News
Letter campaign says ‘Thank you, Father!’ to hardworking priests
Through Dec. 31, the New Serra Missionaries are collecting area faithful's messages of gratitude and sending them to clergy, an outreach organizers hope will offer "moments of powerful grace."
Delco parishioner spreads the word about Advent
Now in its second year, an online Advent calendar created by Katherine Downey of St. Anastasia in Newtown Square is keeping parishioners connected amid COVID, while building up the "domestic church."
Pope marks anniversary of U.S. women’s murder in El Salvador
Remembering the three U.S. religious women and a laywoman brutally murdered during El Salvador's civil war, Pope Francis hailed them as examples of faith and missionary discipleship.
Panel: Dorothy Day’s focus on the neglected would resonate in COVID-19 era
A panel of top writers led a webinar with 2,000 registrants who reflected on Day, the journalist, social-justice activist and co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, on the 40th anniversary of her death.
Detroit ‘families of parishes’ plan moves ahead; Pittsburgh announces mergers
The Detroit Archdiocese will begin a new governance model for its 218 parishes next year in which groups of three to six parishes will share clergy, pastoral ministers and other parish staff.
Advent retreat helps couples ‘pray through infertility’
Catholic ministry Springs in the Desert will offer a free online gathering Dec. 4-6 to provide spiritual resources during a season that can be "bittersweet" for those unable to conceive.
Zairean rite may show way to Amazonian rite, pope says
The rite incorporates Congolese culture and reflects the needs of Catholics in the sub-Saharan African nation, suggesting "a promising way also for the eventual elaboration" of a new rite that would reflect the cultural needs of a specific area without distorting the ancient tradition of the church.
‘The violence is not stopping,’ warn bishops in Belarus
Catholic bishops warned of a "deepening crisis" in Belarus as people continue to protest disputed elections in August and security forces use tear gas and stun grenades. They arrested some 300 protesters including two Catholic priests Nov. 29.
Beatified teen inspires song from Long Island Catholic high school
Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Italian teen beatified in October, is not only responsible for a medical miracle, he also has inspired a song by New York Catholic high school students featuring his own quotations.
Catholic leaders decry additional federal execution measures
A move by the Department of Justice to expand how it carries out federal death sentences -- to include electrocution, gas or firing squads along with lethal injections --was sharply criticized by Catholic anti-death penalty activists.