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National & World News
Bright lights, cool air protect Sistine Chapel from visiting hordes
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is not promising visitors to the Sistine Chapel more elbow room, but it is guaranteeing a cooler experience. Marking the year of the 450th anniversary of Michelangelo Buonarroti’s death, the Vatican Museums hope the brand new air conditioning system …
Cardinal announces school closures, mergers in Chicago Archdiocese
By Catholic News Service CHICAGO — In a major restructuring, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Oct. 29 that 14 elementary schools would be closed or merged at the end of the 2014-2015 academic year. “This restructuring is the result of our ongoing efforts to strengthen and support sustainable Catholic schools …
Halloween costumes that mock religious figures called disrespectful
By Rose Ybarra Catholic News Service BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Every October, many look forward to Halloween — the trick-or-treating, the parties and especially the costumes. Every Halloween, however, many also mock religious figures with their costume choices. Costumes for badly behaved nuns, rabbis, Muslims, priests, Catholic schoolgirls, Sikhs and Buddhist …
CRS manages ‘safe and dignified’ burials of Sierra Leone Ebola victims
By Bronwen Dachs Catholic News Service CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Burials that are dignified and safe are urgently needed for Ebola victims in West Africa, where corpses are frequently left unattended for days and then thrown into graves without ceremony, a U.S. church aid official said. “So many people …
R U texting in church? Put the phone down!
By Angela Cave Catholic News Service ALBANY, N.Y. — Entire families navigate their smartphones while sharing meals at restaurants. Students text in class. Parents take phone calls at their children’s sporting events and plays.
Pope Francis says Pope Benedict was a ‘great pope’
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Retired Pope Benedict XVI is a perfect example of how intellectual knowledge and scientific curiosity do not lead a person further from God, but can strengthen their love for God and for his human creatures, Pope Francis said. “Benedict XVI was …
Faith, kindness of slain U.S. journalist recalled at memorial Mass
By Donis Tracy Catholic News Service ROCHESTER, N.H. — Close to 1,000 of slain journalist James Foley‘s closest friends and family gathered at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church in Rochester for a memorial Mass to celebrate the life of a man whose life was taken by Syrian extremists …
Religious freedom deteriorating, but don’t despair, official says
CNA/EWTN News Although religious freedom conditions around the globe are worsening, Americans should see this fact as a cause for motivation rather than despair, said a leading scholar on the issue. “I wish that I could say there has been some improvement in the conditions of religious freedom in the …
Pope Francis calls for abolishing death penalty and life imprisonment
By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment, and denounced what he called a “penal populism” that promises to solve society’s problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice.