where all people live in harmony with the “will of the creator.” In a message to Chief Rabbi Riccardo di Segni of Rome, the pope said he “profoundly hopes to be able to […]
U.S. interfaith leaders congratulate pope, look forward to leadership
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Here are excerpts of statements by U.S.-based leaders of non-Christian faiths about the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the new Pope Francis. — Muzammil H. Siddiqi, religious director, Islamic Society of Orange County (Calif.), and chairman, Islamic Shura Council of Southern California: “Please convey my best […]
Salvadoran clergy hopeful for canonization of Archbishop Romero
SAN SALVADOR (CNS) -- Salvadoran clergy are hopeful that the canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero, murdered while celebrating Mass March 24, 1980, during El Salvador's civil war, will move forward under the church's first Latin American pope. "The stars are aligned (for Romero's canonization), but I insist that we should not rush. God has its time and that time will come," said Auxiliary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez of San Salvador.