By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The world’s cardinals were to begin meetings at the Vatican March 4, and while onlookers are focused on who may be the next pope, the cardinals have business to deal with. Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa said the …

By Dan Andriacco For The Catholic Telegraph  Sister of Mercy Victoria Vondenberger, director of the archdiocesan Tribunal, grew up as the oldest child in her family, with four brothers and no sisters. “When I entered the community my brother Dan was in the first grade and told his friends that …

Ask a Bishop! Have you ever wondered what a bishop does all day? Are you curious about Archbishop Dennis M Schnurr or Bishop Joseph R. Binzer’s thoughts on a particular subject? What are their favorite memories of Pope Benedict XVI? What they do in their spare time? Now’s your chance …

By John Stegeman The Catholic Telegraph  Since the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI ended not in death, but abdication, the usual grieving and somber attitude of this particular period of sede vacante has been somewhat abated. Add to that a Catholic community more connected than ever through social media and …

Dear partners in the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, I write to you at this time to urge your generous participation in the 2013 Catholic Ministries Appeal in all our parishes. This year’s theme, prompted by our Holy Father’s call to renew and share …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After Pope Benedict XVI officially became pope emeritus, he ate dinner, watched the television news and strolled through the lake-view rooms of the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said he spoke March 1 with …

By Patricia McGeever  For The Catholic Telegraph  As social service agencies and nonprofits struggle to meet the needs of a growing number of people, one national organization with a local footprint is looking for more volunteers to serve them. The Ignatian Volunteer Corps  (IVC) has  12 volunteers locally who incorporate …

By John Stegeman The Catholic Telegraph When the papacy of His Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, ended at 8 p.m. Rome time Thursday, immediate changes took place in the digital realm. When the doors were closed at Castel Gandolfo, the 39 tweets sent out by Benedict XVI as @Pontifex were …

UPDATE: For more up to date information, visit Conclave Central.   Effective Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern, 8 p.m. in Rome, the papacy of Benedict XVI came to an end. With that, the Catholic Church entered a period of sede vacante. Sede vacante is Latin for “the seat being empty” …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service  CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy () — Pope Benedict XVI, who began his papacy describing himself as a “humble servant in the Lord’s vineyard,” described his retirement as a time of being a “simple pilgrim, who begins the last stage of his pilgrimage on this earth.” …