Legacy of 1986 peace gathering lingers in Assisi
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves ASSISI, Italy (CNS) — Religious leaders celebrating the 30th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s Assisi interfaith peace gathering in 1986 called on people from around the world to continue its legacy to combat today’s indifference and violence. The event Sept. 18-20 was …
Best way to fight terrorism is to warmly welcome refugees, pope says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Nikos Arvanidtis, EPA By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Offering migrants and refugees truly helpful and loving hospitality is the greatest guarantee against terrorism, Pope Francis said. The current refugee and migration crisis, with more than 65 million people forcibly displaced from their homes, has become “the …
Mercy must be Vatican diplomats’ secret code, pope says
IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A nuncio is not simply a “diplomat in a (priest’s) collar,” but must truly be a priest and bishop who listens, supports and serves as a channel of God’s mercy, Pope Francis said. Spending much of the day Sept. 17 …
Pope highlights sanctity of life in Year of Mercy visits
IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis donned a green hospital gown over his white cassock and entered the neonatal unit of a Rome hospital, peering in the incubators, making the sign of the cross and encouraging worried parents. The trip to the babies’ ward …
CRS announces agency veteran as new CEO
IMAGE: CNS photo/Philip Laubner, CRS By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) A six-month search for a new president and CEO for one of the largest humanitarian relief agencies in the world ended at its doorstep, with Catholic Relief Services announcing Sept. 16 that it is hiring a veteran employee — …
Cardinal says group’s ‘deceptive’ ads promote abortion as ‘a social good’
By WASHINGTON (CNS) — Ads appearing around the country “calling for taxpayer funding of abortion in the name of the Catholic faith” are “deceptive,” “extreme” and promote “abortion as if it were a social good,” said New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan. The abortion advocacy organization Catholics for Choice placed …
Pope urges Christians to believe in the ‘logic’ of the resurrection
By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians are called to believe in the logic of the resurrection of the body and not succumb to heresies that reduce it to a mere spiritual experience, Pope Francis said. When looking toward the future, the uncertainty about what happens after death …
Benedictines say their fresh-baked spice cookies have ‘heavenly’ scent
IMAGE: CNS photo/Katie Breidenbach By Katie Breidenbach FERDINAND, Ind. (CNS) — The aroma of fresh-baked spice cookies fills the monastery bakery in Ferdinand. The Sisters of St. Benedict claim this scent is truly “heavenly,” and with good reason. A saint wrote the recipe. “It is attributed to St. Hildegard,” explained …
Pray for both sides on election day 2016

Members of the archdiocesan central office staff recently attended a workshop that featured an extensive session on prayer. I’ll never pretend to be a theologian but I have navigated tough situations and times over many years on instinct. That alone tells me that the Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11 should …
St. Columbkille Parish celebrates 150th anniversary

Father John O’Donoghue saddled his horse outside his home church in Morrow and began to make frequent visits to Wilmington — the Quaker-founded seat of Clinton County. A group of Irish farmers had requested a priest come to say Mass and eventually Father O’Donoghue fulfilled their wish on a more …