World News
Hurricane season: Church as first responder in Latin America, Caribbean
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) — On the little islands that make up the Caribbean's Lesser Antilles, there is not much in the way of protection from the annual wrath of the Atlantic hurricane season. Every year from hurricane season's start on June 1 until the end of peak months — August through October — […]
Papal butler says he’s innocent of theft, but guilty of betraying pope
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Paolo Gabriele, the papal butler charged with stealing and leaking papal correspondence, said he was innocent of charges of aggravated theft, but "I feel guilty for having betrayed the trust the Holy Father placed in me." "I loved him like a son," Gabriele said of the pope during the second day of his trial. The morning session of the trial Oct. 2 also featured brief testimony by Cristina Cernetti, one of the consecrated laywomen who work in the papal apartment; and longer testimony by Msgr. Georg Ganswein, Pope Benedict XVI's personal secretary.
Uruguay’s lower house passes bill to legalize abortion
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (CNS) — After more than nine hours of deliberations, Uruguay's Chamber of Deputies approved legislation that would legalize abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. While the debate heated up inside the country's Congress Sept. 26, hundreds braved the cold weather outside to demonstrate for and against the legislation. The 50-49 vote changed […]
New evangelization in America a focus for bishops’ synod
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Blessed John Paul II launched the project he called the new evangelization, he made it clear that it was aimed above all at reviving the ancient faith of an increasingly faithless West: “countries and nations where religion and the Christian life were formerly flourishing,” now menaced by a “constant spreading […]
‘VatiLeaks’ trial will be landmark event for Vatican tribunal
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — For the Vatican's criminal court, the trial of Paolo Gabriele and Claudio Sciarpelletti for their alleged part in leaking papal correspondence will be unusual and may lead the Vatican to invoke a never-used cooperation agreement with Italy. Giovanni Giacobbe, promoter of justice in Court of Appeal of Vatican City State, explained […]
National Geographic story links Philippine priest in ivory smuggling
WASHINGTON (CNS) — A National Geographic magazine cover story identifies a Philippine Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse in the United States as fueling his country’s illegal trade in ivory. In the course of his research for the October issue, Bryan Christy learned that Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, director of worship for the Archdiocese of Cebu, […]
Vatican congregation restructures course on religious life
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — To mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and reflect on the major changes it brought to consecrated life, the Vatican’s congregation for religious has overhauled the course it offers on theology and canon law. The Second Vatican Council’s call for religious to return to the founding inspiration of […]
Middle Eastern Catholic leaders, diplomats denounce Western interference, neglect
ROME (CNS) — Western nations need to respect the people of the Middle East and trust them to solve their own problems, said an Iraqi diplomat, an Iraqi archbishop and a Syrian-born representative of the Melkite Catholic Church. The two religious leaders also called for an end to foreign military intervention and other interference in […]
Pope says God’s word comes first in worship
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In everyday life, people are told that it’s best to think before they speak, but in worship, speaking God’s word should come before reflection, said Pope Benedict XVI. “The first requirement for a good liturgical celebration is that there be prayer and a conversation with God, first and foremost listening and […]
Pope names record number of women to Synod on Evangelization
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Choosing men and women from every part of the world and from a wide variety of professions, Pope Benedict XVI nominated 45 experts and 49 observers for the upcoming world Synod of Bishops. The Oct. 7-28 gathering will include the largest bloc of women — 10 experts and 19 observers — […]