Latest News Archives

February 27, 2016 SIOUX CITY, Iowa (CNS) — A pastoral planning process — Ministry 2025 — has begun in the Diocese of Sioux City with the hope of using limited priestly resources as wisely as possible while creating and sustaining vibrant parishes. According to Father Brent Lingle, diocesan director of pastoral planning, the diocese recently…

February 27, 2016 OTTAWA, Ontario (CNS) — The mentally ill and consenting minors should be allowed to choose physician-assisted suicide, a federal parliamentary committee recommended. The committee’s 70-page report was introduced in the House of Commons Feb. 25. A Supreme Court of Canada decision — known as the Carter case — unanimously struck down the…

February 26, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — If it’s spring, it must be corporate annual general meeting season. For investors concerned about corporate accountability and transparency, it’s one of the busiest times of the year. The annual general meetings give shareholders the chance to publicly engage corporate leadership on hot-button issues such as human rights, climate…

February 24, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — As a mid-March deadline approached for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to make a decision on whether to make a declaration of genocide in the Middle East, the Knights of Columbus, based in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Washington-based group In Defense of Christians have mounted a petition…

February 24, 2016 MIAMI (CNS) — Pope Francis’ right-hand man on the environment and climate change issues urged Catholics attending a local academic conference to let Christian spirituality guide their thinking and actions toward preserving the full range of God’s creation. Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, spoke Feb….

February 24, 2016 NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (CNS) — When Father Neil Kookoothe first met Joseph D’Ambrosio on Ohio’s death row in December 1998, he intended to describe the funeral of the condemned man’s mother. D’Ambrosio would not listen, however. Another inmate had told him the priest had been a lawyer before ordination. Now, D’Ambrosio pleaded…

February 23, 2016 INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — The U.S. archbishop who is co-chair of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation and an archdeacon who helps lead Orthodox ecumenical efforts in the United States watched with interest as Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill met in Cuba Feb. 12. Both of them — Catholic Archbishop Joseph…

February 23, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — As President Barack Obama offered a long-awaited plan to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, organizations advocating for the closure welcomed the news and called for an end of the policy of holding remaining detainees without charges. Keeping the detention center open and holding some detainees without…

February 22, 2016 KALAMAZOO, Mich. (CNS) — Expressing shock and sadness, Bishop Paul J. Bradley of Kalamazoo offered prayers for the six people who were killed and two others who were injured by a gunman in the western Michigan city. The bishop also called for an end to all forms of violence in a statement…

February 22, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Just as many pilgrims are passing through the Holy Door at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in this Year of Mercy, the casket bearing the body of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia entered through the door Feb. 20. Father Paul Scalia, the…

February 22, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis called for a moratorium on executions during the Year of Mercy and said the fifth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” applies not only to the innocent but to the guilty as well. “Even a criminal has the inviolable right to life, a gift of God,” he…

February 18, 2016 EL PASO, Texas (CNS) — By the time the action started at the Sun Bowl Stadium Feb. 17 for the simulcast of Pope Francis’ Mass from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, scarcely a few hundred people had arrived. But by the time the sun was setting over the western stands, the crowd had peaked…

February 17, 2016 CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (CNS) — At the border of Mexico and the United States, Pope Francis blessed a large cross in memory of all the people who have crossed the frontier. The pope said nothing Feb. 17, but he clasped his hands tightly in prayer and bowed his head in silent prayer….

February 17, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Tributes to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia poured in almost as soon as news emerged of his Feb. 13 death at a Texas ranch while on a hunting trip. Scalia “was routinely described as a conservative, and so he was. He held fast to a lot of…

February 17, 2016 MORELIA, Mexico (CNS) — Excitement turned potentially dangerous and elicited an angry snap from Pope Francis at a meeting with young people in Morelia Feb. 16. As the 79-year-old pope made his way to greet a boy in a wheelchair, one of the many pilgrims behind the boy pulled the pope’s arm,…

February 17, 2016 CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (CNS) — Pope Francis urged society to rethink its ideas of locking up inmates and throwing away the key, calling such an approach another symptom of the “throwaway culture” he often decries and “a symptom of a culture that has stopped supporting life, of a society that has abandoned…

February 16, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A talk given to new bishops during a Vatican-sponsored course does not represent new guidelines on the church’s response to abuse against minors by religious, a Vatican spokesman said. A 44-page report authored by French Msgr. Tony Anatrella and just published by the Vatican publishing house “is not…

February 16, 2016 EL PASO, Texas (CNS) — Two days before Pope Francis’ main event in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the Diocese of El Paso was coordinating the final touches to its own two main papal events. While the Diocese of Juarez’s chancery was bustling with church officials obtaining their papal Mass credentials, El Paso Bishop…

February 15, 2016 MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Shortly after arriving in Mexico City Feb. 12, President Enrique Pena Nieto introduced Pope Francis to most of his Cabinet and senior staff. The next morning, he introduced the pope again to his team at the National Palace in central Mexico City, where presidents and leaders have projected…

February 14, 2016 ECATEPEC, Mexico (CNS) — Pope Francis began his travels to Mexico’s “peripheries” by visiting an overcrowded, sprawling settlement known internationally as a hunting ground for girls to force into prostitution and for boys to enlist in the drug trade. Ecatepec, on the northern edge of Mexico City, also has tidy gated communities…

February 13, 2016 MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis demanded forceful denunciations of drug violence in Mexico from the country’s bishops, who have preferred timid pronouncements instead of speaking prophetically on a tragedy that has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past 10 years and left an another 25,000 Mexicans missing. Speaking Feb. 13…

February 13, 2016 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM HAVANA (CNS) — Though their differences are recognizable and real, Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow emphasized their obligation as Christians and as bishops to encourage collaboration among Christians and charity for all who suffer. “I felt an interior joy that truly came from…

February 13, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court, died of apparent natural causes at a resort in West Texas Feb. 13. He was 79. Scalia, a Catholic, was appointed in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. Five of the remaining eight justices also are Catholic. In…

February 12, 2016 SAO PAULO (CNS) — The president of the Brazilian bishops’ conference criticized a proposal by the U.N. Human Rights Commission that countries allow abortion in cases in which the mother was infected with the Zika virus. “Abortion is not the answer for the Zika virus,” Archbishop Sergio da Rocha of Brasilia told…

February 12, 2016 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO HAVANA (CNS) — Making his 12th trip abroad, Pope Francis was accustomed to collecting interview requests, notes and gifts from the journalists who travel on the plane with him. But his flight to Cuba Feb. 12 had a unique moment. Noel Diaz, who lives in Los Angeles…

February 12, 2016 GREEN BAY, Wis. (CNS) — True love. It’s what every person entering into the sacrament of marriage yearns to realize. In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, two groups of Wisconsin college students spread the message that true love is possible and can be found by practicing “right dating relationships.” Students…

February 11, 2106 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After opening holy doors in Rome to begin the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has now pushed those passageways even wider by sending forth hundreds of “missionaries of mercy” to every corner of the earth. Their special mission, he has said, is to be a living witness of…

February 10, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis marked the beginning of the church’s Lenten journey by sending off several hundred religious and diocesan priests on their own special path as “missionaries of mercy” in local parishes. “Look upon your servants, Lord, that we are sending as messengers of mercy, salvation and peace. Guide…

February 7, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Praying is not like taking an aspirin, something one does just to feel a little better, Pope Francis told thousands of members of Padre Pio Prayer Groups from around the world. Prayer is not a business negotiation with God, either, the pope told more than 60,000 people gathered…

February 7, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The death penalty in the United States is repeatedly getting hit by the pause button — which doesn’t mean it is going away anytime soon, but at the very least it is getting a second look by state legislatures, courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. This year, several states…

February 2, 2016 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CNS) — Middle linebacker Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers, the team going up against the Denver Broncos in the Feb. 7 Super Bowl, credits his parents and his Catholic faith for making a positive impact on his NFL career and his outlook on life. “I went to a Catholic…

February 2, 2016 DUBUQUE, Iowa (CNS) — As the eyes of the nation focused on the Iowa caucuses Feb. 1, the 13 congregations of Catholic Sisters of the Upper Mississippi River Valley wanted to capture the attention of participants to call for an end to environmentally destructive policies and practices. They did so by placing…

January 27, 2016 TUCSON, Ariz. (CNS) — For a long time, Father Timothy Martinez felt alone. Not so much in his priesthood and his responsibilities as pastor of Risen Savior Parish in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but because of his passion for astronomy and his concern about the media-driven divide between religion and science. He wondered…

January 27, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Let the Year of Mercy be the time to end all family feuds, to forgive each other and let bygones be bygones, Pope Francis said. “I think about so many brothers and sisters who are estranged from their families; they don’t speak to each other,” he said during…

January 27, 2016 SIOUX CITY, Iowa (CNS) — Father Patrick Behm of Le Mars confessed to being overwhelmed by all the attention. “I’m just happy being a simple priest,” he insisted. That “simple priest” went viral on social media for celebrating Mass Jan. 23 on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Read more in The Visitor…

January 26, 2016 FLINT, Mich. (CNS) — Following the discovery of lead in the city of Flint’s drinking water, relief organizations have been working day and night to provide safe water to those living and working in the community. Standing at the front of the battle is Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee Counties in…

January 26, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Not only are there no atheists in foxholes, but some of the denominational differences seem to disappear, too, once you’re under heavy fire. That was the situation that Mark Geist and Kris Paronto found themselves in working as military contractors in Benghazi, Libya. It was their book, co-written with…

January 26, 2016 ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) — Catholic youths from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis were among those stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike overnight on the way home from the annual March for Life in Washington. And they had stories to tell that include attending an impromptu roadside Mass complete with a…

January 26, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the Vatican, Pope Francis told him he had high hopes for peace. And while Pope Francis usually asks those he meets for their prayers, the Shiite cleric pre-empted the pope’s request and said, “I ask you to pray for me.” President…

January 25, 2016 CEBU, Philippines (CNS) — The 51st International Eucharistic Congress kicked off with Pope Francis’ representative, Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, declaring war on poverty. “The Eucharist calls for … a third world war against poverty,” said Cardinal Bo, “a third world war against the cruelty of dogs getting fed with sumptuous,…

January 25, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will visit Sweden in October to participate in an ecumenical service and the beginning of a year of activities to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Leaders from the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation had already been set to meet Oct. 31,…

January 25, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has decided that six dioceses in Canada, previously considered mission territories under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, will transition to normal status. The dioceses of Keewatin-Le Pas, Churchill-Hudson Bay, Moosonee, Grouard-McLennan, Mackenzie-Fort Smith and Whitehorse now fall under the normal, or…

January 22, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A baby in a manger is proof enough for Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York that Americans can express a culture of life. And it wasn’t the Christ child. Instead, it was a newborn infant left by his mother in the crib of a manger scene at a…

January 22, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic admonitions about inclusion mixed with strong political language before the March of Life got underway Jan. 22 in Washington. At a Jesuit-sponsored Mass for life at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church that morning, Father Paddy Gilger’s homily reminded a small group of students that because Jesus made an effort…

January 21, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Sometimes being pro-life means making difficult decisions. Because of a predicted snowstorm in Washington, the St. Louis archdiocesan Catholic Youth Apostolate canceled its Generation Life pilgrimage to the March for Life. About 2,200 teens, adult chaperones, volunteers and staff were expected to participate in the 43rd annual march Jan….

January 21, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Following a request by Pope Francis, the Vatican issued a decree specifying that the Holy Thursday foot-washing ritual can include “all members of the people of God,” including women — a practice already observed by the pope and many priests around the world. In a letter dated December…

January 20, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Don’t be afraid of acting fairly and compassionately toward the poor, Pope Francis said in a written message to global business leaders attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. And do not let the sweeping innovations in robotics, science and technology “lead to the destruction of the…

January 18, 2015 ROME (CNS) — While the Catholic Church affirms that salvation comes through Jesus, it also recognizes that God is faithful and has not revoked his covenant with the Jewish people, Pope Francis said. Interrupted repeatedly with applause at Rome’s main synagogue Jan. 17, the pope said the church “recognizes the irrevocability of…

By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Jim Wenner is well trained in the funeral home business. For more than 150 years, his family has owned and operated funeral homes in the Cold Spring and Richmond areas. Ever since he could walk, he remembers watching his father direct funerals and offer solace to grieving families. While earning…

January 13, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 12 said the state of Florida’s death penalty system is unconstitutional because it allows judges, rather than juries, to determine whether a convicted criminal should get a death sentence. Michael B. Sheedy, executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops in Tallahassee, said…

January 13, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis phoned a noted Italian theologian to ask him for a “favor” — to help him and Vatican officials prepare for Easter by leading an annual Lenten retreat, the theologian said. The pope calling his cellphone caught Servite Father Ermes Ronchi by surprise, he said, and “my…

January 12, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The general counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who have asked the court for relief from being forced to comply with the federal contraceptive mandate. The brief was filed…

January 12, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The prayers of the faithful, not the pope, bishops, priests or nuns, have the power to make miracles happen in the most impossible situations, Pope Francis said at his morning Mass. Saints, like St. Monica, have proven that lives can change if people pray courageously and believe that…

January 12, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Arms flailing, the exuberant and perhaps hyperactive Italian actor and comedian Roberto Benigni described Pope Francis as a masterful minister of God’s mercy, which is always active and always on the move. Benigni brought the house down Jan. 12 during the presentation of the new book-length interview with…

January 11, 2016 BEIT JALLA, West Bank (CNS) — A U.S. bishop visiting the Holy Land for the second year in a row said Palestinians whose land has been divided by the Israeli separation barrier “have lost hope.” “It was very sad to see the present situation where individuals have their lands confiscated and trees…

January 11, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Being ministers of God’s mercy, church members overcome “prejudice and rigidity,” taking risks like Jesus did in order to heal and to save, Pope Francis said. In Jesus’ day, lepers were cast out of the community “to avoid contamination: the healthy needed to be protected,” but Jesus, at…

January 9, 2016 HONG KONG (CNS) — Catholic communities in China’s northeastern provinces are using social media to evangelize in the freezing and smoggy winter while still offering pastoral care directly to the elderly Catholics to fill the digital gap, reported ucanews.com. In Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces, the average temperature drops below freezing for…

January 8, 2016 WASHINGTON (CNS) — When President Barack Obama unveiled a series of executive orders Jan. 5 intended to make a dent in gun violence in the United States, people reacted. And how. “Thank God that someone finally has the courage to close the loopholes in our pitiful gun control laws to reduce the…

January 8, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Before he was elected pontiff, Pope Francis had a reputation for not liking to do interviews. “Really, I don’t give interviews. But I don’t know why. I can’t, that’s just how it is. I find it a bit tiresome, but I’m grateful for your company,” he told the…

January 8, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — True love comes from God and is expressed through his mercy and forgiveness, not through sentimental expressions that can easily vanish, Pope Francis said. Although many people use the word ‘love,’ “when used, it is not known what it exactly means,” the pope said in his homily Jan….

January 4, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will deliver his monthly prayer intentions on video over social media as part of a Jesuit-run global prayer network. The new video messages, featuring the pope asking for prayers and action on various challenges facing the world today, will begin Jan. 6, the feast of the…

January 4, 2016 AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) — As a cautious world rang in the New Year with concerns over terrorism and security, Catholics in Canada were continuing to welcome Syrian refugees to their newly adopted homeland. The Canadian target of accepting 25,000 Syrian refugees by late February “is well in hand, and we should meet…

January 4, 2016 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis erected a new Syro-Malankara eparchy for the United States and Canada. The pope also named Bishop Thomas Eusebios Naickamparambil, who served as the apostolic exarch for Syro-Malankaran Catholics in the United States, as its first bishop. The new diocese is called the Eparchy of St. Mary,…

December 31, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The gift of mercy is a light that helps Christians reflect on the past year and radiates hope at the start of the new year, Pope Francis said. While retracing the events of 2015 may recall moments of both joy and sorrow, it also offers a moment to…

December 31, 2015 VALLEY PARK, Mo. (CNS) — At about 8:30 on a chilly morning Dec. 30, Mickey Downing of the Valley Park Fire District went house to house in lower Valley Park, knocked on doors and asked people to evacuate for their safety with the Meramec River nearing the top of the levee protecting…

December 31, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Singing is good for one’s soul and, as St. Augustine says, Christian life is not a sad path but a joyous one that is done “singing and walking,” Pope Francis said. “Remember this: Sing and walk,” the pope said Dec. 31 to 6,000 young choristers, their families, friends…

December 31, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis called on Christians to pray for victims of several natural disasters that have hit parts of the United States, Great Britain and Paraguay. “I invite you to pray for the victims of disasters that in recent days have struck the United States, Great Britain and South…

December 31, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The annual March for Life, set for Jan. 22, will convene in a new location in the nation’s capital for the traditional midday rally. Because of the ongoing refurbishment of the National Mall and strict new regulations that require temporary flooring to protect the grass, the rally has been…

December 29, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A year ago on Christmas Day, National Geographic photographer Dave Yoder got an unexpected Christmas gift that he will never forget. Over a six-month period, he had taken tens of thousands of photos for a planned cover story on Pope Francis for his magazine. But while he had taken…

December 29, 2015 GREEN BAY, Wis. (CNS) — The first day of winter, Dec. 21, is also known as the winter solstice. It is the shortest day and longest night of the year. For people who are homeless, it’s a night that represents the harsh challenges of living on the streets. For the past seven…

December 23, 2015 MINNEAPOLIS (CNS) — More than a month has passed since the November shooting death of Jamar Clark, a black man, by a white police officer. While protesters, led by the group Black Lives Matter, have moved on from their encampment at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Fourth Precinct, their questions and those of…

December 23, 2015 HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (CNS) — Holiday traditions and rituals are a vital part of each family’s Christmas celebration. When celebrating the birth of Jesus, many Catholic families have their own customs passed down for centuries through the generations, and this is especially true for southeast Michigan’s Polish families. Polish Christmas traditions center on…

December 21, 2015 WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CNS) — The explosive global refugee crisis — likely the top debate-generating news story of 2015 — seems destined to dominate domestic and foreign politics for years to come at a time when Pope Francis has been calling for a compassionate world response. Early in 2015, Pope Francis…

December 21, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” broke box office records and restored a new hope in the franchise to the delight of fans worldwide with a few exceptions, including the Vatican’s newspaper. Emilio Ranzato, author and frequent movie critic for L’Osservatore Romano, wrote Dec. 18 that the first installment…

December 16, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis’ U.S. visit — Sept. 22-27 — was so full, “each day was like a week,” said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Any one of his public events would have made the trip worthwhile, said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, but he…

December 15, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis called for abolishing the death penalty worldwide, lifting the burden of debt on poor nations, global aid policies that respect life and revamped laws that welcome and integrate migrants. He urged individuals, communities and nations to not let indifference, information overload or pessimism discourage them from…

December 15, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Creationism vs. evolution, scientific method vs. ethics, science vs. faith, the church’s censure and rehabilitation of Galileo Galilei. For centuries, there have been countless confusion and arguments pitting science against faith as if they were two opposing forces. In the hopes of dispelling lingering myths and misunderstandings, one…

December 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will visit some of the most marginalized communities in Mexico and seek to bring hope to a country deeply suffering from crime, corruption and inequality when he visits in February. The Vatican announced Dec. 12 details about the pope’s Feb. 12-17 trip to Mexico, during which…

December 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) –- On the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope Francis announced that he would travel to the Marian shrine in Mexico City and pray to Mary so that Christian communities “may become oases and rivers of mercy.” “To ask her this, in a strong way, I will travel…

December 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With the opening the Holy Door at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Pope Francis declared that the time for tenderness, joy and forgiveness had begun. As holy doors around the world were opened at city cathedrals, major churches and sanctuaries Dec. 13, the pope said this simple…

December 11, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As reformed rules for marriage annulment cases came into effect, Pope Francis said the new norms are to be adhered to in order to help bring healing to failed marriages. With the release of two papal documents in September, the pope rewrote a section of canon law with…

December 11, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — When President Barack Obama signed the sweeping bipartisan legislation Every Student Succeeds Act Dec. 10, he described it as a “Christmas miracle.” “This is an early Christmas present. After more than 10 years, members of Congress from both parties have come together to revise our national education law,” he…

December 10, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — At the Vatican and on five continents in 2015, Pope Francis continued to encourage and demonstrate a style of evangelization that emphasizes walking with people, listening to them and showing them God’s mercy. From the heart of the universal church to the heart of Africa, the pope showed…

December 9, 2015 SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (CNS) — Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral was dark as men and women of different faiths walked down the center aisle of the mission-revival-style church. The names of the 14 victims of the Dec. 2 shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino were read by an…

December 9, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church needs the extraordinary Holy Year to become an effective witness of God’s divine mercy, Pope Francis said. “The jubilee is a favorable time for all of us, so that in contemplating divine mercy, which surpasses every human limitation and shines in the darkness of sin,…

December 7, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Vatican judges have granted a request by one of the defendants to have several prominent Vatican officials take the stand and testify in the so-called “VatiLeaks” trial regarding the leaking and publication of confidential documents. Following deliberations Dec. 7, Giuseppe Dalla Torre, the presiding judge, along with three…

December 7, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Heads of states at the U.N. climate change conference in Paris must do everything possible to mitigate the effects of both climate change and poverty “for the good of our common home,” Pope Francis said. “The two choices go together: to stop climate change and curb poverty so…

December 7, 2015 LEVITTOWN, Pa. (CNS) — A California state judge’s ruling that a now-divorced couple’s five frozen embryos must be destroyed is an example of doing something that technology allows without considering all its aspects, according to medical ethicists. Christopher White, director of research and education for the California-based Center for Bioethics and Culture,…

December 4, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The trickle of refugees that left Syria when that country’s Arab Spring-styled protests morphed in late 2011 into civil war, turned to a flood and then a torrent this year as hostilities escalated when euphemistically termed “outside actors” got more deeply involved. With the government of President Bashar Assad…

December 4, 2015 Course’s themes help foster discussion on migration in light of current events By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Dressed in authentic period costumes of the early 1900s, seventh- and eighth-grade students at St. John’s Preparatory School in Collegeville traveled through time to be part of the Ellis Island immigration process during an interactive…

December 4, 2015 OXNARD, Calif. (CNS) — Arriving in the late morning Dec. 2 at the San Bernardino diocesan pastoral center for his job in the diocese’s Office of Worship, Chris Estrella knew something was very wrong. “I could see a police blockade of Waterman Avenue, which is where the Inland Regional Center is located,”…

December 4, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Following a 9 a.m. Mass Nov. 21 at St. Michael Church in St. Cloud, national speaker Father Michael Schmitz from the Diocese of Duluth spoke to some 200 people about passing on the Catholic faith to children and teens. “The reality and the stakes are that it…

December 4, 2015 Story and photos by Dianne Towalski The Visitor Youth and adult leaders from across the country converged on Indianapolis Nov. 19-21 for the 33rd National Catholic Youth Conference. The theme was “Here I am Lord.” The St. Cloud group, 141 youth and 55 adult leaders, joined the crowd of more than 23,000…

December 3, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Francis planned the Year of Mercy and the opening of the Holy Door, he did not mean to give the starting signal for a frenzied wave of pilgrims to Rome. More than call to sign up for an Eternal City package tour, the pope is inviting…

December 3, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said his Bible is old, beat up and worth more to him than anything money can buy. “If you saw my Bible, you would not be impressed,” he wrote to young people. “You’d say, ‘What? This is the pope’s Bible? A book so old, so beat…

December 3, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Atrocities committed in the name of Islam reverberate in a historic mosque in Washington. “It’s difficult,” said Imam Talib Shareef, who is head preacher at the Nation’s Mosque. He made the comments in an interview with Catholic News Service Nov. 28. Two weeks earlier, terrorist attacks, which the Islamic…

December 2, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The usual fanfare that comes with the world premiere of a movie is pretty standard: the lights and cameras, the celebrities walking down the red carpet and screaming fans trying to catch a glimpse of their favorite actors. At the Vatican, however, a movie premiere is not your…

December 2, 2015 CONYERS, Ga. (CNS) — Mimi Soileau goes nearly weekly to see what vegetables are ripe to be plucked from garden beds beside her parish church, St. Pius X. Time spent with her hands in the dirt is nothing new for this 85-year-old master gardener. She’s currently harvesting hearty kale, eggplant and broccoli…

December 2, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Although the four weeks of Advent focus on waiting for Christmas, the church does not just sit around and wait for the main event. It celebrates plenty of major feasts with lots of customs, traditions and even special foods during the month of December. Early in the Advent season,…

December 1, 2015 CHICAGO (CNS) — A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that Wisconsin’s abortion law requiring abortion clinic doctors to have hospital admitting privileges was unconstitutional. In a 2-1 decision Nov. 23, the 7th Circuit in Chicago said the provision of the 2013 law…

December 1, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Heads of state discussing carbon emission limits must create a global and “transformative” agreement built on justice, solidarity and fairness, a papal representative told the U.N. climate conference in Paris. Pope Francis has said “it would be tragic” if special interests “manipulated information” and won out over the…

November 30, 2015 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CNS) — A priest who celebrates Mass every Friday morning on a sidewalk near the Planned Parenthood clinic targeted by a lone gunman Nov. 27 said the shooter’s actions were the antithesis of the pro-life cause. “We want the conversion of Planned Parenthood, not their destruction,” said Father Bill…

November 30, 2015 PARIS (CNS) — Hundreds of thousands of people in at least 150 countries around the world demanded action on climate change on the eve of a U.N. conference that aimed to find agreement on greenhouse gas emissions. Heads of state traveled to Paris for the Nov. 30-Dec. 11 Conference of Parties, or…

November 30, 2015 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM AFRICA (CNS) — Pope Francis told reporters he is well aware that God is a god of surprises, but he had not been prepared for what a surprise his first visit to Africa would be. Obviously tired, but equally content, Pope Francis told reporters he prayed in…

BANGUI, Central African Republic (CNS) — Put down the weapons of war and work for justice, Pope Francis urged the people of the Central African Republic. “Even when the powers of hell are unleashed, Christians must rise to the summons, their heads held high, and be ready to brave blows in this battle over which…

KAMPALA, Uganda (CNS) — As Pope Francis encouraged Ugandan Christians to draw inspiration from the 19th-century Ugandan Martyrs, he carried with him graphic images of the horrors the 45 Anglican and Catholic martyrs endured. The pope made an early morning visit Nov. 28 to the Anglican shrine and museum located on the site where many…

November 26, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Maureen Orth, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine who has written about music icons, world leaders and Hollywood celebrities, tackled a completely different subject for National Geographic magazine: the Virgin Mary. For the magazine’s December cover story, “Mary the most powerful woman in the world,” Orth visited several…

November 26, 2015 NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) — With security concerns looming over his visit, Pope Francis arrived in Kenya Nov. 25 urging tolerance and respect among people of different religions and different ethnic groups. During the less than seven-hour flight, Pope Francis told reporters the only thing he was worried about were the mosquitoes, and…

November 24, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic organizations advocating to protect the world and its people from the impact of climate change said the terror attacks in Paris had not dissuaded them from attending a major U.N. summit there. “As far as I know, everyone who was planning to go is going. It is such…

November 24, 2015 DERWOOD, Md. (CNS) –- Dorothy Day’s granddaughter Martha Hennessy looks a little like her grandmother with her pulled-back white hair, and although she is soft spoken, she likely sounds just like her activist grandmother, too, when talking about helping the poor and promoting peace. Hennessy spoke about such topics and the influence…

November 19, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Christmas tree and Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square will be set up and unveiled earlier than usual this year to be ready for the opening of the Year of Mercy. In preparation for the extraordinary event, which begins Dec. 8 with the opening of the Holy…

November 19, 2015 The latest Internet outrage in the “war against Christians” is that Starbucks will no longer use a Christmas-themed paper cup. No more “jazzy” Santas, no more snowflakes, no more reindeer — just a plain red, green and white cup. According to Jeffrey Fields, Starbuck’s vice president for design and content, “This year…

November 18, 2015 Elizabeth Hayden, a College of St. Benedict alumna and retired district court judge, received the Fidelis Apparitor Award Nov. 14. The award, which means “faithful servant,” is given to individuals who have been good and faithful servants of the law. Hayden, a member of St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud, received the honor…

November 18, 2015 BALTIMORE (CNS) — The U.S. bishops adopted a revised version of their quadrennial statement on political responsibility, but not without questions being raised by some bishops who said it should better reflect Catholic social teaching. The questions came from five bishops who said that the document does not adequately address poverty, as…

November 16, 2015 BALTIMORE (CNS) — Church resettlement programs in the United States will continue to aid refugees who are fleeing violence and social ills despite calls that the country’s borders should be closed to anyone but Christians. The church’s response is focused on people in need of food, shelter and safety and not their…

November 16, 2015 BALTIMORE (CNS) — Revisions in the U.S. bishops’ quadrennial document on political responsibility draw on the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis and take into account developments in U.S. foreign and domestic policy over the past four years. The document, revised by a working group of bishops comprised of the…

November 16, 2015 BALTIMORE (CNS) — As a way to move forward in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage this year, U.S. bishops are planning to develop a pastoral plan for marriage and family life. The pastoral plan, according to Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, New York, chairman of the bishops’…

November 16, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic leaders around the world condemned terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut, offering prayers and condolences. “The time has come for the world to stand united against terrorism and to confront the reasons of terrorism, such as feelings of oppression, hatred, bad education and fanaticism, with no double standards,”…

November 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “This is not human,” Pope Francis said after a night of terror in Paris left more than 120 people dead and more than 200 people injured. As French authorities investigated the almost simultaneous attacks Nov. 13 on at least six different sites — inside a concert hall, outside…

November 13, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Strong Catholic identity for Catholic schools and educational institutes depends on fostering proactive, creative and charitable witnesses of God’s love and Gospel values, not defending abstract ideologies, said the head of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Catholic identity must recognize the major mission of evangelization is “salvation and…

November 13, 2015 MONTREAL (CNS) — For two major Catholic agencies based in Canada, the Liberal government’s decision to stop airstrikes against Islamic State positions in the Middle East begs the question: How must Canada act in that region? Shortly after his Oct. 19 election, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intention of pulling…

November 10, 2015 NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — A “seismic shift in demographics” in both society and the U.S. Catholic Church in the coming decades will create a church that is far less white, Father Bryan Massingale told a New Orleans audience Nov. 6. The church will be unprepared to deal with that reality, he continued,…

November 10, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Yeb Sano, former climate change commissioner for Philippines, is so concerned about global warming that he and other Catholic pilgrims are walking 900 miles from Rome to Paris for the U.N. climate change conference. It’s time, Sano believes, for world leaders to sign a binding agreement that helps reduce…

November 6, 2015 Image of the Year of Mercy and papal tiara will identify Holy Door; Mass will also celebrate vocations By Kristi Anderson The Visitor The row of heavy wooden doors that aligns the front of St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud has welcomed people from all walks of life, from countless corners of…

November 4, 2015 COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNS) — The lead consultant on “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, said that although it’s a document of nearly 40,000 words, its message can be summed up in one sentence. “We cannot love God when we do not appreciate or care for what God has made,” Cardinal…

November 4, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Investigations into money laundering, insider trading and market manipulation through a Vatican office were launched after an initial report was filed by the Vatican Financial Intelligence Authority in February 2015, the Vatican spokesman said. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the spokesman, issued a statement Nov. 4 about the investigations…

November 4, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Police chiefs and bishops are called to work together to assist the victims of human trafficking and help them find freedom and healing, Pope Francis said. “You … by your mission are called to be near to these victims and to accompany them on a pathway of dignity…

November 3, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Serving and giving oneself for others may make one “seem like a loser in the eyes of the world,” but in reality that person is imitating Christ’s love and service, which conquered death and gave life to the world, Pope Francis said. “He who serves, saves,” the pope…

November 3, 2015 GLENMOORE, Pa. (CNS) — When independent filmmaker and artist Abbie Reese inaugurated her collaboration with the Poor Clare Colettine nuns at the Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford, Illinois, she had a professional goal: nurturing a collaborative relationship that would serve as a backdrop to a young woman’s transition from secular life into…

October 30, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The martyrdom of Blessed Oscar Romero did not end with his death because he continued to be slandered even by his fellow priests and bishops, Pope Francis said. Speaking off-the-cuff to a group of pilgrims from El Salvador Oct. 30, the pope said that he, too, witnessed the…

October 29, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church has long defended the family as the basic unit of society and as a “school of humanity.” The family as a bastion of love and protection in times of war and disaster is a reality, not a pious platitude, said two members of the Synod…

October 29, 2015 MOSCOW, Pa. (CNS) — Bob Simon fell in love with two things at the age of 5 — the Catholic Church and building with Lego. Now, as a 51-year-old priest, Father Simon has discovered a way to merge both of these passions. The pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Moscow…

October 29, 2015 GREEN BAY, Wis. (CNS) — The only facility still performing abortions in the northeast Wisconsin has suspended abortions for the next six months. Planned Parenthood in Grand Chute suspended abortions in mid-October, citing a lack of medical staff. The building, and Planned Parenthood’s office in Appleton, remains open. While Planned Parenthood did…

October 29, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — With his election as speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Paul Ryan may have taken the most difficult job in American politics. The Wisconsin Republican is faced with keeping his party’s conference unified as he takes a position that places him third in line for the presidency. He…

October 27, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As more members of the armed forces endure both physical and emotional scars from conflicts raging around the world, Pope Francis called on military chaplains to tend to their wounds with the healing balm of the sacraments. “At this time, in which we are living a ‘third world…

October 27, 2015 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CNS) — A slight breeze stirred the Spanish moss of the ancient live oaks as the late October afternoon sun slanted across the wide lawn of the deserted mansion. It was easy to imagine going back more than 300 years to the dawn of the 18th century, hearing the sounds…

October 27, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Together, the Catholic organizations led by three women serve millions of people each year across the United States and around the world. These three leaders — whose organizations are devoted to health care, serving the poor and overseas relief — said their faith guides their work in bringing the…

October 27, 2015 BOISE, Idaho (CNS) — Maureen O’Hara, one of the last icons of the golden age of movies, died Oct. 24 in Boise. She was 95. A lifelong Catholic and native of Ireland, she moved to Boise in 2012 to be close to her grandson. Among her notable film credits were “How Green…

October 24, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While not specifically mentioning the controversial proposal of a path toward full reconciliation and Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried, members of the Synod of Bishops on the family handed Pope Francis a report emphasizing an obligation to recognize that not all Catholics in such a situation…

October 24, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis announced he is establishing a new office for laity, family and life, which combines the responsibilities of two pontifical councils. The pope made the announcement Oct. 22 during the afternoon session of the Synod of Bishops on the family. “I have decided to establish a new…

October 23, 2015 MADISON, Wis. (CNS) — It was a birthday party unlike any other. “This has been unbelievable … the greatest experience ever for this parish.” Those words from Msgr. Michael Burke, pastor of St. Maria Goretti Parish in Madison, are the simplest way to sum up the 24-hour period in which the relics…

October 22, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Members of the Synod of Bishops on the family agree that Catholic families are the beating heart and busy hands of the church, but the tensions in the synod hall demonstrate that what they don’t agree on is a vision of the church and its primary attitude to…

October 22, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After nearly three weeks of intense discussion and debate, the Synod of Bishop’s final document on the family was not expected to have any hard-hitting answers, a member of the drafting commission said. Rather, the report was aiming to be a reflection of the overall sense of the…

October 21, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Two of the 13 final small-group reports of the Synod of Bishops for the family contained apologies: one for ways in which a lack of pastoral care may have contributed to the breakdown of marriages and one for “harsh and merciless” attitudes toward unwed mothers and their children,…

October 21, 2015 AVE MARIA, Fla. (CNS) — Valeria Tkacik is a standout lacrosse player for Ave Maria University in Florida. By all accounts, she is a leader on and off the field. Tkacik was named to the National Women’s Lacrosse League South Regional Team and is considered a talented athlete who loves playing lacrosse,…

October 21, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said an Italian newspaper’s claims about the pope’s health were “entirely unfounded.” After checking with the pope himself and other sources, Father Lombardi told reporters “the pope enjoys good health” and that the unsubstantiated news report was “a serious act of irresponsibility,…

October 20, 2015 UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — The information and services that space technology provides must be shared as much as possible by the countries of the world to reduce the risk that economic and social inequalities will widen, a Vatican official told the United Nations. The “opening of outer space for scientific and peaceful…

October 20, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The reforms to the annulment process introduced by Pope Francis serve only to avoid delays in cases where marriages are clearly not valid, two synod fathers said. Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach of Barcelona, Spain, and Cardinal Wilfrid F. Napier of Durban, South Africa, told journalists at a Vatican…

October 20, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Observers told the Synod of Bishops on the family to discourage Christian women from marrying Muslim men, urge priests not to tell women to return to abusive husbands, share the truth of church teaching about marriage, and embrace single mothers who are alienated from the church. The proposals…

October 19, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Despite continued instability and outbreaks of violence in the Central African Republic, the Vatican announced Pope Francis will spend about 33 hours in the country during a Nov. 25-30 visit to Africa. Releasing the schedule for the trip, the Vatican said that while the pope is in the…

October 19, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Synod of Bishops on the family is not being manipulated, rather the distortion rests in how it is being depicted or seen by a number of people, said Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington. “I don’t think the synod itself has been tainted, but the lens through…

October 19, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Marking the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis outlined his vision for a church that is “synodal” at every level, with everyone listening to one another, learning from one another and taking responsibility for proclaiming the Gospel. “The journey of synodality is the journey that…

October 17, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Remember that Christ is a friend who invites sinners to his table, and do not forget God’s call to repent and live holy lives, some representatives of Christian communities told the world Synod of Bishops. Many of the 12 nonvoting “fraternal delegates,” whose presentations were published by the…

October 17, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Religious freedom “extends way beyond mere tolerance,” said Secretary of State John Kerry Oct. 14 when announcing the U.S. State Department’s release of the 2014 International Religious Freedom Report. He said it demands that faith practitioners “understand that they have no right to coerce others into submission, conversion, or…

October 16, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Couples attending the Synod of Bishops called for empathy and support from the church to families suffering difficult circumstances. Several lay couples and a missionary sister addressed the synod Oct. 15-16, highlighting various issues facing families in their countries and abroad. Anthony and Catherine Witczak, the international ecclesial…

October 16, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The family is not just an object of church discussion, but must be a subject — an actor — that shares its life and witness with the wider Christian community, said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky. At the Synod of Bishops on the family, he said,…

October 16, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — For weeks, Catholics had been streaming to the “Knotted Grotto,” a dome-shaped lattice-work frame outside the chapel of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, tying white strips of paper offering prayers for healing of sick friends and relatives, world peace, protection of the environment, the…

October 15, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Members of the Synod of Bishops trust the Holy Spirit and Pope Francis’ guidance in confronting issues facing today’s families, said Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan. “An atmosphere of fear does not exist because we believe in the Holy Spirit. We also believe in the guidance of the…

October 15, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Married couples need more help in dealing with infertility and childlessness, which is “one of the major causes of divorce in Africa,” said a Nigerian member of the Synod of Bishops on the family. In a culture where “children are celebrated with all kinds of ceremonies” and are…

October 14, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholics are urged to join in prayer and fasting Oct. 16-24 for the conversion of people and nations, peace in the world, a renewed culture of life in the United States and spiritual blessing on the Synod of Bishops on the family. The 23rd International Week of Prayer and…

October 14, 2015 CHICAGO (CNS) — For Mia Rocha, the opportunity to greet the relics of St. Maria Goretti at Chicago’s St. John Cantius Church Oct. 12 was the gift of a lifetime. Rocha, 20, is a parishioner at St. John Cantius and chose St. Maria Goretti as her patron for confirmation. “This is very…

October 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As members of the Synod of Bishops concluded work on the second of three chapters in their working document, they continued to call for a tone and for language that is clear, simple and encourages people to see it is possible to live the vocation of marriage and…

October 13, 2015 CHICAGO (CNS) — Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, saying it is time to “take meaningful and swift action to address violence in our society,” called for stricter gun control laws in Illinois. “Recently, the city of Chicago adopted a tough ordinance to tightly regulate gun stores here. I applaud Chicago’s leadership…

October 12, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Just like a family, the Catholic Church should challenge members to grow and behave better, but also like a family, it should not exclude those who still have some growing to do, said Bishop George V. Murry of Youngstown, Ohio. Bishop Murry and other members of the Synod…

October 12, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Two couples attending the Synod of Bishops on the family said what surprised them most about their first synod in Rome was reading inaccurate media coverage of the closed-door proceedings, the diversity problems families face around the world and the synod fathers’ great concern and compassion for the…

October 12, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Before the Vatican released a detailed schedule of Pope Francis’ first trip to Africa, the office of papal liturgical ceremonies included the Nov. 25-30 visit on its list of upcoming papal events. The pope’s liturgical schedule, released at the Vatican Oct. 12, includes mention of the “apostolic visit…

October 10, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The first week of the Synod of Bishops on the family ended with near unanimous calls to be more positive in describing family life today and to show more appreciation for Catholic families living close to the church’s ideals. But there were also widespread questions among synod participants…

October 8, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Just as Pope Francis got what he wanted from his apostolic journey to the United States in a close-up view of American Catholicism at its most compassionate and energetic, so too did the media covering Pope Francis largely get what they sought in covering his six-day September visit in…

October 8, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Synod of Bishops on the family must find ways to give Catholic families a leading role in evangelizing and supporting other families, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told the synod. “Families who by the grace of God model tenderness, forgiveness and the joy…

October 8, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Although the public is given glimpses of what happens inside the Catholic Church’s world Synod of Bishops, the meetings themselves take place behind closed doors. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the Synod of Bishops has been the object of a continual hunt to balance creating a protected…

October 8, 2015 UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — In the warm afterglow of Pope Francis’ Sept 25 address to the General Assembly, veteran United Nations observers drew a starkly candid road map of urgent actions that the world body must take to achieve its security agenda. Speakers at an Oct. 7 side event hosted by the…

October 7, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Helen Alvare is a law professor at George Mason University, a consultant to the Vatican and the U.S. bishops about marriage and life issues, and has been a recognized defender of Catholic teaching on marriage and the family for many years. She also is a wife and mother. But…

October 7, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Society and the church have much to learn from the family and, in fact, the bond between the church and the family is “indissoluble,” Pope Francis said. Families bring needed values and a humanizing spirit to society and, when they mirror God’s love for all, they teach the…

October 7, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When a big group of people gathers to discuss something important, people start lobbying, even if that group is the world Synod of Bishops, said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia. Pope Francis told participants Oct. 6 “we should avoid thinking of each other as conspiring against one…

October 6, 2015 MEXICO CITY (CNS) — The Mexican bishops’ conference and the Vatican have confirmed Pope Francis will visit Mexico in 2016, marking his first trip to this heavily Catholic country in throes of unrest over unresolved issues such as violence, crime and corruption. Auxiliary Bishop Eugenio Lira Rugarcia of Puebla, conference secretary-general, told…

October 6, 2015 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CNS) — California’s bishops expressed disappointment with Gov. Jerry Brown’s Oct. 5 signing of a measure legalizing physician-assisted suicide in the state, saying the law “stands in direct contradiction to providing compassionate, quality care for those facing a terminal illness.” “This bill does nothing to validate the lives of the…

October 6, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As the discussion began at the world Synod of Bishops on the family, Pope Francis urged members not to act as if the only question that mattered was the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, his spokesman said. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters…

October 6, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Canadian Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, Quebec, said the synod should reflect on the possibility of allowing for female deacons as it seeks ways to open up more opportunities for women in church life. Where possible, qualified women should be given higher positions and decision-making authority within church…

October 5, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The world Synod of Bishops on the family is not a parliament where participants will negotiate or lobby, Pope Francis said, but it must be a place of prayer where bishops speak with courage and open themselves to “God who always surprises us.” Opening the first working session…

October 4, 2015 PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) — St. Joseph Parish in Roseburg hosted an emotional Mass the evening of Oct. 1 for 10 people who died in a shooting that morning at Umpqua Community College. Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith traveled from Portland for the liturgy. Authorities in Roseburg, in green rolling hills 180 miles south…

October 4, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The House Sept. 29 passed the Women’s Health and Public Safety Act to give states the authority to defund Planned Parenthood. Speaking from the House floor in support of the measure, which was sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin, Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, cited the pope’s Sept. 24…

October 1, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A survey commissioned by Holy Cross Family Ministries provides insights into the faith practices of young Catholic families. One of the more surprising findings is that Hispanics now make up a solid majority of Catholic families where the parents are ages 25-45, the age group targeted by the survey….

October 1, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Concerned that Puerto Rico’s debt crisis is inflicting hardship on poor and middle-class households, Archbishop Robert Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan met with congressional leaders and the White House to push for a resolution. The crisis has led to school closings, cuts in social services and health care and…

October 1, 2015 ATICAN CITY (CNS) — Indifference to the crises and tragedies today’s migrants and refugees are facing lead to complicity when people remain silent or refuse to act, Pope Francis said. Jesus’ call to welcome the stranger and show mercy is clear, the pope said in a message released at the Vatican Oct….

September 30, 2015 READING, N.Y. (CNS) — Accompanied by oversized replica of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’,” former Catholic seminarian Paul Flansburg took his place on the line with 18 others in a human blockade. Their goal Aug. 18 was to stop business as usual at a natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas storage facility…

September 30, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The family is the answer to the two extremes facing the world — fragmentation and “homogenization,” in which everything is forced to be the same, Pope Francis said. The family based on marriage between a man and a woman is the answer because “it is the cell of…

September 30, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican has refused to comment on reports that while in Washington, Pope Francis briefly met with Kim Davis, the county clerk from Kentucky who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses. Davis, the elected clerk of Rowan County, initially refused to grant marriage licenses to gay…

September 29, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — For Catholic Extension, the canonization of St. Junipero Serra Sept. 23 marked a renewal of the 110-year-old organization’s help to the marginalized. “We have to awaken our mission spirit in the United States,” said Father Jack Wall, president of Catholic Extension, in a phone interview with Catholic News Service….

September 29, 2015 RALEIGH, N.C. (CNS) — The Walker family filed through the side entrance of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh. A bag on her shoulder and a 3-year-old on her hip, mom Noel Zemborain smiled. A pack at his waist, dad Catire Walker held the door as their three older children passed by. At…

September 29, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Now that Pope Francis’ trip to the United States has ended, many wonder when he will visit Canada, as he has been invited to visit Montreal in 2017. Asked about this possibility, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said there is no plan to visit Canada at the moment….

September 28, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Pope Francis ended his trip to the United States with a call for Catholics to keep the enthusiasm of the visit, while continuing to welcome newcomers and care for creation. “Do not let your enthusiasm for Jesus, his church, our families, and the broader family of society run dry,”…

September 28, 2015 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — As the American Airlines plane taking him to Rome from Philadelphia took off, Pope Francis said he pictured the faces of all the people he met, and he prayed for them. At the end of his first-ever visit to the United States, the pope…

September 27, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Pope Francis speaks often about memory and motion, the importance of remembering where you came from and setting off without fear to share the Gospel. That’s what he did in the United States. He circled the Statue of Liberty in a helicopter and flew over Ellis Island not preparing…

Pope Francis urged the hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families to serve and care for each other as freely as God loves the human family. The pope called upon the faithful to embrace signs that the Holy Spirit can work through everyone. He referred to…

For Mary Jo Ruhland of Assumption Parish in Eden Valley, the four-hour wait on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia to catch a fleeting glimpse of the popemobile as it went by Sept. 26, was definitely worth it. “It is the steadfastness that people have in their hearts to wait for that moment when he…

September 27, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — The first symbol of God’s creative love is when he said, “Let there be light,” because light encourages good and darkness encourages evil, Cardinal Robert Sarah said at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. Light brings order out of darkness and love out of chaos, he said in…

September 26, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — There is no single way for every person at a papal Mass, or even near one, to be excited. Whether on one’s feet or in one’s seat, people feel a certain tingle when they know the pope of the Roman Catholic Church is soon to be within their midst….

September 26, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Not far from where the Liberty Bell is on display, Pope Francis urged the people of the United States to continue to “proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof,” as the bell’s inscription says. Meeting Sept. 26 with members of the Hispanic community and immigrants…

September 26, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — In front of Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul stands a visible representation of Pope Francis’ favorite religious image: “Mary, Undoer of Knots.” The “Knotted Grotto” is a dome-shaped lattice-work frame that stands about 10 feet high with an approximately 20-foot circumference and features tens of thousands…

September 26, 2016 NEW YORK (CNS) — Seeing New York for the first time in his 78 years of life, Pope Francis said he knew Madison Square Garden was an important gathering place for sporting events and concerts. For him, it was transformed into a chapel in the heart of the Big Apple. True peace…

September 25, 2015 UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — Dealing with war, development, the economy or environmental concerns, bureaucrats and diplomats always must remember that the lives of real children, women and men are at stake, Pope Francis told the United Nations. Helping to celebrate the organization’s 70th anniversary, Pope Francis visited its headquarters Sept. 25 and…

September 25, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — Honoring both the pain and the strength of the families of those who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and drawing on the pools of water that are part of the site’s memorial, Pope Francis spoke about tears and quenching the world’s longing for peace. “The…

By Frank Lee For The Visitor They care for the physical and mental needs of others, and now those they serve will show their appreciation at a special Mass and blessing at Sacred Heart Chapel in St. Joseph. All are invited to celebrate the White Mass for health care professionals at 2 p.m. Oct. 18…

September 24, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis made a previously unannounced 15-minute stop Sept. 23 at a Washington residence operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor, where he met with about 45 sisters. Sister Constance Veit, communications director for the Little Sisters, said the pope talked individually with each sister, ranging in age…

September 24, 2015 Pope Francis’ Address to the Joint Session of the United States Congress United States Capitol, Washington Thursday September 24, 2015 Mr. Vice-President, Mr. Speaker, Honorable Members of Congress, Dear Friends, I am most grateful for your invitation to address this Joint Session of Congress in “the land of the free and the…

September 23, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Parishioners and visitors attending the predawn bilingual Mass at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Church in Washington Sept. 23 were urged to pray that the pope’s words during his U.S. visit would have an impact. Pray that “all will hear his message and that this country will receive…

September 23, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The 11,000 ticketed guests and a cast of hundreds extra — military units, musicians and federal employees — who waited on the White House lawn to greet Pope Francis Sept. 23 were clearly there as fans of the visiting pope. As the sun rose over a spectacularly blue September…

By Joe Towalski The Visitor Some three dozen pilgrims from the Diocese of St. Cloud joined nearly 20,000 from more than 100 countries for the opening day of the World Meeting of Families Sept. 22 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The Minnesota pilgrims arrived just hours before Pope Francis landed in Washington, D.C.,…

September 22, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Despite repeated questions from journalists on what Pope Francis will say to President Barack Obama, a joint meeting of Congress and the United Nations on any range of potential subjects, Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi advised everyone to wait and listen for themselves. During a Sept. 22 news…

September 22, 2015 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM CUBA (CNS) — Pope Francis defended his position on the economy, the environment and other social issues as faithful repetitions of the basic Catholic social doctrine. Speaking to reporters flying with him from Cuba to Washington Sept. 22, the pope was asked about comments, mainly from the…

September 22, 2015 LEAWOOD, Kan. (CNS) — Before he became the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis was known to wander the streets of Rome on foot, searching for a good cup of coffee. “He’s a big fan of taste and texture and body,” said Tracy Allen, owner of the coffee consultancy Brewed Behavior…

September 22, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cooking for 1,900 people, no problem. Cooking for the pope? Now that requires extra care. Chefs Michael McDonald and Irshaad Ellis-Bey say they are up to the challenge. Both men are heading the effort of the Washington Archdiocese’s Catholic Charities Enterprises catering service in preparing a meal for 500…

September 22, 2015 SANTIAGO, Cuba (CNS) — Pope Francis called Cuban to a “revolution of tenderness” as he celebrated Mass in the Minor Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, the country’s patroness. While only about 60 percent of Cubans are baptized Catholics, the little statue of Our Lady of…

September 21, 2015 MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Peasant farmer Emiliano Navarrete lost his son one year ago, in an attack on 43 teacher trainees in southern Guerrero state. He still holds out hope that his son, Jose Angel Navarrete, 18, and his classmates are alive, even though Mexican investigators insist the 43 young men were…

September 21, 2015 TAYBEH, West Bank (CNS) — As Palestinians and Israelis in Jerusalem once again became embroiled in violence, locals and guests in Taybeh were enjoying ice-cold beers, grilled meats, frosted doughnuts and throbbing music as the all-Christian Palestinian village celebrated its 11th Oktoberfest. “This gathering is good,” said a beaming Nadim Khoury, who…

September 21, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — About 100 U.S. Catholic college presidents have signed a document supporting Pope Francis for his leadership on climate change efforts and committing their institutions to doing all they can to foster “open, honest” dialogue on climate issues and help form “global ecological citizens.” Since the pope’s encyclical on climate,…

September 21, 2015 By Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit MINNEAPOLIS (CNS) — A Catholic servant of the poor from Minnesota whom some consider a living saint will have a private audience with Pope Francis in Washington Sept. 24. Mary Jo Copeland, 73, who founded Sharing and Caring Hands in 1985, will meet the pontiff in person,…

September 20, 2015 SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba (CNS) — A week before Pope Francis arrived here, the communist government agreed to pardon 3,522 prisoners, including elderly people and people under 20 with no prior offenses. It was seen as a gesture of goodwill ahead of the papal visit, one meant to signal the Cuban government…

September 20, 2015 HAVANA (CNS) — Pope Francis, celebrating his first Mass in Cuba, was flanked by three cardinals who, with him, have been credited with helping seal the deal between the United States and Cuba to move toward normalizing relations. Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana was the host of the Mass Sept….

September 20, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Sept. 23 meeting between President Barack Obama and Pope Francis will likely continue the dialogue these two leaders began in a 2014 meeting at the Vatican and will likely lead to further action on ideas the two leaders share, said White House officials in a telephone briefing with…

September 19, 2015 HAVANA (CNS) — Pope Francis began his visit to Cuba praying for greater freedom for the island’s people and calling on U.S. and Cuban politicians to continue moving toward fully normal and neighborly relations. Meeting President Raul Castro and speaking before a small crowd at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport Sept. 19,…

September 18, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — “All Francis, All the Time” could be the motto for media coverage of Pope Francis’ historic visit to the United States Sept. 22-27. Across network and cable television, satellite radio, the Web and social media, Catholics and the public at large will enjoy a feast of viewing and…

September 17, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Millions of Iraqis and Syrians are facing poverty and even death, neighboring countries are bearing more than their fair share of the burden of helping refugees, arms dealers are getting richer and the international community seems helpless, Pope Francis said. The “atrocities and unspeakable human rights violations, which…

September 17, 2015 GREEN BAY, Wis. (CNS) — Mayor Jim Schmitt’s 2014 invitation to Pope Francis to visit Green Bay sounded like a lark or pipe dream to some people. It was right around March 1, 2014 — a month before April Fool’s Day — when the city’s mayor wrote his letter to Pope Francis….

September 17, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Arriving in the United States from Cuba, Pope Francis “will enter as a migrant” as millions of people have done before him, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state. The cardinal, who will accompany the pope on his Sept. 19-27 visits to Cuba, the United States and…

September 16, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis enjoys extremely high levels of support among Catholic likely voters and that support could reshape the Catholic Church’s engagement on political and social issues, a new poll reveals. Undertaken by the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America and Faith in…

September 16, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis asked for prayers for his trip to Cuba and the United States, calling it “a mission” he had high hopes for. He said while the main purpose of his 10th apostolic journey abroad, Sept. 19-28, was to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, he…

September 15, 2015 HAVANA (CNS) — Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba starting this weekend “will confirm the good state of relations” between the Holy See and the Cuban government, officials wrote in an editorial in the state-run Granma newspaper. “He will notice our patriotism and the arduous and fruitful force of our nation to exalt…

September 15, 2015 SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) — Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba and the United States comes as people and politicians in both countries increasingly support ending an economic embargo that has been in place for more than five decades. U.S. President Barack Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro and the Vatican have called…

September 15, 2015 When Pope Francis arrives in Philadelphia, he will see a grotto dedicated to prayers for the struggles of the poor and his favorite painting, “Mary Undoer of Knots.”  

September 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ desire for a church whose doors are wide open isn’t just a metaphor for encouraging a greater spirit of welcoming. He also has been giving real orders to Vatican staff to lift the locks on places and spaces that were long closed to the general public…

September 14, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis’ address to the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 25 will mark the fifth papal speech delivered directly to representatives of the world’s governments. His address will come almost 50 years to the day — Oct. 4, 1965 — when Blessed Paul VI became the first pontiff to speak…

September 11, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Catholic Church “stands ready to help” in efforts to assist refugees fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East, said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Sept. 10. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, also that Catholics in the U.S. and “all people of…

September 11, 2015 Breckenridge school uses grant to pilot new LEGO robotics program By Kristi Anderson The Visitor This year, the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Saint Cloud distributed $211,655 to Catholic schools and parishes as part of the Living the Promise grants program. More than 100 parishes and all 28 Catholic schools in…

September 11, 2015 Bishop Donald Kettler will be attending several papal events during Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S. After a stop in Philadelphia at the World Meeting of Families, Bishop Kettler will join other bishops from around the country Sept. 23 in Washington, D.C., for midday prayer with the pope at St. Matthew’s Cathedral…

September 10, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Sometimes, the folks in charge have to skip the platitudes and listen to the people. Take the visit of Pope Francis to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families Sept. 26-27. Who doesn’t love Pope Francis? Of course most people want to be there, to be part of it….

September 9, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) -– Stephen Colbert, who took over Sept. 8 as host of CBS’ “Late Night” program, said in an interview for Canada’s Salt + Light Television that his “Colbert Report” character was intended to be a “well­-intentioned, poorly informed, high-­status idiot.” “I would say he’s a fool. And though Christ says,…

September 9, 2015 ST. MARYS, Pa. (CNS) — For those who love baseball, Berwind Park in the small Elk County community of St. Marys is a field of dreams. In fact, it was at that ballpark this summer where Benedictine Father Eric Vogt made a prediction: Ryan Uhl, one of his young parishioners at Sacred…

September 9, 2015 LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Three new auxiliary bishops have been ordained to help shepherd the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest in the United States. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, together with Chicago Archbishop Blase J. Cupich and retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sartoris of Los Angeles, ordained Bishops Robert E. Barron, Joseph…

September 8, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Many U.S. Catholic colleges are well prepared for the pope’s visit to the United States and have been gearing up for it with spiritual programs, discussions, service projects and social events that almost always include a Pope Francis cardboard cutout. The colleges located in the three cities where the…

September 8, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Given the ongoing crisis of people fleeing from war and poverty, Pope Francis asked every parish and religious community in Europe to take in a family of refugees as a concrete sign of hope and God’s mercy. “The Gospel calls us, asks us to be near the least…

September 8, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While a juridical process is necessary for making accurate judgments, the Catholic Church’s marriage annulment process must be quicker, cheaper and much more of a pastoral ministry, Pope Francis said. Rewriting a section of the Latin-rite Code of Canon Law and of the Code of Canons of the…

September 4, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — There is no doubt that Pope Francis’ impending visit to the United States is generating a lot of enthusiasm. For some people, the rarity of a papal visit to these shores is reason enough to trek hundreds of miles or more for the opportunity to be with him, or…

September 4, 2015 ROME (CNS) — Pope Francis created a spectacle when he headed to Rome’s posh shopping district to make a surprise visit to his optician. Romans and tourists crowded outside Alessandro Spiezia’s shop on Via del Babuino near Piazza di Spagna to catch a glimpse of the pope inside as he had his…

September 3, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — A “simple weekday Mass” is in the works when Pope Francis celebrates the liturgy with 20,000 people at Madison Square Garden during his U.S. visit. “Simple” takes on a new dimension when the pope is the celebrant and the congregation clears security checkpoints hours before the opening notes…

September 3, 2015 SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) — Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba is a sign of his closeness to the nation’s people at a time they “breathe the air of hope” that relations with the U.S. will improve, said Bishop Wilfredo Pino Estevez of Guantanamo-Baracoa. “It’s not easy to live at odds with…

September 2, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The smile and love of a family can light up the world, bringing warmth and hope to communities that have become cold, lifeless and depressed, Pope Francis said. “No economic and political engineering is able to substitute this contribution from families,” he said Sept. 2 during his general…

September 2, 2016 NEW YORK (CNS) — New Yorkers and tourists in Midtown Manhattan have been gazing up at a smiling Pope Francis at one of New York’s busiest intersections. A 225-foot tall hand-painted billboard welcomes the pope, who will be in New York, Sept. 24-26. The welcoming message is located at the corner of…

September 2, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — Pope Francis will get a glimpse of leafy Central Park and thousands of waving New Yorkers Sept. 25 when he makes “a historic procession” through the urban landmark, according to the city’s mayor. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sept 1 the pope will ride along the West Drive…

September 1, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Leading prayers for the safeguarding of creation, Pope Francis prayed that people would learn to contemplate God in the beauty of the universe, give thanks and protect all life. During an evening celebration of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the pope prayed that…

September 1, 2015 MCALLEN, Texas (CNS) — At Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, members of the community, most of them volunteers at a respite center for immigrants at Sacred Heart parish hall, were invited to a special event by ABC News, but were not informed in advance of just how special that event would be….

September 1, 2015 LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Veteran Los Angeles Dodgers’ announcer Vin Scully will likely retire after the 2016 season, his 67th announcing games for the franchise. The beloved 87-year-old broadcaster — once voted by fans as the “Most Popular Dodger” of all — said Aug. 28 he will return for one more season,…

September 1, 2015 KLAWOCK, Alaska (CNS) — The challenges of managing most parishes don’t usually extend to needing to travel by airplane and boats to celebrate Mass. But when your Delaware-sized parish is part of a diocese that itself is larger than 22 U.S states, the standard ways of operating really don’t apply. Catholic News…

September 1, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis held a “virtual town hall” with Catholics in Chicago, Los Angeles and McAllen, Texas, in advance of his Sept. 22-27 visit to the United States. The town hall was arranged by ABC News, which was to air portions of the meeting during its “World News Tonight” program…

September 1, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an extraordinary gesture for the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has extended to priests worldwide the authority to absolve women for the sin of abortion and has decreed the full validity during the year of the sacrament of confession celebrated by priests of the traditionalist Society of…

August 29, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Even after a half-century of election law that was intended to settle the question of who is eligible to vote in the United States, contentious issues remain on who gets that right. The battles, just like those before the bill was signed into law Aug. 6, 1965, are held…

August 29, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Just as one Catholic school does not reflect all of them, there isn’t one religious education program Pope Francis could visit while he is in the United States that would represent the variety of faith formation programs in churches across the country. Programs vary according to parish size and…

August 29, 2015 VIENNA (CNS) — Austrian church leaders, reacting to the discovery of dozens of dead refugees on a truck near Vienna, said they hoped it would increase awareness of the plight of migrants. “Such refugee suffering should awaken us, like a bolt from the blue, to the need for more generous attitudes and…

August 28, 2015 By Carol Jessen-Klixbull The Visitor “When I think of Pope Francis’ strong emphasis on shepherds getting out to meet the folks where they are at — in their situations of need — I believe Father Al was already out there,” said Father Bill Vos, a close friend of Father Alfred Stangl, 77,…

August 25, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — Being called to the principal’s office during the school year can cause angst even among the most mischievous students. But for those who typically demonstrate their best behavior, being summoned during the summer may be more daunting. Fortunately for 24 well-behaved youngsters from four Catholic elementary schools in…

August 25, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — When Pope Francis approaches the Catholic Charities building in downtown Washington during his U.S. visit in September, he will encounter a “homeless person” covered in a blanket laying on a park bench. The scene actually is a sculpture. And it’s not a work of art depicting any homeless person;…

August 24, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) –- “Individual reflection and action is critical” when it comes to improving the conditions of workers in the United States and elsewhere, said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, in the U.S. bishops’ annual Labor Day statement. “We…

August 24, 2015 NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — Like many of his brother priests, Father Dennis Hayes decided to take his chances and stay put as Katrina teased the Louisiana coast, hoping the storm’s Category 5 fury would spare his parish of St. Louise de Marillac in Arabi. Surely Katrina would veer away at the last…

August 23, 2015 GENEVA (CNS) — Three religious leaders — including a Catholic archbishop — have been honored for promoting interfaith reconciliation in the conflict-torn Central African Republic. “This award doesn’t belong to us,” Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga of Bangui, president of the Central African bishops’ conference, told the British Catholic aid agency CAFOD. “It honors…

August 21, 2015 NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — They are calling it “Kat 10” — Hurricane Katrina plus 10 years — which carries with it the double meaning of an ominous meteorological warning. How could a Category 5 storm that engulfed the entire Gulf of Mexico but dropped in intensity to a Category 3 just before…

August 21, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — More than a month before Pope Francis was scheduled to arrive in the United States, his ride landed on U.S. shores. “A Jeep Wrangler will be used as the popemobile in the USA (like the one used in Ecuador in July 2015),” the Vatican press office said in…

August 19, 2015 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) — Father Ryan High School theology teacher Brent Fernandez grows a garden at home, raises chickens, and rides his bicycle to school when he can. In the summer, he takes students to visit Bethlehem Farm in West Virginia, a Catholic intentional community where he once lived for two years….

August 19, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. trade embargo against Cuba turns 55 in October, and its effects are clear in the dilapidated buildings, scant food supply of Cuban stores and infrastructure around the island. But what’s not easy to see is the spiritual cost. Trinitarian Father Juan Molina, director of the U.S. bishops’…

August 19, 2015 MILWAUKEE (CNS) — Witness to the power of prayer was in evidence as nearly 600 people gathered for a concelebrated Mass for peace at a Milwaukee Catholic church in an area of the city that has been ravaged by violence. Capuchin Father Michael Bertram, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church, termed…

August 18, 2015 NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CNS) — The priesthood of Father Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, “models the teaching of recent popes,” said Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori. “St. John Paul II said that the priest’s personality must be a bridge to Christ, and indeed Father McGivney’s unassuming, lighthearted-yet-determined character…

August 18, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — By downloading an app for a smartphone or tablet, members of the public can chat with others about famous works of art in the Vatican Museums, share strategies for dealing with the crowds and choose a work to help restore. “Patrum,” the new app from the Patrons of…

August 17, 2015 ATLANTA (CNS) — Julian Bond, a leading figure in the civil rights movement and the first African-American in Georgia’s Legislature, died Aug. 16 in a hospital in Walton Beach, Florida, of complications from vascular disease. He was 75. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 15, 1940, Bond moved with his family to Atlanta,…

August 17, 2015 HONG KONG (CNS) — The morning after the industrial blast in Tianjin, China, the Tianjin Diocesan Social Service Center helped line up 60 volunteers to assist the government’s rescue and relief work. The volunteers donated drinking water, clothes and other supplies to hospitals and temporary settlements for evacuees, reported ucanews.com. At least…

August 17, 2015 BOSTON (CNS) — In a fairly industrial-looking part of South Boston, four women gathered in a classroom at the Notre Dame Education Center. It was time for their twice-per-week math lessons with AmeriCorps volunteer Nason Heywood, 29. The students were reviewing addition and subtraction concepts, working through the sometimes complicated processes of…

August 17, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Year of Mercy is a perfect time to increase the number of priests who take turns being on call all night for emergency spiritual care of the sick and dying, Pope Francis wrote. The pope, as Jesuit Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio, belonged to a special service, which…

August 15, 2015 CINCINNATI (CNS) — Together, 350-plus boys clad in different-colored football jerseys resembled a mosaic as they sat or knelt on the grass at Cincinnati’s Mount St. Mary’s Seminary with rosaries in hand. Eight teams, and an archbishop, gathered the night of July 30 for a SportsLeader Rosary Rally, a unique and growing…

August 15, 2015 HAVANA (CNS) — With Havana Harbor’s bright blue waters and a trio of vintage U.S. cars parked along the Malecon framing the scene, Secretary of State John Kerry officially reopened the U.S. Embassy in Cuba Aug. 14, marking the end of more than 54 years of fractured diplomatic relations. Since the United…

August 14, 2015 By Dianne Towalski The Visitor People from several faith communities gathered at Lake George Aug. 9 for a picnic organized by Greater St. Cloud Interfaith Leaders, a recently formed group focused on fostering a spirit of welcome and acceptance in the community. “It’s important to me, coming into a new community as…

August 13, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Requests for copies of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical and the demand for tickets to see him at the United Nations indicate enthusiasm and expectations for Pope Francis’ visit are running high, said the Vatican representative. Archbishop Bernardito Auza, head of the Holy See’s permanent observer mission at the…

August 13, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Along with having a winning smile and a warm embrace, Pope Francis is known for challenging people. He does it regularly at morning Mass — particularly calling out hypocrisy and gossip — and does not spare even his closest aides in the Roman Curia, so it is unlikely…

August 12, 2015 MARYKNOLL, N.Y. (CNS) — As a trained physician, “everything I do has some witness or expression of my faith,” Dr. Susan Nagele said. Nagele has practiced medicine for 31 years under extraordinary conditions in East Africa as a Maryknoll lay missioner. She visited the organization’s headquarters in Maryknoll to deliver the keynote…

August 12, 2015 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CS) — Here is a timeline of key points in the life, ministry and sainthood cause of Blessed Junipero Serra, the 18th-century Spanish missionary to California. Pope Francis is scheduled to canonize the Franciscan friar Sept. 23 during his visit to Washington. — 1713: Born and baptized Miquel Joseph Nov….

August 12, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — Women who have an abortion are being further victimized when given the option to donate their child’s body parts for research, according to Sue Harvath, who has counseled post-abortive women in the St. Louis area for more than 30 years. Harvath said it shouldn’t matter whether Planned Parenthood…

August 11, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — As lecterns go, it is strictly utilitarian, a simple walnut stand with none of the ornamentation commonly found in mid-19th-century furnishings. Yet it has a distinguished past and is about to have a distinguished future. At a news conference Aug. 7 at the Union League of Philadelphia, Robert Ciaruffoli,…

August 11, 2015 JAMAICA, N.Y. (CNS) — Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and other speakers at a Steubenville Youth Conference inspired 1,800 Catholic teenagers to live their faith openly. The conference was held Aug. 7-9 at St. John’s University in the Jamaica section of the New York borough of Queens. For Mass Aug….

August 11, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Selfishness and fear keep too many people ignorant of the suffering of others and prevent them from finding creative ways to express solidarity and to promote peace, said a statement from the Vatican’s justice and peace office. To promote a reflection on the need for a “conversion of…

August 10, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — Forgiveness. Such a simple word, a mere 11 letters but it’s at the heart of the Catholic faith, along with love, peace and justice. “Jesus tells us that if we receive him as the bread of life, we will have his life within us,” Archbishop Robert J. Carlson…

August 10, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Like their Orthodox brothers and sisters, Catholics formally will mark Sept. 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis has decided. The day of prayer, the pope said, will give individuals and communities an opportunity to implore God’s help in protecting creation…

August 10, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pope Francis repeated the Catholic Church’s call for a ban on nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. Seventy years after the Aug. 6, 1945, bombing of Hiroshima and the bombing of Nagasaki three days…

August 10, 2015 JERUSALEM (CNS) — Jerusalem is hot, especially in the gym of the Max Rayne Hand in Hand Bilingual School for Jewish Arab Education. Jerusalem is tense, too, with jolting violence this summer over dismantled settlement homes, gay rights and a brutal attack on a Palestinian family. But those events did not keep…

August 6, 2015 BENNINGTON, Vt. (CNS) — Though the budget was clearly lower, the cast definitely had less experience, the costumes were much simpler and the audiences were far smaller, there was something that the production of “The Lion King Jr.” at a Catholic school in the Burlington Diocese had in common with the Broadway…

August 6, 2015 HIROSHIMA, Japan (CNS) — For a long minute on a sunny morning, silence fell over the memorial park that commemorates the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of the city. A gong sounded repeatedly as local residents and visitors from around the world stopped to remember a similarly sunny morning 70 years ago…

August 5, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Prayer and patience helped octogenarian Edward Monroe through difficult times of racism and steered him to success at his city’s most prominent newspaper, the native Washingtonian reminisced. Monroe graduated in 1949 from Washington’s Armstrong Technical High School, one of the city’s two segregated manual training schools for African-American youth….

August 5, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholics who have divorced and are civilly remarried “are not, in fact, excommunicated — they are not excommunicated — and they absolutely must not be treated as if they were,” Pope Francis said. Resuming his Wednesday general audiences Aug. 5 after a month’s break, Pope Francis returned to…

August 4, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholics are more fortunate than the Old Testament prophets were because in the Eucharist they experience Jesus’ closeness and know that God is not far off on a lofty throne, Pope Francis told thousands of altar servers from across Europe. “In the Eucharist and in the other sacraments,”…

August 4, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The U.S. ambassador to the Holy See believes Pope Francis is not traveling to the United States in September to scold anyone, but to challenge the country’s people to live up to their ideals. “I don’t think he’s coming to the United States to antagonize, to criticize, to…

August 3, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Trusting in God’s infinite mercy, people should not be afraid or embarrassed to go to confession, Pope Francis said. “There are people who are afraid to go to confession, forgetting that they will not encounter a severe judge there, but the immensely merciful Father,” Pope Francis told thousands…

August 3, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — Faith and comedy can make for an uncomfortable combination. Wits who engage in this volatile mix obviously need to avoid outright irreverence or the trivialization of the sacred. Yet they also have to be wary of artificial restraint since all genuine humor depends, to some degree at least,…

August 3, 2015 WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — The Polish bishop overseeing preparations for World Youth Day 2016 has urged priests to ensure that no young people are excluded because of poverty. Auxiliary Bishop Damian Muskus of Krakow, Poland, which is hosting the international celebration, said arranging for young people who might not be able to…

August 1, 2015 OXNARD, Calif. (CNS) — It is uncertain that a California pro-life group’s ongoing series of undercover videos that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the illegal marketing and sale of fetal tissue will lead to defunding for the nation’s leading provider of abortion services. It also is unknown if the revelations in the…

August 1, 2015 BEIRUT (CNS) — When Samar Shalhoub and some friends wanted to better protect children in Lebanon from abuse and violence, they turned their dream into a nonprofit organization. They registered with the government and got to work holding workshops on bullying and ways that children could protect themselves against abduction, sexual abuse…

July 31, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor On Wednesday, Aug. 19, people from all walks of life will board a bus at Sacred Heart Church in Sauk Rapids and make the 125-mile trip to St. James Church in Maine Township, where Mill Hill Missionary Father John Kaiser was baptized. “The world desperately needs heroes,”…

July 30, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Congress can promote the common good and contribute to a more just society by ensuring the federal minimum wage promotes family formation and stability, said Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski and Dominican Sister Donna Markham, president of Catholic Charities USA, in a July 27 letter to Congress. “An economy…

July 30, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — In an op-ed piece published July 29 in the New York Daily News, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York took issue with the anti-immigrant rhetoric of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump without explicitly naming him. He recalled teaching college students about nativism — the policy of protecting…

July 30, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley said that Planned Parenthood officials’ videotaped descriptions of how fetal tissue and organs are procured for researchers during abortions illustrates what Pope Francis calls today’s “throwaway culture.” The officials also discuss what the organization charges for the body parts, which opponents of Planned Parenthood…

July 30, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — More than a dozen individual celebrations will be scheduled for the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016, giving pilgrims the chance to celebrate their own holy year with Pope Francis in Rome. The yearlong extraordinary jubilee will include a number of individual jubilee days, such as for consecrated men…

July 30, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis knows the family is made up of real people living in the real world, which is why he often gives down-to-earth advice. The Catholic Church has long taught that the family is a school of humanity — the first and best place to learn about love…

July 29, 2015 FLORAL PARK, N.Y. (CNS) — Wearing richly hued attire, hundreds of residents walked through the streets of North Floral Park to celebrate the life and intercessory works of St. Alphonsa on a recent Sunday afternoon. Accompanied by the rhythmic beat of drums and cymbals, along with the prayers of a multicultural assembly,…

July 29, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — House members voted July 28 to limit the number of people allowed in the House Chamber Sept. 24 when Pope Francis addresses a joint meeting of Congress. The vote, which was part of a procedural measure, excludes former members of Congress and former House officers and chaplains from attending…

July 28, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Seven presidential candidates have responded to a call from anti-poverty advocates by submitting brief videos outlining their plans to address poverty. The videos, delivered to an umbrella organization known as the Circle of Protection that includes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, were made public July 21 by representatives…

July 28, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A federal judge ruled July 24 that the government’s immigrant family detention system violates a settlement agreement dating to 1997 over how juveniles in the custody of the immigration agency are treated. Advocates for the thousands of families being held in compounds run by for-profit prison companies hailed the…

July 28, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Is the honeymoon with Pope Francis over for Americans? A new Gallup poll shows that the favorability rating for the pontiff among U.S. respondents is now about 59 percent, down from 76 percent in early 2014 and close to the 58 percent rating Americans gave him when he was…

July 27, 2015 CHICAGO (CNS) — Archbishop Blase J. Cupich has set a goal of benchmarking all 2,700 buildings in the Archdiocese of Chicago to ensure that they are as energy efficient as possible. He announced the goal during a July 24 news conference at Old St. Mary’s School on Michigan Avenue. The news conference…

July 27, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — In reauthorizing the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the House and Senate have made “significant improvements for providing equitable services for students and teachers in religious, private and independent schools,” said a U.S. archbishop. Archbishop George J. Lucas of Omaha, Nebraska, made the comments as chairman of the…

July 27, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis was the first pilgrim to sign up for World Youth Day to be held in Krakow, Poland, launching the opening of registration. Accompanied by two Polish teenagers who wore World Youth Day 2016 T-shirts, the pope had to make a couple of attempts pressing the screen…

NOTE: The schedule for the listening sessions can be found at the end of this article. Bishop Donald Kettler will hold a series of listening sessions in August following allegations of sexual abuse committed by three priests of the diocese. The Diocese of St. Cloud was recently notified of four civil lawsuits alleging abuse by Father…

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After decades of world leaders trying to set global goals to address climate change and extreme poverty, city mayors gathered at the Vatican to pledge they will take real action and lead the fight on their streets. Pope Francis told the mayors, including Minneapolis mayor Betsy Hodges, that they were important…

WASHINGTON (CNS) — This fall the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services plans to hold its first discernment gathering for Catholic priests to encourage them to consider becoming military chaplains. The archdiocese regularly holds several retreats a year for young men who are thinking about the priesthood and the chaplaincy, but this will be the…

DENVER (CNS) — The Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious entities are not substantially burdened by procedures set out by the federal government by which they can avoid a requirement to provide contraceptive coverage in health insurance, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled July 14. In a lengthy opinion that considered arguments…

July 13, 2015 NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — While the annual number of abortions in the U.S. has dropped from a high of 1.6 million in 1990 to about 1.06 million today, the number of chemical abortions through the use of RU-486 has increased and now represents about 25 percent of all abortions. But Dr. George…

July 13, 2015 MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines tackled climate change on different fronts and also addressed a host of other issues, from equitable education to sovereign disputes at its biannual plenary session July 6-13. Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, newly re-elected president of the conference, told Catholic News…

July 13, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Because the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” is a “living document” open to differing interpretations, those in charge of implementing the charter at the diocesan level face a variety of challenges, according to the head of the bishops’ national office. “We’re dealing with a charter…

July 13, 2015 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM PARAGUAY (CNS) — Before arriving in the United States in September, Pope Francis said, he will study American criticisms of his critiques of the global economy and finance. “I have heard that some criticisms were made in the United States — I’ve heard that — but I…

July 12, 2015 ASUNCION, Paraguay (CNS) — Pope Francis returned to his roots July 12 when he visited Banado Norte, a poor neighborhood near the Paraguay River where residents battle seasonal flooding and face possible eviction. “I couldn’t be in Paraguay without being with you, in your land,” he told the crowd gathered outside St….

July 10, 2015 ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (CNS) — More than 500 people at a July 7 vespers service at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine greeted a first-class relic of the saint that is the patron of the city, the cathedral basilica and the Diocese of St. Augustine. The relic of St. Augustine of Hippo…

July 10, 2015 COLUMBIA, S.C. (CNS) — The Confederate flag will no longer fly on the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse, and people of faith pray the decision brings an era of racial healing to the state. Members of the state House of Representatives followed the example of the state Senate and voted to…

July 9, 2015 SAN ANTONIO (CNS) — With the growing population of Hispanics, the Catholic Church is faced with “an immense task,” Boston College theology professor Hosffman Ospino told a San Antonio symposium. “How do we evangelize, how do we hand on the faith that we have received to the next generation of Catholics that…

July 9, 2015 SAN ANTONIO (CNS) — One of the “most critical and perhaps dramatic signs” of the times is “the tremendous growth of the Hispanic population,” said Arturo Chavez, president and CEO of the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio. That growth presents a challenge to the Catholic Church to meet the pastoral…

July 9, 2015 LA PAZ, Bolivia (CNS) — Praising Bolivia’s efforts to include all its citizens in the country’s economic, political and social life, Pope Francis also defended the record and the right of the Catholic Church to be an active member of society and the right of the bishops to comment on public issues….

July 8, 2015 ATHENS, Greece (CNS) — A Greek archbishop said he was hopeful for a last-minute deal to save his country from bankruptcy. “At this critical moment, we’re all hoping some new agreement might still be reached,” said Archbishop Sevastianos Rossolatos of Athens. “It’s clear there must be further reforms here, but also changes…

July 8, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Long before Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’” that ties care for earth with care for humanity was promulgated, congregations of women religious were stepping out to protect creation. Inspired by the call of the Second Vatican Council to engage the world and biblical passages on the beauty of God’s…

July 8, 2015 TORONTO (CNS) — California Gov. Jerry Brown, in Toronto for the Climate Summit of the Americas, said he is traveling with a copy of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical “Laudato Si’” and “going through it carefully.” “I like the language in it, which is not the language of markets,” Brown told a press…

July 8, 2015 DETROIT (CNS) — The sunflowers, while not blooming yet, tower over 6-year-old Ahmad Malone as he and his father, Abdul, walk through the small but lush garden outside Hope House. It won’t be long before huge bright yellow flower heads greet the sun every morning and attract bees looking for sweet nectar…

July 8, 2015 QUITO, Ecuador (CNS) — Education is a right and a privilege that should impart not only knowledge and skills, but also a sense of responsibility for others and for the earth, Pope Francis told representatives of Ecuadorean schools and universities. “God gives us not only life, he gives us the earth, he…

July 7, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Every summer hundreds of kids on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in south-central South Dakota participate in a day camp where they learn about God and their Lakota culture. This camp is run through St. Francis Mission, which is an outreach ministry headed by the Society of Jesus for the…

July 7, 2015 QUITO, Ecuador (CNS) — Catholics will never be effective evangelizers if they are squabbling among themselves, and they cannot show the world how faith in Christ responds to the human yearning for freedom and peace if they are divided, Pope Francis said. The pope’s Mass July 7 at Quito’s Bicentennial Park was…

July 7, 2015 MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Philippine bishops meeting in Manila will decide whether or not to establish a “climate change desk,” part of a push by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. The federation wants each bishops’ conference in 22 countries to set up such a desk to support action plans to mitigate…

July 7, 2015 DES MOINES, Iowa (CNS) — Iowa Catholic leaders, interfaith leaders, clean energy advocates and others encouraged Iowans to take action in light of Pope Francis’ historic encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.” Des Moines Bishop Richard E. Pates encouraged Catholic Iowans to take advantage of the…

July 6, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Witnesses at a Capitol Hill hearing urged Congress to pass a reauthorization measure that would keep funding going for transplant programs that use adult stem cells from bone marrow and cord blood to treat diseases and for continued research. “These programs are examples of how the Congress can inspire…

July 6, 2015 GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (CNS) — Even if a pastoral proposal for helping a Catholic family with problems seems scandalous at first, it is possible God could use that proposal to bring healing and holiness, Pope Francis said. Encouraging and celebrating family life during a Mass July 6 in Guayaquil, Pope Francis asked people…

July 6, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox must pray together and work hand-in-hand helping the poor, Pope Francis told thousands of Catholic charismatics and members of other Christian communities. If the devil “unites us in death, who are we to divide ourselves in life?” he said, adding that all Christians can…

July 3, 2015 UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — A Vatican official told a U.N. gathering on climate change that Pope Francis’ new encyclical is calling on all societies to examine how they produce and consume goods and on all the world’s people to realize the role they, too, have in addressing global warming. Cardinal Peter Turkson,…

July 3, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Working on his own truck, washing a friend’s car or fixing a stranger’s brakes, friends say Sam Traut was always there to lend a helping hand, especially with all things mechanical. That’s the way he was with everything in his life, said friend Tara Splonskowski, including his…

July 2, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — A June 29 prayer service at Holy Family Church in New York City not only recalled the sacrifices of African martyrs in church history but also paid tribute to those who have died recently for their faith. “Recent events that have taken place in different parts of Africa…

July 1, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — In a June 29 order, the Supreme Court continued to shield several Pennsylvania religious institutions from having to provide employees with health care coverage that includes contraceptives. The order in a case filed by the bishops and the Dioceses of Pittsburgh and Erie, Pennsylvania, their charitable institutions and a…

June 30, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis will make history during his visit to Washington in September, when he becomes the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress and he says the first canonization Mass to be celebrated in the United States. Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl outlined details of the pope’s…

June 30, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — The first stop for Pope Francis when he visits Philadelphia the morning of Sept. 26 will be the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul to celebrate a special Mass for the people of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The previously unannounced Mass is part of the pope’s itinerary for…

June 30, 2015 For the second consecutive year, The Visitor won second place for general excellence in the large-circulation diocesan newspaper category from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada. The award was announced June 26 at the 2015 Catholic Media Conference in Buffalo, N.Y. General excellence is considered the most prestigious…

June 30, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In word and deed, Pope Francis will take his vision of a Catholic’s approach to family life, parish life, charity, economics, immigration and good governance to Cuba and the United States during a Sept. 19-27 visit. Visiting both Cuba and the United States on the same trip not…

June 29, 2015 BUFFALO, N.Y. (CNS) — Catholic journalists could easily “remain on the surface” when reporting on Pope Francis with his great photo opportunities and “buzz-catching expressions,” but they need to take their coverage a step further, said Basilian Father Thomas Rosica. “Our work as Catholic media is not to remain on the surface…

June 29, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Archbishops who attended Mass with Pope Francis as he blessed their woolen palliums said they were struck by a sense of unity. Seeing archbishops from so many different countries showed “how the Lord is working in all these people and all these cultures. It’s just so beautiful to…

June 29, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The parents of St. Therese of Lisieux will be canonized at the Vatican Oct. 18, during the Synod of Bishops on the family. Louis Martin (1823-1894) and Marie Zelie Guerin Martin (1831-1877) will be the first married couple with children to be canonized in the same ceremony. Other…

June 27, 2015 The June 24 welcome dinner for the 2015 Catholic Media Conference in Buffalo, New  York, combined three worlds: journalism, Catholicism and Buffalo. It began with a tribute to the late Tim Russert, a well-respected journalist who was the longtime moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” who was equally proud of his Catholic faith and his hometown of…

June 26, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Analyzing the ramifications of the June 26 same-sex marriage ruling for the Catholic Church at the national, state and local levels will take time, said Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore. It has implications for “hundreds, if not thousands” of laws at all levels, and there is “a difficult…

June 26, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The president of the U.S. bishops’ conference called the Supreme Court’s June 26 marriage ruling “a tragic error” and he urged Catholics to move forward with faith “in the unchanging truth about marriage being between one man and one woman.” “Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme…

June 25, 2015 NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — May 22 is a day Andres “Chico” Gonzalez Jr., will never forget. That day, nine years ago, he was a young New Orleans police officer on duty with his partner, and they made what people who don’t wear a badge call a “routine” traffic stop. “We don’t use…

June 25, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Writing that “Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them,” a 6-3 majority of the Supreme Court June 25 upheld tax subsidies for participants in health care exchanges run by the federal government in states that refused to create them. In the…

June 25, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — As the head of Homeland Security announced plans to change detention practices for immigrant families with children, members of Congress who just visited detention centers and the director of a Catholic legal services organization firmly took issue with the system, saying the only answer is to stop imprisoning families….

June 24, 2015 BERKELEY, Calif. (CNS) — It’s just before noon on a sunny Saturday on Berkeley’s Fourth Street, a busy boulevard of upscale cafes, shops and businesses. The gleaming Apple store is doing a bang-up business in the next newest thing; a steady stream of customers await tables at Bette’s Oceanview Diner, where weekend…

June 24, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis isn’t going to be visiting the United States until September, but that hasn’t kept the pope from going all around the nation, if only as a simple piece of paper for the time being. Chicago-based Catholic Extension is helping to build excitement and support for Pope Francis’…

June 24, 2015 TORONTO (CNS) — The Paulist Fathers don’t want to leave Toronto, but they say they must. The unusual uptick in vocations after the World War II has worked its way through the system and there are not enough priests left to staff the ambitious little empire of Paulist ministries that once dotted…

June 24, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The deep hurts that spouses inflict on each other cause great suffering to their children and, in some cases, lead to a separation that is “morally necessary” to protect spouses and children from more serious forms of violence, Pope Francis said during his general audience in St. Peter’s…

June 23, 2015 KOLKATA, India (CNS) — Sister Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Blessed Teresa of Kolkata as superior general of the Missionaries of Charity and led the order for 12 years until retiring in 2009, died early June 23 in Kolkota at age 81. Church and political leaders paid tribute to Sister Nirmala for her…

June 23, 2015 OMAHA, Neb. (CNS) — About 800 people witnessed history June 18 as the Archdiocese of Omaha advanced to Rome the sainthood cause for Father Edward Flanagan, Boys Town founder. Archbishop George J. Lucas was the main celebrant of a morning Mass at St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha that marked the closing of…

June 23, 2015 CHICAGO (CNS) — Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment is “a watershed moment for the church, for humanity and for the planet” that the pope “calls our common home,” Chicago Archbishop Blase J. Cupich said. He met with the media June 18 at the Archbishop Quigley Center to share the salient points…

June 22, 2015 BALTIMORE (CNS) — Archbishop William E. Lori reminded those gathered for Mass June 21 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore that when it comes to religious freedom, American Catholics and Christians worldwide are in the same “boat.” In the day’s Gospel…

June 22, 2015 CADYVILLE, N.Y. (CNS) — Fewer people were filling the pews at St. James Church in the Plattsburgh hamlet of Cadyville after two convicted killers escaped June 6 from the Clinton Correctional Facility. “We have a lot of parishioners that work in the prison,” Msgr. Lawrence Deno explained. “They had to work overtime.”…

June 22, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — It took place in silence and lasted only a few minutes, but Pope Francis’ time of prayer and contemplation before the Shroud of Turin was marked with gestures of reverence and tenderness. Revered by many as the burial cloth of Jesus, the shroud was the second stop on…

June 20, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The tragic taking of nine lives at a historically black church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, brought an outpouring of solidarity, compassion and sorrow from around the country. After an all-night search, police June 18 found the white man suspected of fatally shooting nine people, including the Rev. Clementa…

June 19, 2015 Deacon Gabriel Walz to be ordained a priest June 20 at St. Mary’s Cathedral By Kristi Anderson The Visitor This spring, in the small sacristy of St. Mary’s Chapel located inside St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Deacon Gabriel Walz prepared to practice a portion of the Mass during a liturgy class…

June 19, 2015 Bishop Kettler will bless altar built by father in memory of his late daughter By Kristi Anderson The Visitor On March 7, 2014, Allen and Doris Schaefer did something no parents should ever have to do. They said goodbye to their daughter, Rhonda Grotkin, who lost her battle with brain cancer at…

June 18, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In his brief pontificate, Pope Francis has coined some colorful terms to get his points across, for example, using “bat Christians” to describe those who hide their faith. While the new phrases he uses in his ecology encyclical are not as punchy, they succinctly help illustrate his points…

June 18, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The following are selected quotes from Pope Francis’ encyclical letter, “Laudato Si’, on the Care of Our Common Home”: —The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. (n. 21) — Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give…

June 18, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The earth, which was created to support life and give praise to God, is crying out with pain because human activity is destroying it, Pope Francis says in his long-awaited encyclical, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.” All who believe in God and all people of…

June 18, 2015 The Visitor In his new encyclical “Laudato Si’” (“Praise be to you”), Pope Francis appeals for a dialogue “about how we are shaping the future of our planet” at a time when the world is facing a number of environmental challenges with human roots. Among the challenges he identifies is climate change…

June 17, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Senate in a bipartisan vote June 16 approved a measure that would prohibit all U.S. government agencies and their agents from using torture as an interrogation technique. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, sponsored the anti-torture amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for…

June 17, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Appealing to the entire world, Pope Francis urged everyone to read his upcoming encyclical on the care of creation and to better protect a damaged earth. “This common ‘home’ is being ruined and that harms everyone, especially the poorest,” he said June 17, the day before the Vatican…

June 17, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — In a new Pew Research Center survey conducted prior to the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical focusing on the environment, U.S. Catholics were asked their views both on global warming and the pope himself. Out of the overall U.S. population, 68 percent said they believe the earth is warming,…

June 16, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — On June 12, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Catholic churches around the world spiritually united in prayer for a Global Rosary Relay for Priests. “Originally, today’s feast was one of atonement for human ingratitude toward God, but today the church focuses on the great love that…

June 16, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — It’s easier to win an award at the annual Sundance Film Festival, because Sundance gives so many of them, than to win the Signis Award in the United States. Rarer still to win them both with the same film. But that’s what happened with “Me and Earl and the…

June 15, 2015 ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) — Pope Francis accepted the resignations June 15 of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee A. Piche of St. Paul and Minneapolis and named coadjutor Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of Newark, New Jersey, a canon lawyer, to be apostolic administrator of the Minnesota archdiocese. In a…

June 13, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The onetime stigma of being a Catholic for those seeking national office appears to have disappeared in the 2016 presidential election cycle since a record number of candidates have declared their candidacy or expressed an interest in running for the highest office in the country. Twelve Catholics have said…

June 13, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — Twenty-two-year-old Edith Avila Olea said her friends think she is a hippie. “It’s not so much that I’m a tree hugger, it’s the conversations that I purposely stir up,” she said, noting that she tends to ask a lot of questions and hopes to make people think. And…

June 12, 2015 EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNS) — Finally, “Baby Francis” is resting in peace. In a simple, but dignified ceremony June 10 in a section of Gate of Heaven Cemetery set aside for the repose of babies, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence presided over a Christian burial service for the unborn child he…

June 12, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — As the institution of marriage faces unprecedented challenges, the Catholic Church continues to promote and defend marriage as being between one man and one woman, said Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco. As chairman of the bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, Archbishop Cordileone…

June 12, 2015 QUEBEC CITY (CNS) — With the decision to close one of its largest and most important churches, the Archdiocese of Quebec is sending a clear message: The future of even the most majestic churches cannot be guaranteed anymore. On May 24, one last Mass was celebrated in renowned St. John the Baptist…

June 12, 2015 ROME (CNS) — “Laudato Si’,” the title Pope Francis chose for his encyclical on the environment, comes from a hymn of praise by St. Francis of Assisi that emphasizes being in harmony with God, with other creatures and with other human beings, said the head of the Franciscan order. Sitting under towering…

June 11, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — The U.S. bishops gathered in St. Louis for their spring general assembly heard presentations on the pope’s upcoming encyclical on the environment, the U.S. church’s ongoing work in promoting traditional marriage and the need to remain vigilant in protecting children from abuse. On the first day of their…

June 11, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — A few hours before the U.S. bishops’ spring general assembly opened June 10 in St. Louis, the meeting already had begun. Tweets were trickling out from bishops, media and observers, using the hashtag #usccb15. Among their first items to share: a link to the live stream of the…

June 10, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — A week before the anticipated release of Pope Francis’ encyclical on human ecology and the environment, the U.S. bishops were urged to help Catholics hear and understand it. Pope Francis will challenge the assumptions of “both the left and the right” with the document, said Bishop Oscar Cantu…

June 10, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — The U.S. bishops join with other religious leaders and civic leaders “in pledging to work for healing and reconciliation” after a series of racial conflicts “that have taken place around our beloved country,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky. The archbishop, who is the president of…

June 10, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Works of art including paintings, sculptures and rare artifacts from the Vatican will be on display just in time for the World Meeting of Families and the visit of Pope Francis to Philadelphia this September. More than 200 works of art, 40 percent of which have never been shown…

June 10, 2015 PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (CNS) — Bishops from across the Caribbean region invited people to read and study Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical on the environment so that they “become better stewards of creation.” Writing a “Declaration on Climate Change,” the bishops of the Antilles Episcopal Conference urged people to consider…

June 10, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment will not be released with a formal Latin title, but rather a medieval Italian one. In its first official comment on the title, the Vatican press office said June 10 that the document will be called, “Laudato Si’: On the Care of…

June 10, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has approved new procedures for the Vatican to investigate and judge claims of “abuse of office” by bishops who allegedly failed to protect minors and vulnerable adults from sex abuse. The procedures will include a new “judicial section” within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the…

June 9, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — As the role of the laity in the Catholic Church expands, lay ministers have a co-responsibility with their ordained counterparts in furthering the church’s mission of evangelization, said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. Cardinal DiNardo was the opening speaker at the Lay Ecclesial Ministry Summit June 7-8…

June 9, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Telling the Catholic Health Association that he was there to say thank you, President Barack Obama June 9 recalled the struggles of passing the Affordable Care Act and ticked off the successes since it became law five years ago. “Every one of these stories touched me,” Obama said of…

June 9, 2015 IQUITOS, Peru (CNS) — As floodwaters rose with heavy rains in this Amazonian city, Graciela Tejada and her neighbors found greasy slaughterhouse offal, human feces and used hypodermic needles floating practically to their doorsteps. As a huge culvert discharged sewage into the flooded streets, Tejada, 50, and her family retreated indoors, while…

June 8, 2015 SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNS) — Whether you still stick to books or magazines or get everything online, Pope Francis said all media should encourage and edify — not enslave. “Back in my day — the Stone Age — when a book was good, you read it; when the book was bad for you,…

June 8, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — An Associated Press survey of abortion in the United States this decade has revealed that the number of abortions has gone down by 12 percent since 2010. The news was welcomed by pro-life advocates. “It’s important to realize, first of all, that the factors accounting for this are multiple,…

June 8, 2015 LIMA, Peru (CNS) — Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical on ecology and climate is expected to send a strong moral message — one message that could make some readers uncomfortable, some observers say. “The encyclical will address the issue of inequality in the distribution of resources and topics such as the wasting of…

June 7, 2015 SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNS) — To overcome fear, discrimination and conflict, people must have a deep desire to open themselves up to God and his mercy, and work actively for peace every day, Pope Francis said. God’s plan for creation is peace, “which always meets opposition from humanity and the devil,” he said…

June 7, 2015 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNS) — Pope Francis said the Vatican was ready to make an announcement concerning the alleged Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith met recently to discuss the issue and “we’ve reached the point of making a decision and…

June 6, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A new, specially modified Hyundai SUV has joined the elite ranks of the popemobile fleet. The open-roof, white Santa Fe 2.2 CRDi had its debut in St. Peter’s Square June 3 during Pope Francis’ weekly general audience. The vehicle sits lower than the typical popemobiles, which had higher…

June 6, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A new report that more low-income children ate free breakfasts and lunches last summer than the previous summer is both good news and bad. Of course, food program advocates emphasize that more children are getting fed, but they also point out the sheer numbers of those who need these…

By Kristi Anderson The Visitor In October, Bishop Donald Kettler appointed Father Ben Kociemba as the new chaplain for the Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting. Since then, Father Kociemba has been recruiting people from across the diocese to help renew efforts to promote Catholicism through Boy Scout activities. “What is exciting about this is that…

June 5, 2015 New rector for St. Mary’s Cathedral among new priest appointments The Visitor Father Scott Pogatchnik has been appointed as the new rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud, effective July 1, according to a list of official appointments released by the chancery May 28. Father Pogatchnik also will serve as pastor…

June 4, 2015 DETROIT (CNS) — Saying it’s time for the Catholic Church “to be young again,” Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron said he will convoke an archdiocese-wide synod in the fall of 2016 to refocus on the critical mission of evangelization and “to encounter Christ anew” as a missionary church. The archbishop made the…

June 3, 2015 BELOIT, Wis. (CNS) — For parishioners and pastors in the Diocese of La Crosse, Jeryes Qumseya may not be a household name, but his products are doubtless in more than a few households in the diocese. Even as the number of Christians living in the Middle East, and especially the Holy Land,…

June 3, 2015 SOUTH RIVER, N.J. (CNS) — The house at the end of Herman Street where the Krempecki family once lived is long gone, a victim of flooding from the body of water that gave the borough its name. But in 1941, 11-year-old Stella Krempecki’s heart was filled with joy when she saw a…

June 3, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Families are weakened and destroyed by war, “the mother of all forms of poverty,” as well as by economies and policies that worship money and power, Pope Francis said. “It’s almost a miracle” that, even in poverty and crisis, the family can keep on going, safeguarding its bonds…

June 2, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Results of a study released June 1 by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate said that the highest growth rates in Catholicism are in Africa and Asia. “Overall, the global Catholic population has grown by 57 percent since 1980. However, this growth differs by region, with Europe’s…

June 2, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Sometimes, Pope Francis said, the most important thing parents of a seriously ill child can do is to keep asking God, “Why?” A child of 2 or 3 years will torment his or her parents with a continual series of “whys,” the pope said. The little ones are…

June 2, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Once again the hills are filled with the sound of music, only this time the music soars from Benedictine monks rather than the Von Trapp Family. In Norcia, Italy, about 70 miles northeast of Rome, there is an international community of monks who operate a craft brewery and spend…

June 1, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Abortion, abandoning migrants at sea, unsafe working conditions, malnutrition, terrorism and euthanasia are all “attacks on life,” said Pope Francis. In an audience with members of the Italian Science & Life Association May 30, the pope said “life is a gift” and urged more reflection on how people…

May 30, 2015 MIAMI (CNS) — The priest prayed an Our Father. The president lit a candle. And while gazing together at a revered image of Cuba’s patroness, the priest reminded the president of the suffering of Cuba’s people. “Only in the United States that’s possible,” said Father Juan Rumin Dominguez, rector of the National…

May 30, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Hundreds of students at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington witnessed the federal government at work when a hearing on the reauthorization of the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act was held in their auditorium. Supporters described it as a needed initiative that has given low-income families the ability…

May 29, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The new evangelization is learning to really experience God’s mercy and salvation so they can be shared with others, especially those most in need, Pope Francis said. In fact, how the church is educating people in the faith needs to go beyond classroom instruction and actually show them…

May 28, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Catholic Church not only needs to provide pastoral care for those with same-sex attraction but it should also make its teaching “accessible, understandable and compelling for people,” said the director of a church apostolate that ministers to homosexuals. Father Paul Check, director of Courage for the past eight…

May 28, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Threats to religious freedom continue to emerge, making it more urgent for people of faith to take action to defend the full realm of religious practice, said Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore. Speaking during a May 28 webinar announcing the fourth annual Fortnight for Freedom, Archbishop Lori called…

May 28, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A monthlong review of a key nuclear weapons treaty saw the nuclear powers stepping back from an opportunity to alter the status quo, much to the disappointment of Catholic peace advocates. The disappointment stems from the failure of the nuclear weapons states to heed the arguments of the advocates,…

May 28, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis seems to describe his life in the Vatican almost as if he were in prison — at least as far as his freedom of movement goes. But that is not the first thing he cites when he talks about what he and prisoners have in common….

May 27, 2015 NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals May 26 refused to stay a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in Texas to block the Obama administration’s expansion of a deferred deportation program. President Barack Obama took executive action last November to implement the…

May 24, 2015 SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (CNS) — On the occasion of the beatification of El Salvador’s Archbishop Oscar Romero, Pope Francis sent a note that was read to those present for the May 23 ceremony. The beatification is reason for great joy, he said, especially “for those of us who find joy in…

May 23, 2015 TORONTO (CNS) — As Toronto gets set to host the Pan Am Games, rights campaigners are putting their best efforts into ensuring that the city does not become a playground for human traffickers while the multi-sport, billion-dollar event takes place. Led by Catholic religious sisters, a broad coalition is getting ready for…

May 22, 2015 By Dianne Towalski The Visitor When students return next fall to St. John’s Area School in Foley, they will see a dramatic upgrade of technology throughout the building — everything from projectors to iPads to AppleTV in each classroom. The school was recently awarded three CenturyLink Teachers and Technology Grants totaling nearly…

May 22, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Whether it’s a strawberry patch or a 100-acre parcel, Father Ronald Dockendorf prays the same words at each of the homes and farms he visits this time of year, asking God to bless the land and the people who tend it. Every May 15, the church celebrates…

May 22, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Every day for more than 60 years, Father Edwin Kraemer has prayed the prayers in his small red breviary. He often reads its careworn pages from a comfortable chair on the second floor sun porch of his Sauk Rapids home where he might also be found practicing…

May 21, 2015 LINCOLN, Neb. (CNS) — The Nebraska Legislature May 20 passed a measure to repeal the death penalty with enough votes to override Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts’ promised veto. Members of the unicameral body gave final approval to the bill with a 32-15 vote. At a news conference a week earlier, Archbishop George…

May 21, 2015 AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) — Church bells are ringing once again in the Assyrian Christian villages dotting the Khabur River in northeastern Syria after Islamic State militants were routed by a combination of forces. It’s a stark contrast to the mounting concerns for one of the most renowned archaeological sites in the Middle…

May 20, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A best-selling suspense novelist, a four-time Grammy winner, a Chicago archbishop and a New York cardinal, and lawmakers and corporate leaders were among speakers at undergraduate commencements this spring at the nation’s Catholic universities and colleges. And at least one family had three children in the class of 2015:…

May 20, 2015 ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) — Minnesota musician Rob Hahn hopes a song he wrote to pay tribute to Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero will inspire people to take a stand against injustice. Hahn, a parishioner at Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, learned about the life and death of Archbishop Romero in…

May 20, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Consumers want products that are environmentally friendly, and businesses that are not on board are already starting to feel the pinch, said the CEO of the multinational Unilever. Paul Polman, CEO of the company that owns brands like Lipton, Ben & Jerry’s and Suave, told a Vatican-sponsored conference…

May 20, 2015 KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNS) — Members of the Missionaries of Charity had to spend more than two hours waiting at police headquarters for clearance before they could deliver food, blankets and other promised relief to earthquake victims in a remote mountainous area of Nepal. The group of six sisters, eight brothers and about…

May 19, 2015 SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (CNS) — Guadalupe Vasquez is one of many women who have experienced the consequences of strong anti-abortion laws in El Salvador. In this Central American country of 6.3 million inhabitants, a poor woman who has a miscarriage and goes to a hospital seeking medical help often ends up…

May 19, 2015 SALT LAKE CITY (CNS) — Two federal officials told Catholic immigration advocates gathered in Salt Lake City that they are optimistic about the prospect of comprehensive reform of the U.S. immigration system. The officials espoused optimism despite a temporary injunction blocking President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive order to implement the Deferred Action…

May 19, 2015 RHODES, Greece (CNS) — When a wooden sailboat carrying some 100 refugees capsized in the crystal clear waters of this tiny paradise-like Greek island, local fisherman and the Greek coast guard immediately went to their rescue. While only three drowned in the April incident, 30 had to be taken to the hospital,…

May 19, 2015 UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio (CNS) — There’s a book that Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald believes can inspire Christians to appreciate the God of all creation. And it’s not just the Bible. Archbishop Fitzgerald, who retired at the end of 2012 as the papal nuncio to Egypt, said the Quran, with all of its…

May 19, 2015 SPENCER, Mass. (CNS) — The whoosh of the beer tap opening, the gentle glug of the golden brew pouring into the goblet and the sizzle of the foaming mousse are joyous sounds to Trappist Brother Jonah Pociadlo’s ears as he prepares to savor the signature ale created in his monastery’s brewery. The…

May 18, 2015 DUBLIN (CNS) — Christina Noble has helped hundreds of thousands of marginalized children in Vietnam and Mongolia, and although it has affected her health, the 70-year-old grandmother would not have it any other way. In a May interview with Catholic News Service, she said she can no longer go down the sewers…

May 18, 2015 Fr. Timothy Radcliffe named consultor for Council for Justice, Peace (Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis has named Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Ordained in 1971, Fr. Timothy is a long-time friend and contributor to Vatican Radio’s English Service.  He is a well-known preacher and…

May 18,  2015 SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (CNS) — Over the years, Carlos Colorado has become a modern prophet of sorts. His message is to extol the life of his hero: slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero. But his soapbox isn’t a street corner in California, where he lives. For years, he has taken his message…

May 18, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Reaction was mixed to the May 15 jury sentencing of death for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Tsarnaev had been convicted April 8 of all 30 counts lodged against him in the bombing, which killed three people and injured hundreds. Of those 30…

May 18, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Declaring four 19th-century women religious saints, Pope Francis said they are models for all Christians of how faith, nourished in prayer, is expressed concretely in acts of charity and the promotion of unity. The new saints, proclaimed during a Mass May 17 in St. Peter’s Square, included two…

May 18, 2015 SIOUX CITY, Iowa (CNS) — In 2000, Briar Cliff University grad Brett Meister was given the opportunity to meet a future saint. If circumstances play out, the Marcus native may claim to have met two. As senior vice president of communications for the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters, Meister coordinated a meeting with Pope…

May 16, 2015 ROME (CNS) — Pride, greed and selfishness are destroying the planet just as they destroy human lives, said Cardinal Peter Turkson. However, with action inspired by good stewardship and solidarity, people can ensure that the earth is “a nurturing home for every man, woman and child in every country and in every…

May 16, 2015 NAMJUNG, Nepal (CNS) — “Sir, because of luck, we all survived. But, we may die of hunger,” Mithuram Pariyar said when a church relief team arrived after a four-hour drive from Kathmandu. “Nobody (relief worker) has set foot here in two weeks,” said Pariyar, summing up the travails of 29 families. It…

May 16, 2015 SAN FRANCISO (CNS) — The Archdiocese of San Francisco is banking on a Silicon Valley startup called Evergive to make fundraising quick, easy and rewarding with a free, faith-based computer app that officially launched May 15 for the archdiocesan community. Evergive is just “one more way” faith communities can give to the…

May 16, 2015 BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CNS) — America will fall in love with Pope Francis when he visits in September. That is the prediction of Austen Ivereigh, author of “The Great Reformer, Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope,” who was the main speaker at the Brooklyn Diocese’s May 13 celebration of World Communications…

Father Kenneth Brenny, 85, died May 13 in a car accident in Morrison County. A vigil service will be held Sunday, May 17, at 7 p.m. at St. Michael Church in Buckman, with visitation from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud…

May 14, 2015 ROME (CNS) — Chaldean Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo, Syria, and his people are exhausted. The bishop, who is president of the church’s charitable agency, Caritas Syria, left the country for a few days to attend the general assembly of Caritas Internationals in Rome May 12-17. Daily life “is becoming more and…

May 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ concern for those suffering on the margins and for small Catholic communities that have kept the faith alive through war or repression will take him to Bosnia-Herzegovina in early June. By making a one-day trip June 6 to Sarajevo, he said he hoped he could “be…

May 14, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Are frozen embryos human beings worthy of dignity and respect or are they property subject to contractual obligations? That is the legal question surrounding the dispute between actress Sofia Vergara and her former fiance, businessman Nick Loeb, over two female embryos they created in 2013. Loeb, who wants to…

May 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Coaches need to show integrity, fairness, patience, joy and kindness, especially toward those who are struggling, Pope Francis said. Like any good educator, a good coach or trainer is extremely important in helping kids develop into mature, well-balanced and well-rounded adults, he said. Instilled with solid values and…

May 13, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Speaking quietly and deliberately, Dominican Sister Diana Momeka from Iraq urged a congressional committee hearing May 13 to help the displaced Christian refugees in Iraq to “go back home.” “We want nothing more than to go back to our lives; we want nothing more than to go home,” Sister…

May 13, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — In ideas big and small, speakers at Georgetown University’s Catholic-evangelical summit on overcoming poverty offered strategies to cut poverty in America. The Rev. Melanie DeBouse, pastor of Evangel Chapel in Philadelphia outlined the situation in her poverty-stricken neighborhood, where the poor live in what she called “abandominiums,” with families…

May 13, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The closer two people are to each other, the more care is required in respecting the other’s freedom and feelings, Pope Francis said. Even Jesus knocks at the door of a person’s heart awaiting permission to enter, he said May 13 at his weekly general audience in St….

May 13, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput May 13 urged prayers for all affected by Amtrak train derailment in the city’s Port Richmond neighborhood that left at least six people dead and injured more than 200 others. “I urge all people of goodwill to join me in extending prayerful condolences to…

May 13, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A major study of the religious landscape of the United States shows a continuing decline in the number of people who consider themselves part of any religion, with the largest shift occurring among the “millennial” generation. The Pew Research Center survey of 35,000 people, conducted in 2014, found that the…

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNS) — The second major earthquake in less than three weeks spread renewed fears and dented the confidence of people, said church and charity workers. “The death and devastation may be less, but the psychological impact is very high,” Bishop Paul Simick of Nepal told Catholic News Service May 13. “They were slowly…

May 12, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Barack Obama, a late addition to a Catholic-evangelical summit at Georgetown University on overcoming poverty, said events like those in Ferguson, Missouri, and in Baltimore demonstrate a need to “refocus attention on poverty.” Obama, speaking May 12, said, “We have been stuck, I think for a long time,…

May 12, 2015 VIRGINIA DALE, Colo. (CNS) — Sister Maria Walburga Schortemeyer is at home wading through the mud and manure of a barnyard in boots, work pants, a fleece jacket, and her white veil. Minutes later, in the black-and-white habit of a Benedictine nun, she is equally at home singing psalms and praying the…

May 12, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A scathing new report on the conditions under which immigrants are detained concludes with the U.S. bishops’ recommendation that the current system be dismantled and replaced with less drastic approaches for keeping track of people whose immigration cases are pending. Drawing on international law, analyses of who is detained,…

May 12, 2015 NAMJUNG, Nepal (CNS) — As the magnitude-7.3 quake hit, screaming and shouting filled the mountain village of Namjung, where approximately 600 people had gathered to collect relief material being distributed by Catholic Relief Services. When the quake ended May 12, the people were anxiously looking at dust rising from the nearby villages,…

May 12, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Dominican Father Gustavo Gutierrez, the 86-year-old liberation theologian, said his work is “a love letter to God, to the church and to my people.” Asked if he would change anything he has written in the past 40 years, the Peruvian who is often referred to as “the father…

May 11, 2015 BOSTON (CNS) — Sister Helen Prejean, the death penalty abolition advocate, told a jury May 11 that convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev expressed remorse in discussions with her. Sister Prejean, the Sister of Saint Joseph of Medaille and author of, “Dead Man Walking,” said during the defense’s portion of the sentencing…

May 11, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Peace takes hard work and must be built one person at a time working each day by forgiving others, ending injustice and stopping greed, Pope Francis told elementary school children. People also have to do more to stop condemning those who have made serious mistakes and instead help…

May 11, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, who will be beatified in San Salvador May 23, has become a symbol of Latin American church leaders’ efforts to protect their flocks from the abuses of military dictatorships. However, his life and the 35 years it took the Vatican to recognize him as…

May 11, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After spending close to an hour with Pope Francis, Cuban President Raul Castro told reporters he is so impressed by what the pope does and says that he might start praying and could even return to the church. “I had a very agreeable meeting this morning with Pope…

May 10, 2015 KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNS) — Anam Tamang was excited: A truck of earthquake relief supplies had finally arrived at Caritas Nepal headquarters in Kathmandu. That was late May 6. By May 8, she was frustrated: 16 tons of relief material flown in by Caritas Poland had already been dispatched in small trucks to…

May 9, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor “You are here today because you care deeply about bringing God’s love to our young people. Is there any greater calling? Is there any greater purpose in life than this?” Bishop Donald Kettler asked a crowd of about 350 people at Breakfast with the Bishop April 29…

May 8, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Forty years after the war in Vietnam ended, Americans still replay the events that led to deeper American involvement in the Southeast Asian conflict as well as the turmoil that resulted from it. Satisfactory answers were hard to come by then, when it seemed that the nation came close…

May 8, 2015 By Dianne Towalski The Visitor Connie Glazier talked briefly about organ donation with her six children around the time they were all getting their driver’s licenses. They decided not to check the box on the form, and that was that. Glazier didn’t think she would ever have to think about it again….

May 8, 2015 A year of service in another country can be a life-changing experience for anyone. But for Nickolas Kleespie and Lewis Grobe it had a profound impact on their lives. The experience led them to a religious vocation, and the two were ordained together at St. John’s Abbey and University Church May 2…

May 8, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Ayan Omar came to America as a Somali Muslim refugee when she was just 5 years old. Now she is a wife and mother, a language arts teacher at Tech High School in St. Cloud and an advocate for interfaith dialogue. Omar was one of three panelists…

Each spring we celebrate the graduations of high school students. To give our readers a profile of this year’s graduating class, The Visitor asked the two Catholic high schools and a sampling of parishes across the diocese to nominate one of their seniors for this feature. In the following pages, you’ll find the students’ responses…

May 7, 2015 BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) — Christian leaders in the Holy Land hope two new Palestinian saints will become intercessors for peace and a bridge among faiths. “I am sure they follow our situation from heaven and will continue to intercede for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land,” Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali…

May 7, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholic charities around the world have no doubt about the reality of a “Francis effect” on their work. Because of the ongoing global economic crisis, most of the 164 national Catholic charities that form the Caritas Internationalis confederation report no significant increase in donations. However, the secretary-general of…

May 6, 2015 MALAKAL, South Sudan (CNS) — Behind the blue-helmeted U.N. soldiers ringing the periphery, their tanks and heavy weapons pointed outward, Maryknoll Father Mike Bassano’s parish is a tightly packed maze of tents and tarpaulins filled with people hiding from war. Father Bassano is the only priest amid the 25,000 civilians who live…

May 6, 2015 LEVITTOWN, Pa. (CNS) — The American Civil Liberties Union wants the Department of Health and Human Services to provide records related to government policies on abortion and contraception access for unaccompanied and refugee children. The organization filed a lawsuit in April against the HHS and the Administration for Children and Families under…

May 5, 2015 BALTIMORE (CNS) — Prayer provides the strength and patience needed to love neighbors and will help Baltimoreans as they addresses the injustices that led to a night of rioting and looting, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore said. “Given my occupation, I think it’s important to start every occasion this way,” Archbishop…

May 5, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The sad realities of Syria’s civil war permeate the paintings of Essa Neima, a 34-year-old Syrian national. At a recent exhibit, his oil on acrylic works ranged from depictions of damaged church and mosque mosaics, to a broken icon of Mary and a refugee woman forced into servitude by…

May 5, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — Seventy years ago, a ballplayer from a small-town Catholic family began a Hall of Fame career in major league baseball. Albert “Red” Schoendienst, 92, also is known for quietly living his faith and serving as a mentor and role model for young players. The St. Louis Cardinals marked…

May 5, 2015 DUBUQUE, Iowa (CNS) — Kate Mulgrew discovered she had a talent for performance early in life when she read a poem to her class at Resurrection Elementary School in Dubuque. Her brother Sam, speaking recently at a book signing event at the Julien Hotel in late April in Dubuque, revealed to a…

May 4, 2015 GREEN BAY, Wis. (CNS) — Juanita Fiscal and her husband, Julio Zuniga, enrolled in the “Discipulos de Cristo” (Disciples of Christ) lay formation program, sponsored by the Diocese of Green Bay, three years ago. As members of St. Willebrord Parish, they wanted to learn more about their faith. “We were lacking so…

May 4, 2015 KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNS) — Truckloads of relief material organized by church charities began moving across Nepal a week after the Himalayan nation was rocked by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake April 25. “I am glad that much-needed aid is finally beginning to reach remote areas,” Greg Auberry, Catholic Relief Services’ regional director for East…

May 4, 2015 ROME (CNS) — Before celebrating Mass in a parish in Ostia, Rome’s seaside community, Pope Francis stopped to see two Little Sisters of Jesus who live in a trailer at an amusement park, sharing their lives and faith with the carnival workers. The Vatican provided no more details of the visit to…

May 3, 2015 ROME (CNS) — Defining Blessed Junipero Serra as a “working-class missionary,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said the 18th-century Franciscan deserves to be made a saint and to have his record as a defender of native peoples made known. Pope Francis’ announcement that he will canonize Blessed Serra in September “has…

May 2, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People seem to enjoy finding the shortcomings of candidates for sainthood like Blessed Junipero Serra, but they should ask themselves if they would have his generosity and courage to leave everything behind to care for the poor and bring them the Gospel, Pope Francis said. Visiting the Pontifical…

May 1, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Exactly one year after a botched execution in Oklahoma, the Supreme Court took a close look at the effectiveness of a specific drug used in the state’s lethal injections to determine whether it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The April 29 oral arguments were at times bogged down by…

May 1, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The upcoming beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero has inspired many U.S. Catholics to book flights to El Salvador for the May 23 ceremony in San Salvador. The long hoped-for event has also reminded many that Catholics and other religious groups implored the U.S. government to change its policy toward…

May 1, 2015 CHARITON, Iowa (CNS) — The ancient Catholic tradition of Ember days has been resurrected in the Diocese of Des Moines by a deacon who serves in rural ministry. Deacon Eric Bertrand, assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Chariton and Holy Trinity Parish in Lacona, said he was inspired to reintroduce the prayer…

May 1, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People need to stop destroying the planet and instead find ways to safeguard it and share its resources, particularly to feed the hungry, Pope Francis told officials from around the world. In a live video address to the opening ceremony of Expo 2015 in Milan, the pope urged…

May 1, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholics must get involved in politics even if it may be “dirty,” frustrating and fraught with failure, Pope Francis said. Given today’s “throwaway” culture and so many problems unfolding in the world, “Do I as a Catholic watch from my balcony? No, you can’t watch from the balcony….

April 30, 2015 ROME (CNS) — Blessed Junipero Serra is being canonized because he was holy, not because he was perfect, said a team of experts on the life and ministry of the 18th-century Spanish missionary. Although he is a historian, not a theologian, Robert Senkewicz said: “My sense is that people are not canonized…

April 30, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, offered teasing bits of insider information about Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical on the environment, on what he might say in the U.S. in the fall, and on what it was like to be in the conclave that elected Francis in an April…

April 30, 2015 KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNS) — Time is running out for victims of Nepal’s earthquake, who are suffering because aid cannot reach them, said Bishop Paul Simick of Nepal. “The biggest challenge now is the time factor. All of us have to rush to reach out to the victims. It’s already too late,” Bishop…

April 30, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon and some climate scientists are banking on Pope Francis to be a unifying moral force to get the world onboard in the fight against global warming. Even though previous popes have spoken strongly against harming the earth and its inhabitants, one world renowned atmospheric…

April 29, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — With extreme poverty having been cut in half over the last generation — and the Millennium Development Goals target of poverty halving having been achieved five years ahead of the 2015 deadline — veterans of the global war on poverty believe it is possible that extreme poverty can be…

April 29, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Two millennia after the “Gospel of the family” defeated an abusive social practice that humiliated women, the “radical equality” of spouses in Christian marriage must now bear “new fruit” in society, including “the right to equal pay for equal work,” said Pope Francis. This “disparity” between men and…

April 29, 2015 ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) — Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, who went from hometown schoolteacher to Vatican correspondent, lived out her drive to be a writer even in her last days. She died April 28 in her hometown of Albany, New York, after a battle with cancer. Sister Mary Ann, 68, had stepped…

April 29, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Saying that nuclear weapons increase instability and reduce security, the Holy See’s permanent representative to the United Nations reiterated the Vatican’s call for the abolition of such weapons to a congressional committee. Money spent on building, maintaining and upgrading nuclear weapon systems would go a long way to making…

April 29, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Few papal encyclicals have been as eagerly awaited as Pope Francis’ upcoming statement on the environment. While no date other than early summer for its release has been announced, anticipation is building among Catholics as well as non-Catholics and advocates for the environment. Based on the pope’s past statements,…

April 28, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis offered his prayers to all of those affected by a deadly earthquake in Nepal, encouraged rescue and emergency workers in their efforts and sent an initial donation of $100,000. More than 4,300 people were known to have been killed and an estimated 1 million people were…

April 28, 2015 BALTIMORE (CNS) — As the city cleaned up after a night of riots, looting and fires following the funeral of Freddie Gray, Archbishop William E. Lori said the church’s place is to pray, be a voice for peace, and participate in a wider community dialogue to solve the systemic issues that led…

April 28, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Promoting sustainable development and mitigating climate change will take more than just global policies and agreements, it will also take a strong, unified stance from the world’s religions, the secretary-general of the United Nations said at the Vatican. To have development without destruction and “to transform our economies,…

April 28, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The questions raised by Supreme Court justices as they considered April 28 whether they should rule that same-sex marriage should be made legal nationwide covered a gamut of rights concerns — religious, equal protection, states’ ability to enact their own laws. In two and a half hours of oral…

April 28, 2015 BALTIMORE (CNS) — For four hours April 27, Freddie Gray Jr. was patiently and prayerfully memorialized. That peace, however, was extremely fragile. Gray, 25, died April 19, one week after being arrested on a weapons charge and sustaining a severe spinal cord injury in West Baltimore while in police custody. Thirty-six hours…

April 27, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called same-sex marriage “the greatest social experiment of our time” and said that “children do not need experiments,” but rather the love of a mother and father at the third annual March for Marriage rally supporting traditional marriage on Capitol…

April 27, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis offered his prayers to all those affected by a deadly earthquake in Nepal and encouraged rescue and emergency workers in their efforts. More than 3,600 people were known to have been killed and more than 6,500 others injured after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake hit a mountainous region…

April 27, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Ordaining 19 men to the priesthood, Pope Francis not only told them to make sure their homilies were not boring, but he offered them advice on how to ensure their preaching would touch people: speak from your heart. Priests are called to nourish the faithful, he said, so…

April 26, 2015 The following speech was delivered by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, President of the USCCB, at the March for Marriage in Washington April 25. My dear friends: Marriage is and can only be the union of one man and one woman. This is a beautiful truth! As Pope Francis has said, “Married life is…

April 25, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Twelve-year-old Dennise Rodriguez-Aviles dreams of becoming a teacher or social worker to help orphan children. Her parents, immigrants from Mexico, own a small grocery store in Cold Spring where they work long hours to give their three daughters more educational opportunities. The sixth-grader at St. Boniface School…

April 25, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — It was April 11, 1963, as the Catholic Church was in the midst of the Second Vatican Council, that St. John XXIII issued his landmark social encyclical “Pacem in Terris” (“Peace on Earth”) that included a call for a verifiable ban on nuclear weapons. More than 50 years later,…

April 24, 2015 Volunteers gathered in St. Cloud April 18 to start work on what will soon be a very special home for a local family. The new home is being built in honor of Pope Francis through Habitat For Humanity, thanks to an anonymous donor. The group, comprised of youth and families from Sacred…

April 24, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor This Sunday, people in the pews will hear the words of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in the Gospel of John: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” Pope Francis has urged priests to go out among their flocks and get…

April 23, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Although the upcoming canonization of Blessed Junipero Serra has stirred mixed reaction, a group of panelists April 22 said the ambiguities around the friar should not discount the good work he did or the positive dialogue and reconciliation that could result from his sainthood. “He made a lot of…

April 23, 2015 CHICAGO (CNS) — Hundreds of priests and seminarians from the Archdiocese of Chicago gathered in Holy Name Cathedral April 21 for evening prayer during the visitation for the Cardinal Francis E. George. The service included sung psalms and canticles, with the men’s voices filling the cathedral, as well as Scripture readings and…

April 23, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Arriving in the Philippines from Ireland in 1969 as a young missionary priest, Columban Father Shay Cullen hardly expected he’d end up fighting a burgeoning sex industry. More than 45 years later, despite death threats and confrontations with uncooperative authorities, Father Cullen, 72, continues to patrols bars and hotels…

April 22, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will visit Cuba in September before his trip to the United States. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters April 22 that the pope has “received and accepted the invitation from the civil authorities and bishops of Cuba” and has decided to visit the island…

April 22, 2015 EDGEWOOD, Iowa (CNS) — Second-grader Taylor Garrison got the best birthday present ever April 12 — her first Communion. She received the sacrament at St. Mark’s Church in Edgewood on the day she turned 8. Her journey to meeting Jesus in the Eucharist wasn’t easy, but came about through a combination of…

April 22, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God’s plan for fruitful, everlasting unions between a man and woman has been lost in a world filled with skepticism, distrust and hostility, Pope Francis said. A culture that does not value “the stable and life-giving covenant between a man and woman is certainly a loss for everyone….

April 22, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Marking the celebration of Earth Day, Pope Francis asked that everyone recognize the earth as God’s gift to protect and cultivate, sharing the world’s natural resources. May the way people treat the earth “not be guided by greed, manipulation and exploitation, but rather may it preserve the divine…

April 20, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Building a public address around his pastoral letter on the racial divide in the United States, Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, Illinois, asked his audience to imagine themselves in a world where the Catholic Church’s imagery and culture is Afro-centric. In a program at Georgetown University April 20,…

April 21, 2015 BOSTON (CNS) — The parents of Martin Richard, the youngest victim killed in the Boston Marathon bombings two years ago, are asking that the death penalty be taken “off the table” for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. On April 8, Tsarnaev was found guilty on all 30 counts related to the attack that killed three…

April 21, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, who was convicted in 2012 on one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse. The Vatican announced the bishop’s resignation April 21, specifying it was under the terms of the…

April 20, 2015 OKLAHOMA CITY (CNS) — Oklahoma City and the surrounding community found comfort in God after the 1995 bombing of the Murrah federal building and that inspired a “generous spirit” among “many people who took time to care and to comfort one another,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley said April 19. That “spirit of…

April 20, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The canonization of Blessed Junipero Serra will give the United States its first Hispanic saint, which should help more Americans realize that the country was settled by both Hispanics and Anglos, said the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Guzman Carriquiry, the Vatican official who hails…

April 20, 2015 TURIN, Italy (CNS) — A thin white cloth draped over the glass-covered Shroud of Turin was pulled down and billowed to the floor, marking the official opening of the venerated icon’s exposition to the public. The unveiling came during a Mass held in the city’s cathedral of St. John the Baptist April…

April 18, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — In reaction to the April 17 death of Cardinal Francis E. George, the retired archbishop of Chicago, U.S. bishops and other Catholic leaders recalled his leadership, faithfulness and friendship. — “The death of an exemplary churchman such as Cardinal Francis George brings much sadness at a time of joy…

April 18, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — It was nearly 25 years ago, on July 26, 1990, that the Americans With Disabilities Act passed by Congress was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. So what has changed, and what still needs changing? Janice Benton, executive director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, was…

April 17, 2015 CHICAGO (CNS) — Cardinal Francis E. George, the retired archbishop of Chicago who was the first native Chicagoan to head the archdiocese, died April 17 at his residence after nearly 10 years battling cancer. He was 78. His successor in Chicago, Archbishop Blase J. Cupich, called Cardinal George “a man of peace,…

April 17, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will visit the Pontifical North American College May 2 and celebrate Mass there at the end of a conference on the life and significance of Blessed Junipero Serra, the Franciscan founder of California missions whom the pope will canonize in the United States in September. Guzman…

April 15, 2015 CARLE PLACE, N.Y. (CNS) — Paul Cartier, an organist at Our Lady of Hope Church in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, finds himself in sports heaven at this time of the year. In addition to his parish duties, Cartier plays the organ for Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and the National…

April 16, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — At 43, Marcelo Torcida had arguably achieved it all. He was a successful business owner, with multiple successful businesses, had a wonderful marriage of more than two decades, children, and yet he felt that he had nothing. During a business meeting in London, the Paraguayan father of three said…

April 16, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With the participation of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences is hosting a summit, “Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity,” at the Vatican April 28. The focus of the workshop, with more than 60 environmental experts invited, will be the moral dimensions of climate change and…

April 16, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican approved new statutes and bylaws for the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious, ending a seven-year process of investigating the group and engaging in dialogue with its officers to ensure greater harmony with church teaching. Conference officers met April 16 with Pope Francis, the same day…

April 15, 2015 LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) — A year after more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped, Lagos Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie said he believed that “God will answer our prayers” for their return. In an interview with Catholic News Service April 14, the cardinal also said President-elect Muhammadu Buhari must make the rescue of…

April 15, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Eradicating male and female identities does nothing to solve the problem of unfair or disrespectful treatment based on people’s gender, Pope Francis said. “Getting rid of the difference is the problem, not the solution,” he said April 15 during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square. The right…

April 14, 2015 ROCKFORD, Ill. (CNS) — Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford visited tornado-damaged neighborhoods in Rochelle after praying with residents at an evening Mass at St. Patrick Church April 11. According to the National Weather Service, eight tornadoes hit northern and central Illinois April 9. A massive tornado, measuring EF4, touched down near…

April 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Educating children is the best way to help displaced Iraqi Christians recover from the traumatic experience of being chased from their homes by Islamic State militants, said Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, after an April 11-12 visit to Irbil. “Help is being given in a manner that…

April 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Following a vocation to the priesthood or religious life is to live an experience of “exodus” — to joyfully leave behind all that enslaves and journey to a Promised Land of love, service and mission, Pope Francis said. “Responding to God’s call, then, means allowing him to help…

April 13, 2015 MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis is expected to arrive July 6 in Ecuador, starting a three-country tour of his home continent, the Associated Press reported from Quito. The trip, the pope’s second to South America since being elected in March 2013, also would include stops in Bolivia and Paraguay, two fast-growing…

April 13, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Despite fewer vocations to consecrated life, those responsible for formation in religious institutes must know how to say no to unsuitable candidates, so as to avoid a “graver crisis of quality” down the road, said Pope Francis. During an audience with about 1,300 novice directors and other formation…

April 13, 2015 PANAMA CITY (CNS) — An hourlong meeting April 11 between U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro marked the first such personal encounter between the leaders of the two neighboring countries since 1958. The session held during the Summit on the Americas, in which Cuba participated for the first time,…

April 12, 2015 LE MARS, Iowa (CNS) — A young parishioner in the Diocese of Sioux City recently had the chance to meet Pope Francis. The circumstances of that meeting make it all the more powerful and unique. Kylie Hayworth, a parishioner at All Saints Parish in Le Mars, chose to visit the pope as…

April 12, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Mercy is what makes God perfect and all-powerful, Pope Francis said in his document officially proclaiming the 2015-2016 extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy. “If God limited himself to only justice, he would cease to be God, and would instead be like human beings who ask merely that the…

April 10, 2015 The Visitor A Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity house will be built this year in St. Cloud in honor of Pope Francis “for his commitment to social justice and reinvigorating the Catholic Church,” the organization announced April 10. The home, one of four that it will build this year in the city,…

April 10, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Bonnie Schulzetenberg’s house is draped in red hearts every February as she prepares a special meal her kids affectionately deemed the “love feast” — a family tradition that began when she and her husband, Deacon Jim Schulzetenberg, were first married. “We weren’t always able to go out…

April 10, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — Make-A-Wish requests often involve meeting athletes, attending sporting events or traveling to amusement parks or beaches. When it came time for 11-year-old Brett Haubrich of St. Mark School in Affton to make his wish, he not only listed none of those things but had no request at all….

April 10, 2015 Melrose immigrants find welcoming place to learn English, share stories By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Peggy Stokman treats each person she meets as a character in an unread book. She carefully listens as the stories of newcomers in her community of Melrose unfold, specifically those of Latinos who want to learn English…

April 9, 2015 TOPEKA, Kan. (CNS) — A new Kansas law banning an abortion procedure that results in dismemberment of an unborn child “has the power to transform the landscape of abortion policy in the United States,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. Gov. Sam Brownback signed the measure April 7 during…

April 9, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — What the general public can squint at and admire from afar, an art restorer can enjoy from just inches away. Perched on scaffolding and cleaning off centuries of soot under bright directional lights, the restorers’ privileged peek doesn’t come often or easily. Full-scale restoration projects are expensive and…

April 8, 2015 DESTREHAN, La. (CNS) — The prayerful protection of Mary has been showered upon Pope Francis 1 million times over, thanks to students and their friends at St. Charles Borromeo School in the New Orleans Archdiocese. On Holy Thursday, April 2, just before the start of the school’s monthly rosary, religion teacher Lisa…

April 8, 2014 INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — The changes Indiana lawmakers made to the state Religious Freedom Restoration Act “raise several concerns about the protection of religious freedom for Indiana’s citizens and religious institutions,” the state’s Catholic conference said. The new language “may undermine religious freedom,” it said, because the terms “religious function” and “nonprofit religious…

April 8, 2015 ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — Young parents with financial struggles coupled with underdeveloped endowment, fundraising and alumni infrastructure at Catholic elementary schools may help explain why the primary schools are not faring as well as Catholic secondary schools nationwide. That was the opinion of a panel of Catholic education experts convened April 7…

April 8, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — When Pope Francis comes to the United States in September, his message will be that “God loves all of us the way we are” and “God asks us to love one another,” said Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington. “We see in him not just the message, but how…

April 7, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Quoting Pope Francis and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast, President Barack Obama observed that the celebration of Easter puts other concerns into context. “With humility and with awe, we give thanks to the extraordinary sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our savior,” Obama…

April 7, 2015 ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — Sharing success stories and honoring exemplary Catholic educators nationwide is the engine that drives the annual convention of the National Catholic Educational Association. “One of the things we do here is highlight best practices always with the understanding that people have to adapt and make this their own,”…

April 7, 2015 BOSTON (CNS) — As the trial of Boston Marathon bombing defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went to the jury April 6, the Catholic bishops of Massachusetts released a statement reiterating the church’s teaching on the death penalty. If convicted, Tsarnaev could be sentenced to death or to life without the possibility of parole. The…

April 6, 2015 ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) — In the purchase and subsequent consumption of what’s playfully dubbed “Irish Holy Water,” fans of Finnegans beer are feeding the hungry in Minnesota, which has included clients of Catholic Charities in the past. Since its beginning 15 years ago, the Minneapolis-based beer company has centered its business…

April 6, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians live the joy of the Resurrection when they share a smile with someone, weep with those who mourn and defend the rights of those persecuted for their faith, Pope Francis said. Reciting the “Regina Coeli” prayer with thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square April 6,…

April 6, 2015 NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) — The president of the Kenyan bishops’ conference called on Easter worshippers to commit themselves to praying for peace and security in their homeland after militants attacked a college campus days earlier. Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi also condemned the April 2 attack by the Somalia-based al-Shabaab militants at…

April 4, 2015 VATICAN CITY — Here is Pope Francis’ homily from tonight’s Easter vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica as translated by the Vatican: Tonight is a night of vigil. The Lord is not sleeping; the Watchman is watching over his people (cf. Ps 121:4), to bring them out of slavery and to open before…

April 2, 2015 People from the Greenwald area of the diocese may see a familiar face if they watch Pope Francis’ televised Easter Mass. Greenwald native Thomas Schulzetenberg — who currently serves as the director of the University of Mary’s Rome campus — has been asked by the Vatican to lector in English during the…

April 1, 2015 CANTON, Miss. (CNS) — There is no doubt that Sister Thea Bowman possessed a presence. Many of those who knew her well speak of how she enveloped those around her with love, encouragement and positive energy, no matter if they were a lifelong friend or someone she just met. March 30 marked…

March 31, 2015 DILLEY, Texas (CNS) — Five Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran bishops traveled to the Dilley Detention Center in south Texas March 27 and visited with families — young mothers with children from Central America — who are being detained there. Last year, more than 68,000 families from Central America fled violence in their…

March 31, 2015 INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — Indiana residents of all faith traditions can be assured the government will not infringe upon their constitutional right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, Gov. Mike Pence said as he signed into law a religious freedom bill passed by the Indiana General Assembly. “With the passage of this legislation,…

March 30, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Father Paul K. Hurley, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and a military chaplain for about 15 years, was confirmed March 27 as the U.S. Army chief of chaplains in a voice vote by the U.S. Senate. With the appointment comes a promotion in rank from colonel to…

March 29, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Holy Week and Easter approached, Pope Francis wanted to show his ongoing concern for people persecuted and displaced by violence in Iraq and in northern Nigeria. Although not specifying the amount, the Vatican press office said March 27 that the pope was sending aid money to people…

March 28, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The rector of a Rome sanctuary dedicated to Divine Mercy said he sees a “golden thread” connecting the upcoming Holy Year of Mercy and the message Jesus conveyed to St. Faustina Kowalska nearly 85 years ago. Father Jozef Bart, rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit, said…

March 28, 2015 WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — A new airport, improved road and rail links, a fleet of dream buses and “Youth Bible” are among features projected for the Catholic Church’s 14th international celebration of World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland, in 2016. “It’s still 16 months to go, but the planning is well advanced,”…

The Visitor About 35 confirmation candidates made the 140-mile trek from Breckenridge to St. Cloud to join a standing-room-only congregation at St. Mary’s Cathedral for the annual Chrism Mass, where the holy oils to be used in parishes for the coming year were blessed. Grant Dahl, the religious education director at St. Mary of the…

March 27, 2015 During this Year of Consecrated Life, Pope Francis instructs Catholics to “look to the past with gratitude … live the present with passion… [and] embrace the future with hope.” The Visitor will to help commemorate the past, present and future of the religious communities housed in the St. Cloud Diocese, in the…

March 27, 2015 Christina Capecchi is an award-winning journalist from Inver Grove Heights, Minn. She is the author of the nationally syndicated Catholic column “Twenty Something,” which appears in The Visitor and approximately 50 diocesan newspapers across the country. Capecchi holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a bachelor’s from…

March 27, 2015 Three group projects turn $600 into $3,565 for people in need By Nikki Rajala The Visitor One Pay it Forward for Lent project leader likened her group’s project to a mustard seed — starting small but multiplying. “This Lenten project was blessed by God,” said Sarah Heidelberger. “I am amazed at the…

March 25, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis prayed for the repose of the souls of the 150 passengers and crew of a Germanwings plane that crashed into the French Alps March 24. The Airbus A320 began to lose altitude shortly after taking off from Barcelona, Spain, for Dusseldorf, Germany. It crashed into a…

March 25, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will spend two days in Turin to venerate the Shroud of Turin; meet young people, workers, juvenile detainees, immigrants and the sick; and visit with his Italian relatives from northern Italy. The papal visit June 21-22 also will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of…

March 25, 2015 MONTGOMERY, Ala. (CNS) — On the property of St. Jude’s Church, just outside Montgomery, marchers nearing the end of the civil rights march from Selma in 1965 heard a concert and slept on the athletic fields. Fifty years later, the parish commemorated its role in the march’s end with an evening Mass…

March 25, 2015 LOS ANGELES (CNS) — More than 3,000 people filled the pews of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in Los Angeles March 22 for a Spanish Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, to mark the anniversary of the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero. “My brothers and sisters, today we…

March 25, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — No matter how weary, wounded or sinful a family has become, the church will always do everything to try to help family members heal, convert and reconcile with the Lord, Pope Francis said. The pope called on everyone to pray each day for the upcoming Synod of Bishops…

March 24, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Don’t be “halfway Christians,” who accept Christ, but then start looking for excuses and stammering, “yes, but …” when it is time to follow his way, Pope Francis said at a morning Mass. It’s a case of “spiritual caprice” when Christians get grumpy and complain about the path…

March 23, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The future of humanity depends on safeguarding and sharing potable water around the world, Pope Francis said. “I encourage, therefore, the international community to make sure the planet’s water is adequately protected and no one is excluded or discriminated against” in the fair use of this resource, which…

March 23, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — At the end of Pope Francis’ spontaneity-filled meeting with priests, seminarians and religious in the cathedral of Naples, the vial of dried blood of the city’s patron saint appeared to miraculously liquefy. After Pope Francis blessed the congregation with the reliquary holding the vial, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of…

March 22, 2015 GLENDALE, Ariz. (CNS) — The crack of the bat is a sure sign of spring, one that calls Ray McKenna to the field. “How’s the team looking this year?” he asked the top trainer for the Texas Rangers. “Anything we can do? Please let us know,” he told catcher Tyler Flowers of…

March 22, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The number of Catholic marriages in the United States is at its lowest point since 1965. Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate keeps records of Catholic Church statistics going back to 1965, tracking such things as the total number of priests, the Catholic population of the…

March 20, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — U.S. and Canadian bishops joined their Latin American counterparts who came to Washington to testify over the environmental and social ills wrought by extractive industries such as mining and logging. The bishops testified March 19 before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in a bid to heighten awareness of…

March 20, 2015 UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — As he opened a March 18 forum on Women Promoting Human Dignity, Archbishop Bernardito Auza said that “in the education of the heart, women are the world’s professors.” The Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations said women have a “special brilliance” to care for the intrinsic…

March 20, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ decision to convoke a special Holy Year of Mercy has its roots in the event that led a teen-age Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the priesthood. Pope Francis has recounted the story several times in the past two years. On one occasion early in his pontificate, he…

March 19, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Ten Senate Democrats voted March 17 to filibuster the Justice for Victims of Sex Trafficking Act over inclusion of Hyde Amendment provisions, which forbids federal funding for most abortions or abortion-related care. “I know there are some Democrats who care deeply about the victims of human trafficking. Unfortunately, not…

March 19, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Having so much world-famous art housed in Rome’s churches and chapels has risked turning the city’s sacred spaces into sightseer circuses. A hushed prayerful atmosphere for the faithful is often broken by clicking cameras and tourists exchanging guidebook details. But one Rome attraction has managed to hold on…

VATICAN CITY — Today’s feast of St. Joseph is a big day in the Vatican. In addition to being Father’s Day in Italy, St. Joseph’s feast day is a paid holiday for Vatican workers. It is the name day of retired Pope Benedict XVI (who was born Joseph Ratzinger). And, the guardian of Jesus is…

March 18, 2015 UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the announcement that Pope Francis would visit the United Nations the morning of Sept. 25 to address the U.N. General Assembly. In a statement March 18, the United Nations also said the pope would meet separately with the secretary-general and with the president…

March 18, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Children are a blessing for humanity and for the church, bringing new life and energy to families and society, Pope Francis said. Unfortunately, he said, too often children are society’s “great rejected ones, because they aren’t even allowed to be born!” Continuing a series of general audience talks…

March 17, 2015 BHUBANESWAR, India (CNS) — Students at a Hindu-run school for the blind joined a nationwide outcry over the gang rape of a 74-year-old Catholic nun. The 50 students at the Helen Keller School near the convent where the nun lived chanted “Mother we cannot see, but we can feel your pain,” March…

March 17, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Catholic Church in the United States has had a long history of being a voice for immigrants and it continues to do so but in new ways, said speakers at a March 12 conference at The Catholic University of America. There has been so much church involvement on…

March 16, 2015 NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — Jed Malitz appends “V2” to the name of his art gallery in New Orleans’ Warehouse District. The “V2” stands for “Version 2” — both in art and in life. Inside Malitz’s gallery, floor-to-ceiling black drapes bisect the rectangular gallery space. In front of the drapes, visible as soon…

March 16, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Condemning deadly terrorist attacks against a Catholic and an Anglican church in Pakistan, Pope Francis said “the world is trying to hide” a wave of anti-Christian persecution in various parts of the globe. “With sadness, with much sadness, I learned of the terrorist attacks today against two churches…

March 15, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Francis went out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time, he said he did not prepare what he was going to say, but “I felt deeply that a minister needs the blessing of God, but also of his people.” He did not…

March 14, 2015 by Paul Haring VATICAN CITY — The election night introduction of Pope Francis to the world on March 13, 2013, took only 12 minutes. These minutes were some of the most important of my photographic career. For months I had obsessed about every detail of covering the election of the new pope….

March 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A holy year as a time of spiritual renewal has its biblical roots in the jubilees observed by the Jewish people at 50-year intervals, when debts were pardoned and slaves were freed. The term “jubilee” itself comes from the Hebrew word “yobel,” meaning a ram’s horn, which was…

March 13, 2015 Pope Francis announced an extraordinary jubilee, a Holy Year of Mercy, to highlight the Catholic Church’s “mission to be a witness of mercy.” “No one can be excluded from God’s mercy,” the pope said March 13, marking the second anniversary of his pontificate by leading a Lenten penance service in St. Peter’s…

March 13, 2015 By Kristi Anderson The Visitor When the bishop breathes upon the openings of glass vessels filled with fragrant chrism oil at the annual chrism Mass, he does so as a reminder of Christ breathing on the Apostles after his resurrection, telling them to “receive the Holy Spirit.” The Catholic faith is rich…

March 12, 2015 DUBUQUE, Iowa (CNS) — The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments March 11 in a case on “webcam” abortions that could have far-reaching implications. “It’s been the first time in decades the Iowa Supreme Court has addressed the issue of abortion,” said Tom Chapman, executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, an…

March 11, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Leaders of the U.S. bishops’ conference invited people to pray for “those facing the stark reality of religious persecution in the Middle East and elsewhere.” In a statement, the bishops’ Administrative Committee also called on people to work to protect those who are marginalized and persecuted. Read more and…

March 11, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Within two years of becoming pope, Pope Francis now has an effect named after him. This “Francis effect” provides both comfort and challenges to Catholics, according to a panel of U.S. Catholic leaders speaking during a March 10 teleconference organized by Faith in Public Life. “One of the most…

March 11, 2015 SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (CNS) — Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero will be beatified in San Salvador May 23, said Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the postulator or chief promoter of the archbishop’s sainthood cause. The ceremony, which moves the murdered archbishop a step closer to sainthood, will be in Plaza Divino Salvador del…

March 11, 2015 DALLAS (CNS) — Dallas Catholic officials quickly denounced the now infamous viral video that captured University of Oklahoma fraternity members in a racist chant, saying that the action of a recent Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas graduate seen in the video was “vile and repulsive.” The actions and reactions since the…

March 10, 2015 SIOUX CITY, Iowa (CNS) — Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City joined Archbishop Michael O. Jackels of Dubuque and Bishops Martin J. Amos of Davenport and Richard E. Pates of Des Moines in meeting with Iowa lawmakers on issues of interest to the state’s Catholics. Tom Chapman, executive director of the…

March 10, 2015 SELMA, Ala. (CNS) — The message of the civil rights movement has always been that all people are created in the image and likeness of God and that the dignity of all must be respected, said Mobile Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi. He was the main celebrant and homilist at a Mass March…

March 9, 2015 ARLINGTON, Va. (CNS) — From the softest pianissimo to the most dramatic swells of sound, the pipe organ’s range and capacity to lift the voice and spirit accord it “pride of place” among instruments used in Catholic liturgy. It “gives resonance to the fullness of human sentiments, from joy to sadness, from…

March 9, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christian faith and a moral life are responses to God’s mercy and not the result of “titanic” human effort, Pope Francis said. In meetings and Masses March 7-8, the pope repeatedly returned to the theme of the church as an agent of God’s mercy and to the benefits…

March 9, 2015 AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) — Christian leaders again called for help for Assyrian Christians as Islamic State militants stepped up their attacks against their towns in northern Syria. Syria’s northeast Hassakeh province is emerging as the new battlefield in the fight against extremist group. Analysts say Hassakeh province, which extends like a thumb…

March 8, 2015 GENEVA (CNS) — No one is exempt from either the impacts of climate change or the moral responsibility to act to address this global concern, a Vatican official told members of the U.N. Human Rights Council. “Our concern for the common good of the planet, and for humanity, urges us to recognize…

March 8, 2015 WASHINGTON  — A newcomer to the pro-life movement, Online for Life, was among the winners at the 2015 Weyrich Awards Dinner, which took place recently at the Four Seasons in Washington. Named Outstanding New Organization of the Year, Online for Life describes itself as a “compassionate, technology-driven nonprofit organization committed to rescuing children and…

March 7, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Several Supreme Court justices wondered aloud at oral arguments March 4 whether a ruling against the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies to millions of lower income Americans would lead to a “death spiral” for the health insurance program. “We’re going to have the death spiral that this system was created…

March 7, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Two years after he was elected pope, Pope Francis’ popularity rating among U.S. Catholics is at 90 percent, surpassing Pope Benedict XVI’s best-ever popularity, and rivaling that of St. John Paul II. Pope Francis, who is scheduled to visit Washington, New York and Philadelphia in September, garnered a “very…

March 6, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Is the Shroud of Turin real, as many Catholics believe? Or is it a product of the 14th century, as suggested by tests conducted of strips taken from the shroud? Does it matter at all — and, if it does, how much does it matter? Those are the kinds…

March 6, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — The Vatican is a credible and admired presence at the United Nations because it speaks from practical experience, according to the Holy See’s permanent observer to the U.N. “Our network on the ground lends credibility to what we say,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza. As a nonvoting member since…

March 6, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholics need to reach out to “baptized non-Christians,” those who have forgotten or walked away from their faith, Pope Francis said. The pope met March 6 with about 7,000 members of the Neocatechumenal Way, which guides members in an itinerary of exploring the meaning of their baptism and…

March 6, 2015 NEW YORK (CNS) — Cardinal Edward M. Egan, who retired as archbishop of New York in 2009, died March 5. The cause of death was cardiac arrest. He was 82. After collapsing at his residence that afternoon, he was taken to NYU Langone Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead at 2:20…

March 6, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “Joy” is not a word people usually associate with strict fasting and penance — unless they are Eastern-rite Catholics. In the Eastern church, the penitential period that prepares believers to celebrate Easter, is called “Great Lent,” and its prayers invite the faithful to recognize their “need for forgiveness”…

March 5, 2015 ST. LOUIS (CNS) — Sister Barbara Moore wanted to see the film “Selma,” but by herself “because emotionally I knew it would probably be impactful.” So the Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet sat alone in a St. Louis theater in January and watched the movie about the events of 50 years…

March 5, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Four nationally circulated Catholic publications called for abolishing the death penalty in the United States in a jointly published editorial. America, National Catholic Register, National Catholic Reporter and Our Sunday Visitor urged their readers, the U.S. Catholic community and people of faith to “stand with us and say, ‘Capital…

March 4, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis is expected to canonize Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, during the world Synod of Bishops on the family in October. Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, leading a conference Feb. 27 on the role of…

March 4, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Seeing the elderly only as a burden “is ugly. It’s a sin,” Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience. “We must reawaken our collective sense of gratitude, appreciation and hospitality, helping the elderly know they are a living part of their communities” and sources of wisdom for…

March 3, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — By listening to people’s suffering, joys and daily endeavors, Catholics bring the vision of the Second Vatican Council to the world, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines, told an audience at The Catholic University of America. Such action demonstrates that the church values the dignity of every person,…

March 3, 2015 EDMONTON, Alberta (CNS) — Pope Francis is a radical reformer who is facing enemies — inside and outside of the church — opposed to at least some parts of his agenda, said a prominent church historian. Massimo Faggioli, an expert on the Second Vatican Council and the author of several books, said…

March 3, 2015 JERUSALEM (CNS) — Six months after the end of the most recent war in Gaza, there is still a “grave humanitarian crisis” in the narrow strip wedged between the Egyptian and Israeli borders, where more than 1.8 million Palestinians live closed off to the world because of an international embargo. Following a…

March 3, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When the Bible says, “though your sins be like scarlet” God will make them “white as snow,” it exaggerates, just like God exaggerates in his willingness to forgive people, Pope Francis said. “The Lord forgives generously,” the pope said March 3 during his early morning Mass. God never…

March 2, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Drop the innocent look and the habit of judging others, Pope Francis said; recognizing one’s own faults and failings is the first requirement of being a good Christian. In fact, paradoxically, one finds peace and relief in judging one’s own sins, being merciful toward others and saying, “Who…

March 2, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The head of Vatican security said Islamic State militants have threatened the Vatican, but there are no indications of any planned attack. The Vatican gendarmes, Swiss Guards and the Italian state police that patrol the perimeter of Vatican City State are always on high alert, said Domenico Giani,…

March 1, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A cookbook featuring favorite dishes of the three most-recent popes and their elite military corps will be available this summer in English. “Buon Appetito, Swiss Guard” was written by 24-year-old David Geisser, who had worked as a chef and published two popular cookbooks in his native Switzerland before…

February 28, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Catholics are encouraged to make going to confession a significant part of their lives during Lent, Pope Francis offered some quick tips to help people prepare for the sacrament of penance. After a brief explanation of why people should go to confession — “because we are all…

By Dianne Towalski The Visitor Viewers will soon notice some big changes in the diocesan TV Mass. Thanks to an anonymous bequest designated for TV Mass equipment, the diocesan Office of Worship has, over the past few months, purchased and installed new broadcast equipment. “We were able to get all new recording equipment — from…

February 27, 2015 The Visitor Members of local communities of consecrated life will be recognized for their vocations and service to the church at a special Mass at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 19 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud. Bishop Donald Kettler will preside at the Mass, which will be followed by an outdoor…

February 26, 2015 SIOUX CITY, Iowa (CNS) — Briar Cliff University President Bev Wharton agrees with economist Milton Friedman’s 1975 book, “There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch,” when it comes to President Barack Obama’s proposal of free community college. “I do not believe that offering free college to everyone, regardless of financial position,…

February 26, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Federal Communications Commission’s vote Feb. 26 to preserve an “open Internet” and safeguard net neutrality was welcomed in many quarters of the country, including by the chairman of U.S. bishops’ Committee on Communications. “The Internet is a critical medium for religious speech. Radio, broadcast television and cable television…

February 25, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Amid frequent reports of brutal killings and attacks by Islamic State militants, the director of an Islamic group in the United States strongly believes that people of faith must “collectively denounce” these actions of “stark evil” and “cruel barbarism.” “We have to be clear in our writings, websites, lectures…

February 25, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic organizations welcomed President Barack Obama’s Feb. 24 veto of a bill approving an oil pipeline through the country’s midsection, saying that it allows more opportunity to consider moral questions about the environment and climate change. Representatives of the groups told Catholic News Service they are hopeful that the…

February 25, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Thirty-five years ago, when John Klink was working for Catholic Relief Services in Yemen, Blessed Teresa of Kolkata came to visit her Missionaries of Charities there. The first question the legendary missionary asked the young relief worker was: “Do you have a girlfriend?” Told his girlfriend was more…

February 24, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Two-month-old Gabriel Caicedo is one of 78 children who have been saved by a new medical protocol being used to reverse the effects of the RU-486 abortion regimen in its early stages. The baby is “the light of our life,” said his father, Chris Caicedo. He and Gabriel’s mother,…

February 24, 2015 BEKAA VALLEY, Lebanon (CNS) — Many Lebanese have spent as much time as possible indoors this winter, protecting themselves from this year’s unusually brutal cold season. But for the approximately half a million Syrian refugees in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, their makeshift housing — often flimsy tents or abandoned unfinished buildings — has…

February 24, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church invited Pope Francis to visit the war-torn nation, saying it would help bring peace. “It would be a prophetic gesture that would show the power of prayer and Christian solidarity, give us courage and hope and build a better future for…

February 23, 2015 The Visitor In the midst of a “culture of death” and a throwaway society, Catholic men can help to build a culture of life and strengthen their families by getting to know God better as a God of joy and mercy, Msgr. James Shea told approximately 500 men gathered at St. John’s…

  The Rite of Election of Catechumens and Call to Continuing Conversion of Candidates with Bishop Donald Kettler was held at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud Feb. 22. Each year at the beginning of Lent, the bishop gathers with catechumens who are preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation — baptism, confirmation and Eucharist…

Father Ben Kociemba, chaplain at Cathedral High School in St. Cloud and Father Scott Pogatchnik, director of vocations for The Diocese of St.  Cloud, reflect on the meaning and purpose of meatless Fridays.   [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Aax_u6k2I?rel=0&controls=0&w=560&h=315]

February 20, 2015 Feeling a little fuzzy on the church’s guidelines on fasting and abstinence during Lent? Or feeling like you are the only one around that acknowledges the 40 days before Easter? Well, smart phones, the Internet and all things social media are here to help. Modern technology, hardly the bastion of all things…

February 20, 2015 ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) — As New York lawmakers began to consider a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide, the New York State Catholic Conference launched a new website “to offer Catholics moral clarity and guidance on the church’s teachings regarding end-of-life decision-making.” “Talking about death and dying can be difficult and uncomfortable, yet…

February 19, 2015 OXFORD, England (CNS) — Catholic leaders condemned “racism and xenophobia” in Europe and urged religious communities to speak out against a growing “nationalism of exclusion” of the type that preceded both world wars. The Conference of European Justice and Peace Commissions called it a “matter of serious concern” that “elections at regional,…

February 18, 2015 The Visitor Like a single flute player in a large symphony orchestra, we may be tempted to believe that our lives make very little difference in the big scheme of things. But God wants each of us to know that we have a vital role to play in his grand design, Bishop…

February 18, 2015 USCCB Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Download this calender for daily inspiration and guidance as the journey begins.

January 18, 2015 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNS) — Marie Yolene Andre got an early start on Lent. Andre was in Haiti’s new transitional cathedral at 5 a.m. — two hours before Ash Wednesday Mass — to begin her time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. “Jesus said you live to pray as much as you can within…

February 18, 2015 ROME (CNS) — Lent is a journey of purification and penance, a movement that should bring one tearfully back to the loving arms of the merciful Father, Pope Francis said at an Ash Wednesday Mass that began with a procession on Rome’s Aventine Hill. After walking from the Benedictine monastery of St….

February 18, 2015 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CNS) — Cuban parents who sent their unaccompanied children from Cuba to the United States in the early 1960s for fear of communist indoctrination under Fidel Castro made the right decision. That was the conclusion of St. Augustine Bishop Felipe J. Estevez, who was one of four Cuban experts on…

February 17, 2015 BALTIMORE (CNS) — Soon after Sherry Weddell’s new book, “Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus,” was published, she was approached by a man who told her that until he had read her book, he didn’t know it was possible to have a personal relationship with God. “This man…

February 17, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis called for prayers for the Egyptian Christians beheaded by Islamic State militants in Libya and asked that God recognize these men killed for their faith. He offered morning Mass Feb. 17 in the chapel of his residence for the slain Christians he termed “our 21 brother…

February 15, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — On a gray and overcast morning in Washington, just a short walk from Capitol Hill, construction work began on a museum intended to promote engagement, education and discussion of the Bible. The 430,000-square-foot museum will feature a 200-foot LED screen on the lobby ceiling, displaying a set of rotating…

February 15, 2015 OTTAWA, Ontario (CNS) — The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has invited dioceses to prepare for the worldwide Synod of Bishops with a set of questions on marriage and family life, but the conference said any questionnaire results will remain private. Msgr. Patrick Powers, conference general secretary, stressed that the questionnaire —…

February 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinals meeting at the Vatican discussed better ways to balance the responsibilities of local bishops and of the Roman Curia, said the Vatican spokesman. A recurring theme in the cardinals’ Feb. 12-13 meeting was “what is it that is done best where,” Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi told journalists…

February 14, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a Valentine’s Day ceremony to create 20 new cardinals, Pope Francis offered a meditation on Christian love and, especially, what it means for those who guide and minister in the church. “The greater our responsibility in serving the church, the more our hearts must expand according to…

February 12, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The reform of the Roman Curia should promote “greater harmony” among the Vatican offices, not primarily to save money or promote efficiency, but to solidify the unity of the church and strengthen its ability to evangelize, Pope Francis said. The pope arrived in the Vatican’s synod hall a…

February 12, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Retired Pope Benedict XVI has never doubted or regretted his decision to resign, knowing it was the right thing to do for the good of the church, said Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the papal household and personal secretary to the retired pope. “The church needs a strong…

February 11, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The much-anticipated encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment, expected sometime this spring or early summer, is generating a lot of buzz in Washington and elsewhere. At the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, a Feb. 9 panel discussion on climate change and other environmental issues had to be moved to…

February 11, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — The new movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” is “a direct assault on Christian marriage and on the moral and spiritual strength of God’s people,” Cincinnati’s archbishop told pastors in his archdiocese. “We need to inform our people about the destructive message of this movie and to highlight the beauty…

February 11, 2015 AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) — As Jordan steps up airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria to avenge the murder of its pilot, Catholic and other leaders are hoping that the tragedy can still yield good for the future. Islamic State killed First Lt. Muath al-Kasasbeh in early January, but the video showing…

February 10, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — “Being against globalization is like being against electricity,” said Holy Cross Father Daniel Groody, the Feb. 7 keynote speaker at the Feb. 7-10 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington. The choice Catholics have comes in how they acknowledge and practice globalization themselves, said Father Groody, director of Immigration Initiatives…

February 10, 2015 TUCSON, Ariz. (CNS) — Kiana Romero waves a finished assignment in the air, beaming confidence as her teacher collects the papers. On a classroom bulletin board hangs a blue and gold pennant that reads “Class of 2026.” That is the year Kiana and her classmates at St. Ambrose Catholic School, a Notre…

February 10, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People will not find the face of God by relaxing at home on the couch, surfing online or reading encyclopedias, Pope Francis said. Only people with a restless heart that thirsts for God will find him as they strike out on the road, taking risks and overcoming fatigue,…

February 9, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Caritas Internationalis is going big-picture with its first global campaign, aiming to end hunger worldwide by 2025. In North St. Louis, Sylvester Brown Jr. starts quite literally from the ground up, tackling the problems of poverty in poor neighborhoods, teaching kids to grow sweet potatoes on vacant plots of…

February 9, 2015 ROME (CNS) — When Pope Francis walked through the gate surrounding a group of shacks and very humble homes, it took a while for people to notice. In fact, when a couple of people looked out their doors, the pope’s chief security guard motioned them to come over. “Papa Francisco!” someone shouted…

February 7, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Assisted suicide is legal in only four states currently, but several other jurisdictions are considering passing legislation to legalize the practice. If there is a saving grace, it is that no federal legislation to enshrine physician-assisted suicide in law is planned. Actually, two previous federal laws addressed assisted suicide,…

February 6, 2015 OTTAWA, Ontario (CNS) — The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously struck down the Criminal Code of Canada’s ban on physician-assisted suicide to mentally competent but suffering and “irremediable” patients. The historic decision does away with most provisions in law prohibiting physician-assisted suicide. It gives Parliament and provincial governments a year to craft…

February 6, 2015 SAN SALVADOR (CNS) — Seated beside the tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero, Daysi Iraheta shows enormous joy at the Vatican announcement of his beatification. It’s a feeling shared across the small Central American country. “I had faith that this day would finally come,” Iraheta, 77, told Catholic News Service, in the crypt…

February 6, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The chains shackling people to slave-like labor are no longer visible, making it difficult to identify and help victims, said a U.S. Catholic advocate. In fact, threats, debts and even the abduction of workers’ children are some of the hidden modern-day bonds today’s traffickers use to keep some…

February 5, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Barack Obama decried the use of “twisted and distorted” faith as a wedge or a weapon in remarks Feb. 5 at the National Prayer Breakfast. The president also lauded the faith-based work typified by others on the program for the annual event, including the Sister of Mercy who…

February 5, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced Feb. 5 that Pope Francis will address a joint meeting of Congress Sept. 24. The pontiff’s “historic visit” would make him the “first leader of the Holy See to address a joint meeting of Congress,” Boehner said in a statement, adding that he…

February 4, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero will be beatified in San Salvador “certainly within the year and not later, but possibly within a few months,” said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the postulator or chief promoter of the archbishop’s sainthood cause. Speaking to reporters Feb. 4, the day after Pope Francis formally…

February 4, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — What the president of The Catholic University of America called a “three-continent endeavor” has resulted in an agreement by the university in Washington and the Australian Catholic University to share a campus in Rome. Called the Rome Center, it is located about a mile from the Vatican. John Garvey,…

February 4, 2015 CHICAGO (CNS) — Doctors have exhausted all options in Cardinal Francis E. George’s cancer treatment and have moved on to palliative care. The cardinal shared that information with news media during a Jan. 30 news conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, following a luncheon where he received the Knights of…

February 3, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — If you think somebody’s famous because they’ve written scads of books on spirituality, traveled the world speaking about God’s love, and have 150,000 people on a daily email list for meditations, then brace yourself for when that person sits down for a televised face-to-face interview with Oprah Winfrey. “That…

February 3, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After decades of debate within the church, Pope Francis formally recognized that Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed “in hatred of the faith” and not for purely political reasons. Pope Francis signed the decree Feb. 3, recognizing as martyrdom the March 24, 1980, assassination of Archbishop Romero in…

February 3, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Bringing the light of hope to ending human trafficking means confronting the brutal “darkness” of evil that is driving those who exploit others, said a number of women religious helping victims. Already “thousands and thousands of us are working in networks across the world to dispel this darkness,…

February 3, 2015 Franciscan Sister Michaea Byron, 87, a Franciscan Sister of the Congregation of Our Lady of Lourdes, Rochester, Minn., died at Assisi Heights on Sunday, Feb. 1. A prayer service, followed by visitation will be at 9 a.m. Feb. 6. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Archbishop Harry Flynn at…

February 1, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Violence against women, cultural pressures regarding women’s physical appearance, attitudes that subjugate women or that ignore male-female differences and the growing alienation of women from the church in some parts of the world are themes the Pontifical Council for Culture is set to explore. The council has chosen…

February 1, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A pivotal moment in the modern history of the Catholic Church came to life on screen with a new documentary about the Second Vatican Council. With archival footage and exclusive interviews with prelates who attended the council sessions between its opening in 1962 and closing in 1965, the…

January 31, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — When the Supreme Court weighs in on the constitutionality of the lethal- injection executions in Oklahoma this year, its ruling will not likely be a tipping point in eliminating capital punishment in the U.S., but some experts say it could be the beginning of the end of this practice….

January 29, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Francis celebrates the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in June, he will set aside an element that has been part of the Mass for the past 32 years; the Vatican confirmed he will not confer the pallium on new archbishops during the liturgy. Msgr. Guido…

January 29, 2015 Principal Erin Hatlestad’s commitment to core values, innovation and steadfast leadership have earned her a national education award By Kristi Anderson The Visitor Nearly every afternoon, Principal Erin Hatlestad stands on the playground behind St. Katharine Drexel School in St. Cloud and helps students pile into cars to head home with their…

January 28, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina shared some anecdotes about his school days during a Jan. 27 event in Washington where he announced that a top goal for him in the new Congress is school choice and expanding access to quality education. At an event sponsored by the…

January 28, 2015 BEIRUT (CNS) — Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs called for an end to financing terrorists and suggested that borders be closed when necessary to prevent their movement. The leaders also appealed for the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, based on a long-standing proposal for a two-state solution…

January 28, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — At a House leadership news conference Jan. 27, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California announced a list of bills to combat human trafficking that he expected would pass the House of Representatives by week’s end. “Human trafficking affects so many of the vulnerable throughout the world,” said McCarthy, so…

January 28, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When their lives are all work and no play, men turn their children into “orphans” who lack a father to guide them, show them love and teach them values, Pope Francis said. “They are orphans in a family because their fathers are often absent, also physically, from home,…

January 27, 2015 WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — Catholic leaders joined in commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where 1.2 million mostly Jewish prisoners were killed by the Nazis during World War II. “When we ask how God was present in the hell of Auschwitz, we must remember God’s…

January 27, 2015 SIOUX CITY, Iowa (CNS) — Micah Herbst of Sioux City does not have a son on the football team at Bishop Heelan Catholic High School. But her quick eye — that caught a contest through her employer — resulted in the Sioux City school being one of 10 high schools in the…

January 27, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — From Alaska to Hawaii and dozens of locations in between, pro-life advocates participated in marches, rallies and prayer services marking the Jan. 22 anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion virtually on demand. On Jan. 24, people gathered for an interdenominational prayer service…

January 27, 2015 AINKAWA, Iraq (CNS) — One of Iraq’s Christians chased out of her historic homeland quietly prayed the rosary as a bishop who traveled halfway around the world to meet her and others displaced celebrated Mass for them. “It’s a journey of encountering God, the poor and the dispossessed,” Bishop Oscar Cantu, chairman…

January 27, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians are united in bloodshed as they suffer from violence and persecution in various parts of the world, Pope Francis told Christian leaders. Today’s martyrs are men and women, who through their witness to Jesus, are “persecuted and killed because they are Christian,” the pope said Jan. 25…

January 26, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A Jan. 21 report from the National Right to Life Committee and new poll results show that abortion is increasingly unpopular in the United States, but also that the number of abortions performed in the United States is at its lowest point since 1975. The day after the State…

January 26, 2015 BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (CNS) — It is not an overtly “religious” film. Other than a brief funeral scene inside of a church early in the film, there is no mention of God, or of a particular faith or religion. And yet, “Black or White” is, according to its makers and stars, clearly…

January 24, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Writing to the 20 new cardinals he will create in February, Pope Francis said they should graciously accept that their friends, family and faithful will want to celebrate, but they also should ensure that the celebrations are not exaggerated. “As good Christians, they will celebrate because Christians rejoice…

January 24, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — On a chilly and cloudy morning on the National Mall in Washington, crowds gathered Jan. 22 for the annual March for Life, this year marking the 42nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion virtually on demand. Tens of thousands gathered first to hear…

January 23, 2015 PHOENIX (CNS) — Catholic Charities of Arizona is preparing to serve an increased number of sex-trafficking victims arrested by local police in the days surrounding Super Bowl Sunday. “People who are controlling sex-trafficked women are opportunistic,” said Jon McCaine, a clinical psychologist and consultant for Catholic Charities’ Dignity program for victims of…

January 23, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Scientific advancements in imaging technology, genetics and nano research have allowed museums to make new and surprising discoveries about the tightly wrapped mysteries of ancient mummies. The Vatican Museums also have been employing the latest state-of-the-art laboratory tools and tests to find out more about the ancient mummies…

January 23, 2015 OXFORD, England (CNS) — Pope Francis plans to visit the Central African Republic late this year in an effort to end two years of intercommunal violence, the vice president of the country’s bishops’ conference confirmed. Bishop Nestor-Desire Nongo Aziagbia of Bossangoa told Catholic News Service Jan. 22 that the pope “responded positively”…

January 23, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While people must be honest and specific about their sins when they go to confession, they will miss the sacrament’s key grace if they are “completely mechanical” about listing their sins, Pope Francis said. Confession is not a time for judgment, but for an encounter with the merciful…

January 23, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — They had come from across the country, a crowd of about 10,000 strong, mostly teens and young adults, filling the DC Armory for a Youth Rally & Mass for Life sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington for out-of-town participants attending the Jan. 22 March for Life. The archdiocese also…

January 22, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — After members of the U.S. House scuttled plans Jan. 22 to vote on a measure to prohibit abortion after 20 weeks, they passed a bill to restrict taxpayer funding of abortion. Called the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, or H.R. 7, it applies the principles of the Hyde…

January 22, 2015 CHICAGO (CNS) — Chicago’s new archbishop told the crowd gathered for the March for Life Chicago Jan. 18 that the pro-life movement wants “to make sure that everybody has a place at the table.” “It’s not about criticizing or judging or condemning, it’s about accompanying one another because that’s what life is…

January 22, 2015 ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CNS) — After a decade as president of Catholic Charities USA, Father Larry Snyder planned to step down Jan. 31 and return to his beloved Minnesota. On Feb. 2, he was to become vice president for mission at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. At Catholic Charities USA…

January 21, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — In his Jan. 20 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama hit on numerous themes that resonated with Catholic advocates for social justice issues. Among the items included in Obama’s policy agenda in the president’s annual speech before a joint session of Congress were what Father Larry Snyder,…

January 21, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — A group of Catholic leaders urged fellow Catholics in Congress to set aside “partisan bickering” and support the U.S. bishops’ efforts on behalf of a comprehensive immigration reform, calling it a sanctity of life issue and an important step in building a culture of life. “Our nation’s inhumane and…

January 21, 2015 WASHINGTON (CNS) — In a public address in Washington Jan. 20, Carly Fiorina, former business executive and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, spoke out about issues relating to the sanctity, science and support of human life. The event was titled “Welcoming Every Life: Choosing Life After an Unexpected Prenatal Diagnosis” and…

January 21, 2015 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Families who have lots of children do not cause poverty, Pope Francis said. The main culprit is “an economic system that has removed the human person from its focus and has placed the god of money” as its priority instead, he said Jan. 21. The pope dedicated his…

January 19, 2015 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Pope Francis stressed that, despite church doctrine against contraception, Catholics fail to practice “responsible parenthood” when they have too many children. He also denounced the teaching of “gender theory” in schools, likening it to indoctrination of children by the Nazis and fascists. The…

January 19, 2015 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Pope Francis said his September trip to the U.S. will take him to Philadelphia, New York and Washington — where he intends to canonize Blessed Junipero Serra — but probably no other stops. Pope Francis made his remarks Jan. 19, in an hourlong…

January 19, 2015 MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — New situations are opportunities to learn new things, even about the 78-year-old Pope Francis. After two days of watching the pope tenaciously keep his appointments in the Philippines despite pouring rain Jan. 17-18, one lesson is that the papal wardrobe needs to be expanded to include rain gear….

January 18, 2015 MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Pope Francis told a crowd of at least 6 million gathered in a Manila park to protect the family “against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture.” The pope’s homily at the…

January 18, 2015 MANILA, Philippines (CRS) — After praying publicly at a youth gathering for the repose of the soul of a Catholic Relief Services worker killed the previous day, Pope Francis met Jan. 18 with her father and her maternal uncle. Kristel Padasas, 27, of Manila, who worked with a recovery project for victims…

January 17, 2015 TACLOBAN, Philippines (CNS) — Fourteen months after Typhoon Haiyan devastated much of the central Philippines, Pope Francis braved a tropical storm to encourage survivors in their ongoing work of recovery. The weather forced him to leave the area hours ahead of schedule, so he made up for reduced contact with words and…

January 17, 2015 TACLOBAN, Philippines (CNS) — Among more than 100,000 people who braved an approaching tropical storm and waited long hours to attend Mass with Pope Francis Jan. 17 were survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. John Tumama, 18, was shivering after being on the grounds near Tacloban airport for almost 18 hours. Between fits of…

January 17, 2015 ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced Jan. 16 that it is filing for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of Minnesota to settle clergy sexual abuse lawsuits. “I make this decision because I believe it is the fairest and most helpful…

January 16, 2015 Legislation would ensure information, support for parents of children with certain prenatally diagnosed conditions By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit As difficult as it was for Kelly and Justin Hodges to learn that their baby would be born with Trisomy 21, the information and support they received upon diagnosis and throughout the…

Choice in education, surrogacy, voting rights for ex-offenders among issues Minnesota Catholic Conference is focusing on this session By Joe Towalski The Visitor With the state House of Representatives switching to Republican control after last fall’s elections and the Senate and governor’s office still in DFL hands, one might expect a fair amount of gridlock…

January 16, 2015 For 15 years, generations of men, rural and urban, young and old, have attended the annual Catholic Men’s Conference. And, in the last five years, the committee that plans the day’s events noticed a shift — that the conference is attracting a much younger crowd. So the committee’s members wanted to choose…

January 16, 2015 Plans are rapidly coming together for Diocesan Ministry Day 2015, set for Aug. 31 at River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud. This year’s event will feature several speakers of national and international distinction as well as some changes from past years. “The day will have something for everyone,” said Linda Kaiser,…

January 15, 2015 MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Although it was not called a welcoming ceremony, Pope Francis was greeted by government and church officials and an exuberant crowd Jan. 15 at Manila’s Villamor Air Base. The pope arrived 13 minutes earlier than scheduled at the base near Manila’s international airport following a six-hour flight from…