Christmas comes with pain but hope for displaced families in Iraq
IMAGE: CNS photo/Oscar Durand By Oscar Durand IRBIL, Iraq (CNS) — Habiba Daud remembers Christmas in Qaraqosh as beautiful. The festivities would start days before with the preparation of traditional food and desserts. Families celebrated around a large Christmas tree. On Christmas her family and friends gathered to enjoy the …
Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
NEW YORK — With “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (Disney) (PG-13), the most popular series in film history resurfaces after a 10-year hiatus. This is the seventh installment in the franchise as well as the first feature in a planned third trilogy. Like its predecessors, it’s essentially a family-friendly piece of entertainment, …
Advocates for migrants in Arizona, Sonora gather at border for ‘posada’
IMAGE: CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec By Nancy Wiechec NOGALES, Mexico (CNS) — Kenia Salas, about to play the role of Mary in a Christmastime commemoration popular across Mexico, said she imagines Mary as a woman of strength. “I think she was worried about her baby,” Salas, 17, said before participating in …
Seasonal checkup: Pope prescribes spiritual virtues to fight curial ills
IMAGE: CNS photo/Alberto Pizzoli, pool via Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — If Pope Francis sees the church as a field hospital after battle, then his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia often looks like the triage tent, with him holding the charts. Instead of a typical …
Marriage ruling said to leave unanswered questions for religious groups
IMAGE: CNS photo/Joshua Roberts, Reuters By Angela Cave NEW YORK (CNS) — There are still unanswered questions about the legal implications of June’s Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling, but analysts agree religious institutions face big challenges in the months and years to come. The landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges …
New ‘Star Wars’ villains not evil enough, says Vatican movie critic
IMAGE: CNS photo/Disney By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” broke box office records and restored a new hope in the franchise to the delight of fans worldwide with a few exceptions, including the Vatican’s newspaper. Emilio Ranzato, author and frequent movie critic for …
Number of refugees, displaced people at highest since World War II
IMAGE: REUTERS By Tom Tracy WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CNS) — The explosive global refugee crisis — likely the top debate-generating news story of 2015 — seems destined to dominate domestic and foreign politics for years to come at a time when Pope Francis has been calling for a compassionate …
Pope names U.S. layman as No. 2 in press office, promotes Irish prelate
IMAGE: CNS/Nancy Phelan Wiechec By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis appointed a U.S. media adviser as the vice director of the Vatican press office and an Irish prelate known for revolutionizing the Vatican’s approach to social communication as bishop and adjunct secretary of the Pontifical Council …
Catholic schools give in Christmas spirit
Catholic school students are always giving back. Here’s a look at three schools in the archdiocese that are getting into the Christmas spirit. To submit a photo and story from your school for possible inclusion on this site, please send press release and images here. Christmas reading with the Dominicans …
Fifty years later, Christmas carol still fits the times
The recording was soothing and stark at the same time but, almost 50 years ago, a particular recording of the Christmas classic “Silent Night/7 O’clock News,” captured the imaginations of many American teenagers. The recording was on the then-popular artists’ “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme,” album. Simon and Garfunkel was …
