Pope to formally approve canonizations, including of Fatima seers
IMAGE: CNS By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis and cardinals present in Rome will formally approve the canonizations of two of the children who saw Mary in Fatima, a large group of Brazilian martyrs, three child martyrs from Mexico and two priests. The Vatican announced April 11 …
Bishops back bill to let agencies opt out of adoption for same-sex couples
By WASHINGTON (CNS) — Three bishops, in a joint letter to the measure’s sponsor, voiced their support of the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, which would permit social service agencies to refuse on religious grounds to provide adoption or foster services for households headed by same-sex couples. The bishops, who …
Bishops back bill to let agencies opt out of adoption for same-sex couples
By WASHINGTON (CNS) — Three bishops, in a joint letter to the measure’s sponsor, voiced their support of the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, which would permit social service agencies to refuse on religious grounds to provide adoption or foster services for households headed by same-sex couples. The bishops, who …
CNEWA head: Next few months will decide Christians’ fate in scarred Iraq
IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy John E. Kozar By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — The next few months will determine whether Iraqi Christians can return to their homes in areas where Islamic State had been routed, according to Msgr. John E. Kozar, international president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Msgr. …
Via Crucis: French woman’s meditations highlight victory of love
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A French biblical scholar not only wrote the meditations to guide Pope Francis’ 2017 celebration of the Via Crucis at Rome’s Colosseum, she also designed her own set of Bible-based Stations of the Cross. Pope Francis asked Anne-Marie Pelletier to share her reflections …
Peruvians carve life-size Way of the Cross for new Las Vegas parish
IMAGE: CNS photo/Barbara Fraser By Barbara J. Fraser HUARAZ, Peru (CNS) — A grim-faced Pontius Pilate stares straight ahead, while Jesus, bound with rope, stands beside him, head down. Jesus turns a tortured face heavenward as he falls for the first time under the weight of a stone cross. Mary …
Egypt’s attacks won’t stop pope’s visit for peace, says Vatican official
By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Despite recent and repeated terrorist attacks against Egypt’s minority Christian communities, Pope Francis will not cancel his visit to Egypt. “The pope’s trip to Egypt proceeds as scheduled,” Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman, told Catholic News Service by email April 10. The pope is …
Pope gives youths three missions before synod, World Youth Day
By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — On the eve of Palm Sunday, Pope Francis gave young people several missions: to ask their grandparents what their dreams were; to work to make those dreams reality; and to let their bishops and the pope himself know what they need from the church. …
President of U.S. Bishops Conference Responds to the Palm Sunday Explosions at Two Coptic Churches
WASHINGTON—Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has issued the following statement in response to explosions on Palm Sunday at two Coptic Christian churches in Egypt that have killed at least 40 and injured at least 100: “In the early hours of Palm Sunday, …
Love Jesus in all who suffer, pope says on Palm Sunday
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Jesus does not ask that people only contemplate his image, but that they also recognize and love him concretely in all people who suffer like he did, Pope Francis said. Jesus is “present in our many brothers and sisters who …