New Zika infection fears spark renewed debate on abortion, birth control
IMAGE: CNS photo/Leonardo Munoz, EPA By Tom Tracy WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CNS) — With a growing number of U.S. travelers returning from abroad with the Zika virus and with several cases of Zika-related microcephaly and birth defects reported in the U.S., the disease has inflamed the abortion debate domestically. …
Pope praises witness of 10 athletes on Refugee Olympic Team
IMAGE: CNS photo/Kai Pfaffenbach, Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a personal message addressed to each of the 10 members of the new Refugee Olympic Team, Pope Francis wished them success in their events and thanked them for the witness they are giving the world. Naming each …
5,600-plus sisters call for civility by candidates in presidential race
IMAGE: CNS photo James Lawler Duggan, Reuters By SILVER SPRING, Md. (CNS) — More than 5,600 U.S. religious sisters have signed a letter asking for civil discourse in the presidential campaign. The letter was to be sent Aug. 8 to the candidates of the Democratic, Republican, Green and Libertarian parties …
“Civilize It’ campaign and words as gold coins
Watching my father care for his father proved a chore for a pre-teen boy with his head full of kid thoughts and body full of kid energy. They did not speak much on those days when we went to pick up laundry and tidy up grandpa’s tiny apartment over Frenchie’s …
Biden called ‘counter-witness’ to church teaching for presiding at wedding
By WASHINGTON (CNS) — By officiating at a same-sex wedding, Vice President Joe Biden as a prominent Catholic politician has created confusion over church teaching on marriage and “the corresponding moral obligations of Catholics,” three U.S. bishops said Aug. 5. “Questions revolving around marriage and human sexuality are deeply felt …
At Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue, cardinal blesses Olympic torch
IMAGE: CNS photo/Lise Alves By Lise Alves RIO DE JANEIRO (CNS) — High above the city, beneath the statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio Cardinal Orani Tempesta blessed the Olympic torch, held by Brazil’s former Olympic volleyball player, Maria Isabel Barroso Salgado. “This is the moment for us to surpass …
The devil’s in the details: After-school Satan club seeks OK
IMAGE: CNS photo/www.thesatanictemple.com By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — It’s 3 p.m. Do you know where your children are? Parents, schools and school districts are paying even closer attention to after-school activities ever since a group called the Satanic Temple announced in early August that it plans to introduce after-school …
Vatican prepares ‘St. Teresa’ of Kolkata stamp
IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican will anticipate the canonization of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata with a special postage stamp, which will be released Sept. 2, two days before Pope Francis officially declares her a saint. The Vatican Philatelic …
Mercy, poor at center of Blessed Teresa’s canonization events
IMAGE: CNS photo/Michael Collopy By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The poor, the suffering and those who minister to them will be at the center of celebrations leading up to the canonization of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata at the Vatican. The main event — the canonization Mass — …
Father Jan Schmidt begins tenure as director of Pastoral Services
Father Jan K. Schmidt, formerly pastor of St. Margaret of York Parish in Twenty-Mile Stand (Loveland), joined the archdiocesan Central Offices on July 1 as director of the Department of Pastoral Services. The department includes the offices of African American Catholic Ministries, Campus Ministry, Evangelization, Family and Respect Life, Mission, …
