News
Pope ordains new priests, talks about learning to hear Jesus’ voice
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Before ordaining 10 men to the priesthood, Pope Francis prayed privately with them in the sacristy and entrusted them to Mary’s care. The private moment April 21 was a repeat of a practice he began as bishop before celebrating an ordination Mass, according to Vatican Radio. The 10 new priests — […]
Bishop says failure on gun measure shows ‘failure in moral leadership’
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., said the U.S. Senate's failure "to support even modest regulations on firearms" is "a failure in moral leadership to promote policies which protect and defend the common good." The head of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development expressed "deep disappointment" that the lawmakers failed to pass gun-control legislation.
Sister Mary Alice Monihan, I.H.M., music teacher, dies at 94
Sister Mary Alice Monihan, I.H.M., formerly Catherine Monihan died April 13 in Camilla Hall, Immaculata, in the 76th year of her religious life. She was 94 years old. Born in Wilmington, Del., Sister Mary Alice entered the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1937 from Transfiguration Parish, Philadelphia, and professed […]
Bishops’ leaders in France, Spain criticize promotion of gay marriage
OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Heads of Catholic bishops' conferences in France and Spain warned that the promotion of same-sex marriage could threaten social peace. "These long months of debate on the bill to allow marriage for persons of the same sex have highlighted predictable divisions," said Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris.
Manhunt intensifies for second Boston bombing suspect
Two brothers from the Russian region of Chechnya suspected in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings are seen in a handout photo released through the FBI website April 18. The two men terrorized the Boston area overnight April 18, allegedly killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology security officer. One suspect, shown below at right and […]
Catholic Charities leaders plead for needs of poor with Congress
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The picture on Ted Bergh’s cellphone showed a long line of people winding around Springfield Central Catholic School in western Ohio. They were there April 13 to get food, he said; 733 families, 2,378 people in all. Bergh, CEO of Catholic Charities of Southwest Ohio based in Cincinnati, was astonished by the […]
Citing financial problems, Vatican withholds election-year staff bonus
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an austerity move like those being taken by governments around the world, the Vatican will not pay its employees a bonus marking the March 13 election of Pope Francis but will instead make a donation to charity. “In the past, on the occasion of the start of a pontificate, a […]
Jesuit says U.S. war on drugs undermines Honduran democracy
SEATTLE (CNS) -- A priest from Honduras says the United States is repeating the same errors in Central America as it did in the 1980s, and his country is suffering as a result. Jesuit Father Ismael Moreno, who directs Radio Progreso, a feisty activist station on the Caribbean coast of Honduras, recently told several gatherings in Oregon and Washington that U.S. intervention in his country, supposedly focused on drug trafficking, has undermined democracy and fostered corruption.
Rwandan genocide survivor becomes American citizen
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- At the end of a process that has taken her 15 years to complete, world-renowned Rwandan genocide survivor and peace advocate Immaculee Ilibagiza became an American citizen the morning of April 17 in New York City.
Texas responds to blast that casts wide destruction in small town
WEST, Texas (CNS) -- Emergency personnel were carefully combing through blocks of wreckage in this town of 2,900 a day after a chemical fertilizer factory caught fire and exploded with the force of a small earthquake April 17, injuring perhaps hundreds and killing others.