News
British Catholic legislators ask pope to relax priestly celibacy rule
MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — Twenty-one Catholic members of Parliament have written to Pope Francis to ask him to relax the rule on priestly celibacy for Latin-rite priests. The members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords said in a March 25 letter to the pope that the rule should be changed to […]
Pope urges Catholics to let grace transform, work through them
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholics must allow the grace of their baptism and of the Eucharist to transform their lives and make them instruments of God's grace in the world, Pope Francis said.
At Easter pope calls Christians to be channels of mercy, justice, peace
"Let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish," the pope said after celebrating Easter morning Mass March 31.
In efforts to sell church, Berlin Archdiocese uses eBay
OXFORD, England (CNS) — The Berlin Archdiocese is continuing to try to sell unused churches and even listed a church on eBay. “Virtually every diocese in Germany has sold churches over the past decade, so this is nothing special,” said Stefan Forner, spokesman for the Berlin Archdiocese. “The parish in question was helped by professionals, […]
Catholic Charities, Notre Dame studying how well local programs work
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic Charities USA and researchers at the University of Notre Dame are joining together to study which local social services work best in moving people out of poverty. The effort, which the two organizations describe as an alliance, will identify local programs that might be duplicated elsewhere in the drive to help […]
Pope leads Good Friday liturgy, begins rite in silent prayer, adoration
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Lying prostrate on the floor before the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis celebrated the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion. The pope presided at the service March 29 to commemorate Christ's death on the cross.
Group operating 14 ‘mission’ Catholic schools gets start-up grants
In just a little more than two months, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s parochial schools will close down for the summer. When they reopen in September, 14 of them will be under new management. They are the Independence Mission Schools (IMS), and although they will retain their old names, they will no longer be under the control of their respective parish or parishes but by the Independence Mission Schools organization that will assume responsibility for all aspects of operation.
Pope washes feet of 12 young detainees to serve them ‘from the heart’
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis told young inmates that, just as Jesus came to help and serve others, he, too, was at their service as a priest and bishop. During the evening Mass at Rome’s Casal del Marmo prison for minors, Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 young people of different nationalities and […]
High court: Definition of marriage less a focus than who’s defining it
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In its second day of oral arguments about aspects of laws related to same-sex marriage March 27, the Supreme Court spent little time discussing the actual definition of marriage, focusing instead on issues of jurisdiction, state's rights, motives behind the federal Defense of Marriage Act and timing.
St. Charles seminarian with devotion to Divine Mercy dies at 39
Jose A. Serrano, II, 39, a first-year theology student at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, died March 24 following an extended battle with cancer.