News

School and pre-K programs touted at open house

SS. Colman – John Neumann School, Byrn Mawr, invites guests to tour the school, meet the principal and learn about the excellent academic program and the new and expanded facilities during the school’s open house Sunday, Dec. 2 at 11:30 a.m. An information session about the pre-K programs for 3- and 4-year-old children will begin […]

Youths giving ‘absolutely incredible’ aid to storm victims

NEW YORK (CNS) — Father Donald Baker is really impressed by how young Catholics have really stepped up to help those affected the most by Hurricane Sandy. “The ‘millennials,’ those young people in the neighborhood who are in their 20s — who’ve become adults since the millennium — have been outstanding — absolutely incredible,” said […]

The ‘green’ pope: Benedict’s calls to care for creation earn notice

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Care for creation has been a hallmark of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy. From his 2009 encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” (“Charity in Truth”) to his leadership in guiding the Vatican to reduce its carbon footprint, Pope Benedict continues an 800-year Catholic tradition of holding up the environment as a gift from God that […]

Israel, Hamas must make tough decisions to end violence, bishop says

JERUSALEM (CNS) — The Israeli government and leaders of Hamas must make courageous decisions to end the violence that has once again forced residents of Southern Israel into their bomb shelters and residents of the Gaza Strip into their homes, said Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali of Jerusalem. “We are sad for this escalation. It does […]

Ethnic violence growing in Congo, Jesuit Refugee Service reports

ROME (CNS) — Jesuit Refugee Service has launched an alarm about brutal killings and village burnings by Congolese rebels from different ethnic groups, saying the violence has gone unchecked while peacekeeping forces and the army try to put down a rebellion. In the past three months in the Masisi territory of eastern Congo, civilians “have […]

Americans United for Life files brief against HHS contraceptive mandate

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Americans United for Life filed a brief Nov. 13 in Nebraska v. Health and Human Services, a case initiated by the state of Nebraska and six other states challenging the HHS mandate requiring most employers, including religious employers, to provide free coverage of contraceptives. The Washington-based group filed the brief on behalf […]

Archbishop joins voices urging Obama to ‘seize moment’ on immigration

BALTIMORE (CNS) — The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration joined the broadening chorus calling on President Barack Obama and Congress to “seize the moment” and pass comprehensive immigration reform next year. In a statement issued Nov. 13 during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual fall general assembly in Baltimore, Los Angeles […]

Bishops agree on need for better preaching, more penance

BALTIMORE (CNS) — During their annual fall general assembly in Baltimore Nov. 12-15, the U.S. bishops voted down a document on the troubled U.S. economy, passed documents on penance and better preaching, approved a reorganization of their Communications Department and endorsed the sainthood cause of Dorothy Day. The bishops were to meet in executive session […]

Bishops warn Congress: Don’t let poor fall off fiscal cliff

BALTIMORE (CNS) — Congressional consideration of budget cutting to avoid the process known as sequestration should be careful to avoid hurting the poor and vulnerable in society, warned the chairmen of two committees of the U.S. bishops. In a letter to members of the House and Senate released Nov. 14, Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of […]

CCHD provides $500,000 grant to aid Hurricane Sandy victims

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Victims of Hurricane Sandy along the East Coast are getting an added boost in their recovery under a $500,000 grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The special grant will support “people coming together to reorganize the fabric of their communities,” Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, Calif., chairman of the U.S. […]