World News
Romanian priest who died in communist prison to be beatified
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A priest who died of cold and hunger in a communist prison will be beatified as a martyr Aug. 31 in Bucharest, Romania. The sanctity of Msgr. Vladimir Ghika has "given us an important new example of a life lived for church and faith," said Archbishop Ioan Robu of Bucharest, president of the Romanian bishops' conference.
Pope Francis says Christians should have restless hearts like St. Augustine’s
ROME (CNS) -- St. Augustine famously said that people's hearts are restless until they rest in God. But too many people have allowed their hearts to be "anesthetized" and no longer search for God and for love, Pope Francis said when he met with members of the Order of St. Augustine on the saint's feast day Aug. 28.
Syrian-born patriarch: ‘Enough with the intervention’
BEIRUIT (CNS) — Syrian-born Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregoire III Laham warned against armed intervention in his country, saying, “It has brought us to the tragedy we are now living in Syria.” Speaking to Catholic News Service by phone Aug. 27 from the patriarchal summer residence in Ain Traz, Lebanon, the patriarch said such a step […]
Dozens of World Youth Day pilgrims seek asylum in Brazil
SAO PAULO (CNS) — More than 50 pilgrims who attended World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro are seeking asylum in Brazil. Aline Thuller, Caritas’ coordinator for refugees in the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, said the archdiocese received approximately 40 asylum requests from pilgrims from Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Congo. Thuller said two parishes […]
Here comes the cavalry! Nashville Dominicans join Scottish diocese
ABERDEEN, Scotland (CNS) -- A bishop has likened the arrival of American nuns in his Scottish diocese to a Western, with the cavalry coming over the hill at the moment Catholics thought they were going to be scalped. In a homily during an Aug. 24 Mass to welcome the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia into the Diocese of Aberdeen, Bishop Hugh Gilbert said the nuns were rescuing the local church in the same way that the U.S. Cavalry saved cowboys from Indians in the movies.
Nations ponder what to do about chemical attack in Syria
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were consulting with other world leaders about how to respond to Syria's apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron was convening an emergency session of Parliament to consider a motion allowing a British military response.. Chaldean Catholic Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo told Vatican Radio Aug. 26 that "If there were a military intervention, I think this would lead to a world war. There is this risk."
Egypt’s Christians proud of history traced to Jesus, St. Mark
CAIRO (CNS) --The Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary sits in a tiled courtyard a few miles outside Cairo, on the left bank of the Nile as the river bends south toward Upper Egypt. The structure's front doors overlook the famed river, which Egyptian Christians who pray and worship here are convinced transported Mary, Joseph and their small boy, Jesus, to safety from persecution back home.
Pope to meet Jordan’s king, discuss ongoing strife in Middle East
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As international leaders increasingly discussed the possibility of some form of armed intervention in Syria, the Vatican announced Pope Francis would interrupt the last week of his summer break in order to meet Aug. 29 with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. Jordan and Syria share a border, and Jordan is hosting some […]
Fear of Egyptian violence doesn’t stop nuns’ hospital work
The Egyptian army's takeover in early July has led to deadly clashes with militants throughout Egypt, including within ear-reach of the century-old Italian Hospital in Cairo, where nuns from five different Catholic orders live and work. But fears of what is outside the hospital gates -- including a spike in attacks on the country's Christian institutions -- appeared to interfere little with the sisters' chores inside the historic medical facility built by Egypt's one-time vibrant Italian community.
Scottish archbishop says cardinal blocked plans for abuse investigation
MANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- A disgraced Scottish cardinal halted a plan to allow independent investigators to examine church child abuse files, said a retired archbishop. In a letter to the British Catholic weekly The Tablet, retired Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow said that Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who earlier this year admitted to acts of sexual misconduct, prevented case files from being reviewed.