All About Mary website makes knowledge of Virgin Mary accessible worldwide
How old was the Virgin Mary when she gave birth to Jesus? What were her last words in the Bible? How do you pray the Hail Mary in Swahili? The answer to those questions and more can be found on a newly redesigned website from the University of Dayton with …
Alternative Christmas carol echoes truth of the season
Once I’ve heard “We wish you a merry Christmas” and “Jingle Bells” a few too many times each year, I turn to a an old secular hit to get a break. As we’ve begun the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I’ve been thinking about this “alternative Christmas carol” in a new …
Pope to Vatican employees: Take care of your marriage, grandparents
IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Take care of your marriage and aging parents, play with your kids, and always make peace at the end of the day, Pope Francis told Vatican employees and their families. Try to live out the Year of Mercy every day …
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 …