U.S. pilgrims to World Youth Day reflect new church demographics
IMAGE: CNS/Reuters By Tom Tracy WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CNS) — As the church in the U.S. has shown an increasing presence of Spanish-speaking Catholics, so will the tens of thousands of young people traveling to 2016 edition of World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. “There are more groups coming …
Archbishop Schnurr urges prayer for “end to hatred and division”
An email from Archbishop of Cincinnati Dennis M. Schnurr sent to priests on Friday urged prayer for an end to hatred and division in the wake of several high-profile acts of violence around the U.S. Referencing the “questionable” police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, as well as the attack on …
World Youth Day leaders tell pilgrims to prepare sensibly, spiritually
IMAGE: CNS/Nancy Wiechec By Colleen Dulle WASHINGTON (CNS) — As World Youth Day approaches, U.S. organizers offered tips on how pilgrims can prepare logistically, spiritually and even digitally. The largest U.S. group to attend a World Youth Day outside of North America, 30,000 American pilgrims plan to attend the July …
‘VatiLeaks’: Citing freedom of press, Vatican court acquits journalists
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A Vatican court, citing freedom of the press, acquitted two journalists who published confidential documents while their source, a Spanish monsignor, was sentenced to 18 months behind bars. Judge Giuseppe Della Torre, head of the tribunal of the Vatican …
Pope taps Chicago archbishop as member of Congregation for Bishops
IMAGE: CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Catholic New World By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has named Chicago Archbishop Blase J. Cupich a member of the Congregation for Bishops, the office that advises the pope on the nomination of bishops around the world. Archbishop Cupich, 67, takes the place …
‘Amoris Laetitia’ at three months: Communion question still debated
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Three months after the publication of Pope Francis’ exhortation on marriage and family, bishops and bishops’ conferences around the world are studying practical ways to apply it. Some still disagree on what exactly the pope meant. In the first week …
Throwback Thursday: The Great Flood of 1913
In the spring of 1913 a massive storm stretching from Nebraska to Michigan to Vermont made its way across the country. Tornadoes in the Great Plains claimed several lives and was then soon followed by heavy rainfall. The storm’s scale of destruction had never before been seen in the United …
Pope meets parents of U.S. student found dead in Rome
IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Meeting the grieving parents of a U.S. student who was found dead in Rome, Pope Francis mourned the death of the teenager, who had been set to begin a study-abroad program. Beau Solomon, 19, was found dead in the Tiber …
Italians finish restoring mosaics in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity
IMAGE: CNS/Debbie Hill By Judith Sudilovsky BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) — An Italian team has completed restoration of Crusader-era mosaics in the Church of the Nativity, but the mosaics will only be unveiled publicly after work on lighting, electricity and the fire alarm system is also finished. The work involved …
Pray for those who scorn, take advantage of you, pope tells poor
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pray for those responsible for extreme poverty, for the rich who feast unaware of people in need at their door, and for priests who ignore those who are hurting, Pope Francis told people living a precarious existence. Say a prayer …