News
Use of Louisiana state funds for school vouchers ruled unconstitutional
BATON ROUGE, La. (CNS) -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called it "wrong-headed" and a "travesty" that a state judge ruled Nov. 30 that a voucher program passed by the Legislature last spring is unconstitutional. State District Judge Tim Kelley said the state cannot use funds set aside for public education to pay for children in failing schools to attend nonpublic schools.
Papal events, Vatican webcam feeds streamed live with new ‘Pope App’
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican is offering a new app that provides live streaming of papal events and video feeds from the Vatican’s six webcams. “The Pope App” also will send out alerts and links to top stories coming out of the Vatican’s news outlets, said Gustavo Entrala, founder and CEO of the Spanish […]
Deacon Eichman, of St. Kevin Parish, laid to rest
Deacon Thomas E. Eichman, 84, a retired permanent deacon at St. Kevin Parish in Springfield, died Nov. 27. Born in Philadelphia the son of the late Edward A. and Frances (Liebert) Eichman, he was a graduate of St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, Villanova University and Villanova School of Law. He was a veteran of the Korean […]
Lecture series for Year of Faith begins Dec. 13
A year-long lecture series sponsored by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office for Family, Life and Laity will launch Thursday, Dec. 13 with a talk by nationally renowned speaker Dr. Timothy Gray on the topic of “Advent, a Season of Hope.”
Under the big top, traditional values thrive, are shared, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Circuses, street musicians, clowns, magicians and other itinerant performers not only bring people joy, but their traditional lifestyle is an example of hard work, sacrifice, strong families and real respect between people of different generations, Pope Benedict XVI said. "You are called to give witness to the values that are part of your tradition: love for the family, tenderness toward children, attention to those with disabilities, care for the sick and the valuing of the aged with their wealth of experience," the pope told an estimated 8,000 performers and carnival workers.
With @Pontifex, pope reaches out to new kind of followers
This is a screen capture of Pope Benedict XVI's newly created Twitter account. (CNS/Vatican)VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To celebrate the launch of his new Twitter account @Pontifex, Pope Benedict XVI will tweet the answers to a handful of questions from his followers.
Pope makes new rules to strengthen charities’ Catholic identity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Warning that Catholic charitable activity must not become “just another form of organized social assistance,” Pope Benedict XVI issued new rules to strengthen the religious identity of Catholic charities and ensure that their activities conform to church teaching. The pope’s apostolic letter on the “service of charity,” (see the full text […]
Pope Benedict’s apostolic letter, ‘The Service of Charity’
The following apostolic letter of Pope Benedict XVI issued "motu proprio" on "The Service of Charity," dated Nov. 11, was issued by Vatican Information Service Dec. 1.
Faith-based groups seek protection for countries hit by climate change
DOHA, Qatar (CNS) — Representatives of faith-based development networks participating in the U.N. climate change conference urged governments to put aside national interests and protect the common good, especially those most vulnerable to climate change. Emilie Johann of the international alliance of Catholic development agencies, CIDSE, said the arrival of government ministers Dec. 4 should […]
Pope calls for world authority as ‘moral force’
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The world authority envisioned by two popes as a way to ensure global peace and justice would not be a superpower, but primarily a moral force with limited jurisdiction, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope made his remarks Dec. 3 to a plenary session of the Pontifical Council for Justice and […]