News
Bishop, pro-lifers concerned that abortion may widen in Ireland
DUBLIN (CNS) — An Irish bishop and pro-life activists insisted that any legislation to provide abortion in limited situations would inevitably lead to widespread abortion. “If abortion is introduced, even on a very limited basis, it becomes widespread,” Bishop William Murphy of Kerry said during a radio interview Nov. 29. Days earlier, Irish Prime Minister […]
For a century, parish brings a taste of Italy to Conshohocken
How did it happen that an Italian personal parish founded a hundred years ago in Conshohocken took the name SS. Cosmas and Damian, which honors twins who are believed to have been born in Arabia and martyred in Syria in the early 4th century? The reason is most of the founding parishioners were from Isernia, […]
New York Archdiocese announces 26 schools ‘at risk of closure’
NEW YORK (CNS) — The New York Archdiocese has announced that 26 of the 159 regional, parish and archdiocesan elementary schools are at risk of closing next June. In addition, St. Agnes Boys High School in Manhattan also is at risk of closing at the end of the current school year. The Nov. 26 announcement […]
Britain opens inquiry into allegations involving end-of-life protocol
MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — The British government has opened an independent inquiry into allegations that an end-of-life protocol is operating as a euthanasia pathway. It said the inquiry would investigate complaints raised by families who say that relatives have died after they were placed, without their knowledge, on the Liverpool Care Pathway. The framework, intended […]
Lebanese church agency helps refugees from Syria navigate UN system
BEIRUT (CNS) -- When Syrian refugees arrive in Lebanon, help begins with a phone call to the U.N. refugee agency -- if they can get through. In most refugee areas, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has no fixed office; its staffers make only sporadic visits for which refugees make appointments over the phone. It's that phone call that is the problem.
When sharing the faith, keep it simple, joyful, credible, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a world of hardened hearts and titillating distractions, Christians need to keep the Gospel message simple and live what they teach with love and joy, Pope Benedict XVI said during his weekly general audience Nov. 28. The best place to start is with one's own family, he said, learning to spend time together, listening and understanding one another, and "being a sign for each other of God's merciful love."
A Baby’s Breath becomes a sign for life in Warminster
A Baby’s Breath Crisis Pregnancy Center in Warminster placed and blessed its new sign on Saturday, Nov. 17, just six months after signing the lease for the center across the parking lot from a Planned Parenthood facility. Msgr. George Majoros, pastor of St. Jude Parish in Chalfont, led the blessing of the sign, which includes […]
Sunday morning faith sharing at St. Katharine Drexel Shrine
The St. Katharine Drexel Mission Center, Bensalem, offers weekly Sunday Morning Faith Sharing based on the Sunday Mass readings from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The Mission Center and National Shrine is located at 1663 Bristol Pike in Bensalem. Call Sister Annette Marie O‘Donnell, S.B.S., at 215-244-9900 for more information.
PCC praises Pa. task force’s report on child protection laws
The Task Force on Child Protection released its report recommending several changes to existing state laws governing child abuse Nov. 27 in Harrisburg, and the policy arm of Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops was quick to praise the task force’s work. In the wake of the child sex abuse scandal that resulted in the conviction last year of former Penn State University athletic director Jerry Sandusky, the 11-member panel was created by Gov. Tom Corbett and the General Assembly to examine the state’s laws and procedures designed to protect children from abuse.
Accepting award, Father Byron calls for national service program
Father William Byron, S.J., accepted the Barry Award from the American Catholic Historical Society Nov. 16. Cicero said it best. “The first law of history is to not dare to tell a lie and not fear to tell the truth.” Pope Leo XIII quoted this in 1881 when he opened the Vatican Archives for scholarly research. The American Catholic Historical Society was founded in Philadelphia three years later and has striven to be true to this dictum ever since. Rodger Van Allen, the society’s 52nd president, also made reference to this famous quote at its annual Commodore John Barry Award Dinner held Nov. 16 at the Union League of Philadelphia.