World News
Pope Benedict challenges atheist, says he never hid abuse cases
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a letter to an atheist Italian mathematician, retired Pope Benedict XVI defended his own handling of allegations of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and politely criticized the logician's total reliance on scientific facts for meaning. "I never sought to conceal these things," the pope said of cases of clerical abuse, and lamented the scholar depicting the church as the only place where such "deviation" and "filth" occur.
Pope: Digital domain needs loving dialogue, not spiritual engineers
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Helping the church get the Gospel message out to the digital world depends more on a loving passion for reaching out to others than being tech savvy or a verbal warrior, Pope Francis told Catholic communicators. “I believe that the goal is to understand how to enter into dialogue with the […]
Pope, in Sardinia, denounces globalization and unemployment
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Visiting an Italian region especially hard hit by the European economic crisis, Pope Francis blamed high unemployment on globalization driven by greed and said those who give charitable aid to the poor must treat their beneficiaries with dignity. "We want a just system, a system that lets all of us get ahead," the pope said Sept. 22, in his first address during a full day on the Italian island of Sardinia. "We don't want this globalized economic system that does us so much harm. At its center there should be man and woman, as God wants, and not money."
Acapulco Archdiocese opens parishes as relief centers for flood victims
MEXICO CITY (CNS) — The Archdiocese of Acapulco has suspended church services and instructed priests to turn their parishes into support centers after torrential rains on one of the busiest weekends of the year left the city cut off from other parts of Mexico. The flooding forced residents to flee to safer ground and trapped […]
Pope condemns abortion as product of ‘throwaway culture’
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his strongest public words to date on the subject of abortion, Pope Francis affirmed the sacredness of unborn human life and linked its defense to the pursuit of social justice. "In all its phases and at every age, human life is always sacred and always of quality. And not as a matter of faith, but of reason and science!" the pope said Sept. 20 to a gathering of Catholic gynecologists.
Cause for G.K. Chesterton’s sainthood investigated in England
MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — The bishop of Northampton, England, has appointed a priest to investigate the possibility of opening the cause for sainthood of G.K. Chesterton, a British journalist and author of the early 20th century. A statement released Sept. 19 by the diocese in central England said that the decision to investigate the cause […]
Syrian Christians targeted by outsiders, Syriac Catholic leader says
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Christians in Syria are continuing to be targeted by outside fundamentalist groups who have joined the country's long civil war, and the situation in Syria may become like that in Iraq, where half the Christian population has fled, said the head of the Syriac Catholic Church in Jerusalem.
Pope Francis says focus on morality can obscure Gospel message
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a lengthy and wide-ranging interview with one of his Jesuit confreres, Pope Francis spoke with characteristic frankness about overemphasizing Catholic teaching on sexual and medical ethics; the reasons for his deliberate and consultative governing style; and his highest priority for the church today.
Pope tells bishops to be humble, stay home, return phone calls
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Don't be on the road all the time, aloof or deaf to people's needs; be simple, loving and always close by, just like a spouse would be for his wife, Pope Francis told new bishops. Bishops are pastors, not princes, so always return people's calls, listen to parishioners, recognize one's limitations and sharpen that sense of humor, he said Sept. 19 to some 120 recently appointed bishops from around the world.
Pope says church should face wayward members like a merciful mother
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said the church should approach its members with the face of a patient, merciful and understanding mother, who always forgives her erring children and never ceases to pray that they resume the path of Christian living.