News
Vatican financial investigator says laws, roles will be strengthened
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The director of the Vatican’s Financial Intelligence Authority said the Vatican will further amend its finance-related laws in the coming months, increase screening of account holders at the Vatican bank and continue assessing the potential risk that accounts could be used for money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Rene Brulhart, […]
U.S. appeals court strikes down Arizona law banning late-term abortions
PHOENIX (CNS) -- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down an Arizona law banning abortions after 20 weeks. The Mother's Health and Safety Act, passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer in 2012, was originally upheld by a federal judge but subsequently challenged.
Religious freedom reports see little improvement in troubling countries
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report released May 20 and a counterpart report by an independent commission issued a few weeks earlier see many of the same trouble spots around the world: North Korea, China, Pakistan, Sudan, Nigeria and Vietnam, among others. Neither of the reports found much improvement in the […]
Villa Maria Academy High School to graduate 103 seniors
Villa Maria Academy High School, 370 Old Lincoln Highway in Malvern, will graduate 103 seniors at a baccalaureate Mass and graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 1, at 11 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Church, 120 St. Elizabeth Drive, Uwchlan. The valedictorian is Mary Elizabeth Shea. The salutatorian is Cailey Megan Bice. The main celebrant and homilist […]
Courageously evangelizing with help of Holy Spirit leads to joy, Pope Francis says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Selfishness only brings sadness and bitterness, while stepping outside of oneself to evangelize is the ultimate "pick me up" and source of joy, Pope Francis said. "Let's live the Gospel with humility and courage. Give witness to the newness, hope and joy that the Lord brings to your life," the pope said May 22 at his weekly general audience.
Vermont now ‘death state’ with doctor-assisted suicide law, bishop says
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Now that Vermont allows “doctor-prescribed suicide,” the “magnificent landscape of this state, which echoes life from its majestic mountains to its powerful waterways, no longer is reflected in the laws which govern the Green Mountain State,” said the head of the statewide Diocese of Burlington. “Vermont is now identified as one of […]
Peter Claver leader elected to post in international organization
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- The supreme knight of the Knights of Peter Claver has been elected to an international post in an umbrella group for men's Catholic fraternal organizations. Fredron DeKarlos Blackmon, who also serves as CEO of the Knights, was elected deputy president of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights, which includes 15 fraternal organizations working in 27 countries.
Memorial Mass honors ‘countless sacrifices’ made by those in military
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- "We give thanks for countless sacrifices and we pray for the families who still suffer the ravages of war. Those scars do not fade easily," said Archbishop Timothy M. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, at a May 19 memorial Mass honoring the nation's war dead and those "wounded warriors" injured in the line of duty.
Guatemalan court annuls conviction of former dictator
GUATEMALA CITY (CNS) -- Guatemala's highest court annulled the conviction of a former dictator found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. The constitutional court threw out the May 10 ruling against Gen. Efrain Rios Montt, 86, who had been sentenced to 80 years in prison for crimes carried out in 1982, when he allegedly initiated a policy of extermination of Mayans for their ties to Marxist guerrillas. The ruling was seen as historic in a country known for its impunity.
At Pentecost vigil, pope shares personal stories of his faith
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With humor and passion, Pope Francis shared highlights of his personal faith journey and explained some key points of his teaching to an enthusiastic crowd of representatives from Catholic lay movements. Celebrating a vigil on the eve of Pentecost with an estimated 200,000 people singing, chanting and waving their groups’ banners, […]