News
Agenda for a year of faith: looking ahead for the church in 2013
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Fortunetelling, like all occult practices, is strictly taboo at the Vatican; and prophecy is a rare gift among journalists. But Pope Benedict XVI's calendar for 2013 is already filling up with planned, probable or possible events. Here are 10 to watch for in the news during the coming year.
Bishop Edward T. Hughes, former Philadelphia bishop and priest, dies at 92
METUCHEN, N.J. (CNS) -- Retired Bishop Edward T. Hughes of Metuchen, N.J., a former auxiliary bishop and priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, died Christmas Day. He was 92. A funeral Mass was scheduled for Jan. 4 in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi in Metuchen. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, will celebrate the liturgy.
Parishes called to welcome, support people with mental illness
When Deacon Tom Lambert's wife was hospitalized for open heart surgery, friends brought unsolicited meals to the family's door every day. But "when our daughter was diagnosed with mental illness, no one came to the door," he said. As "people of compassion and justice," the Massachusetts deacon said, Catholics can help by creating safe havens for people to talk about their mental illness and allow their faith to be part of their healing. Even a prayer intention at Mass may spark hope.
Parishioners mourn firefighters ambushed while responding to blaze
WEBSTER, N.Y. (CNS) — Christmas Masses in the Diocese of Rochester, N.Y., took on a somber tone as parishioners mourned two volunteer firefighters fatally shot while responding to a fire in a lakeshore community outside of Rochester. Firefighters Michael Chiapperini, 43, and Tomasz Kaczowka, 19, died in a hail of gunfire Dec. 24 after being […]
Justice Sotomayor denies injunction against contraceptive mandate
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied two companies' request for an injunction while they challenge part of the Department of Health and Human Services' contraceptive mandate in court. In an order filed Dec. 26, Sotomayor ruled that the owners of the Hobby Lobby craft store and the Mardel Christian bookstore chains did not qualify for an injunction while they challenge requirements of the Affordable Care Act. The law takes effect Jan. 1.
Irish cardinal urges Catholics to make known their abortion opposition
DUBLIN (CNS) — The president of the Irish bishops’ conference urged Catholics to make their views on abortion clear to politicians as the government considers legalizing abortion in limited circumstances. In his Christmas message, Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, reiterated the church’s opposition to such legislation. “Public representatives will be asked to decide […]
New ventilation system to suck dirt, dust off Sistine Chapel visitors
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an effort to protect Michelangelo’s famed frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museums will be installing a new ventilation system to suck the dust, dirt and humidity from visitors. With 5 million tourists pushing through the turnstiles each year, all that traffic is taking its toll as “dust, temperature, […]
Montreal deacon who was bishops’ spokesman faces child porn charges
OTTAWA, Ontario (CNS) — William Kokesch, a Montreal permanent deacon who served nearly 10 years as a communications director for Canada’s Catholic bishops, has been charged with producing and distributing child pornography. On Dec. 27, Kokesch, 65, was released on bail after posting a $10,000 cash bond. The judge ordered him not to use computers […]
Bishops describe Christmas in besieged Aleppo, Syria
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Because of ongoing fighting in the city, Catholic leaders in Aleppo, Syria, canceled their traditional Christmas visits to local government officials, but the local governor dropped in on a meeting of bishops and priests Dec. 27 to offer his best wishes, said Bishop Giuseppe Nazzaro. The bishop, who is the Latin-rite […]
Msgr. Wendrychowicz, 65, pastor of Sellersville parish, laid to rest
Msgr. John B. Wendrychowicz, 65, pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Sellersville, died Dec. 20. Born in Philadelphia, the son of the late John B. and Rita (Shepherd) Wendrychowicz, he attended Visitation B.V.M. School, St. George School and Northeast Catholic High School, which he left during his sophomore year, to enter St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. He […]