Being Pro Life for October: The full-service work of Pregnancy Care Centers
By Bob Wurzelbacher “In the waiting room, there were so many other women in my same situation. They were crying. I asked the lady, ‘What do you do with the baby after the procedure?’ and she told me they just throw them away. And even though I wasn’t ready to …
Seize the Moment for October: Pope revises catechism teaching on death penalty
The Catechism reads a little differently now as of Aug. 1. The pope revised paragraph 2267 on capital punishment to read as follows: Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes …
With vampire novel, catechist hopes to ‘widen’ her readers’ souls
IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Ignatius Press By Denis Grasska SAN DIEGO (CNS) — “Worms out of undead eye sockets? Really, Eleanor?” That was the reaction that Eleanor Bourg Nicholson, director of religious education at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish in Charlottesville, Virginia, probably never expected to hear at the parish office. …
Top Vatican diplomat calls for universal abolition of death penalty
IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Anne Condodina VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Abolishing the death penalty worldwide would reflect the brave and hope-filled belief that crime can be dealt with without capital punishment and that a criminal should be given the chance to reform, a top Vatican diplomat told world leaders. …
A picture says a thousand words: Blessing of the new Columbaria within the Veteran section at Gate of Heaven Cemetery
Richard Kelly, archdiocesan CFO, (center, saluting) and Bishop Joseph Binzer attended a flag raising ceremony at Gate of Heaven Cemetery Sep. 4. The ceremony and blessing of the new columbaria within the Veteran section at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. Bugler, Larry DuPree, played “To the Colors” as the American …
Panel confronts church abuse crisis, urges laity to lead way forward
IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Dawn Eden Goldstein By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — A panel discussion Sept. 25 at Georgetown University on the current church crisis was akin to a very large parish town hall meeting. Panelists and audience members alike shared their pain, shock and complete frustration with recent allegations …
God’s love in charity exists even in most secularized places, pope says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — During times of freedom or persecution, the Gospel is needed to bring meaning, fullness and hope to life, Pope Francis said. Speaking about his Sept. 22-25 visit to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, the pope said he visited these …
Time to heal, restore unity, evangelize, pope tells Catholics in China
IMAGE: CNS photo/How Hwee Young, EPA By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The recent Vatican-China agreement on the nomination of bishops seeks the true good of the church, the promotion of preaching the Gospel in China and the re-establishment of the church’s full and visible unity, Pope Francis said …
Photo Essay: Prayer of Thanksgiving for Maribel Trujillo Diaz
Witness from Mairbel Trujillo Diaz More than anything, first of all, I want to thank my God for being here with my family and all of you. If anyone asks me how a spent those long months apart from my family, I would say “in prayer”. When I arrived at …
On plane, pope discusses sex abuse, corruption of cover-up, China pact
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ROME (CNS) — The Catholic Church has grown in its understanding of the horror of clerical sexual abuse and of the “corruption” of covering it up, Pope Francis said. Returning to Rome from a trip Sept. 22-25 to …