News
New York’s Cardinal Dolan: Happy warrior of the new evangelization
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Popes are elected by members of the College of Cardinals, not by the general Catholic population and certainly not by the media. Yet Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan's presence on practically every journalist's list of potential next popes bespeaks a real and important influence among his peers. The most obvious reason is the New York archbishop's ebullient, extroverted personality and quick, frequently self-deprecating wit -- traits that forcefully contrast with the formality typically associated with princes of the church, but which visibly charmed other participants at the February 2012 consistory at which Pope Benedict XVI made him a cardinal.
Young, new Philippine cardinal has extensive international ties
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At 55, Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila, Philippines, is one of the youngest and newest members of the College of Cardinals, but he is also one of the cardinals most frequently mentioned as a possible pope. His youthful energy, his pastoral experience, his theological training and his communications skills impressed cardinals and bishops from around the world even before Pope Benedict XVI inducted him into the College of Cardinals last November.
Cardinal Ravasi, Bible scholar, uses culture as bridge to unite people
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A prominent voice at the Vatican in the run-up to the papal election, Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi is a well-known biblical scholar who can quote just as easily from Sufi poets, Dante and Danish philosophers as he can from sacred Scripture. The 70-year-old president of the Pontifical Council for Culture has been leading the universal church's efforts to develop a nonconfrontational dialogue with nonbelievers, trying to make Christianity intelligible to the modern mind and build a reason-based consensus on key moral issues.
Indian cardinal says next pope must be holy, intelligent, courageous
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai said he will look for a new pope who is holy, intelligent and courageous and has "a breadth of vision" for the universal church and its role in the world. Since Pope Benedict XVI said he planned to resign Feb. 28 because of age and a lack of the energy needed to fulfill the papal ministry, Cardinal Gracias, 68, said age could be a factor "to some extent, but I don't think it will be the deciding factor."
Statement from the Holy See and the Pontifical Council for the Family
Released Feb. 25, 2013 at 6 a.m. EST, in Vatican City On June 3, 2012, at the Closing Mass of the VII World Meeting of Families in Milan, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, announced to a congregation of approximately one million Catholic faithful that the next international gathering of families would take place in the […]
A brief history of the World Meeting of Families
Overview: Since it began in 1994, the World Meeting of Families has sought to strengthen the sacred bonds of family across the globe. This event takes place every three years and is sponsored by the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family. The Pontifical Council for the Family: The Pontifical Council for the Family, founded […]
Philadelphia tapped to host World Meeting of Families in 2015, welcoming thousands, maybe a new pope
Global attention will turn to Philadelphia in three years when the city expects to welcome hundreds of thousands of families for the World Meeting of Families -- and possibly the new pope. Archbishop Charles Chaput led a morning press conference Feb. 25 to announce that the Vatican confirmed earlier in the day the long-anticipated selection of Sept. 22-27, 2015 as the date for the gathering of families, Catholic and non-Catholic, from around the world.
What the logo for World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia means
Learn how the distinctive logo contains elements of family, faith and Philadelphia -- the host city for the eighth World Meeting of Families and the first in an American city.
Vatican official: German bishops’ rule on ‘Plan B’ for rape acceptable
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church has long accepted the possibility of preventing ovulation in a woman who has been raped, but withdraws that option if there is a possibility that ovulation may have already occurred, said the president of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life. A recent statement by bishops in Germany saying it was acceptable to use medication that hinders conception after rape reflects an "unassailable rule" that has been proposed by the Catholic Church the past 50 years, said Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula.
Archbishop backs end to death penalty, says it offers ‘tragic illusion’
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (CNS) -- The Catholic Church's objection to the death penalty comes from its consistent teaching that life must be protected from conception to natural death, said Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori. "At the core of all of (the church's) public witness is an evident consistency that reflects our reasoned belief that every human life is sacred and to be protected, because every life comes from God, and is destined to return to God as our final judge," he said.