IMAGE: CNS photo/Denis Grasska, The Southern Cross By Denis Grasska SAN DIEGO (CNS) — When Cassandra Bissainthe left Haiti for the United States some 17 years ago, it seemed unlikely that she would ever return. Political instability and economic insecurity were rampant in her homeland, and extreme poverty had driven …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Khalil Ashawi, Reuters By Dale Gavlak AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) — Christian activists warn that 1 million Syrian civilians will face certain slaughter in northwestern Afrin, where they allege Turkey and its militant allies have already carried out “war crimes” and “ethnic cleansing.” They have appealed to U.S. President …

Although we are still focused on the season of Lent, Easter will be here soon. You know what that means: it’s “open season” on the Resurrection. The History Channel will reveal a “secret Gospel” that contradicts Jesus’ rising from the dead. Atheists on Facebook will start posting memes about “Zombie …

Old St. Mary’s Church gives the neighborhood’s annual Bockfest some needed gravitas. An irreverent celebration of craft beer and German heritage, the festival gives more than a nod to the neighborhood’s past as a German Catholic enclave, as well as to the ongoing presence of Franciscan friars. But as the country’s only …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A good confessor is a good listener, Pope Francis said. By truly listening to the penitent during confession, “we listen to Jesus himself, poor and humble; by listening to the Holy Spirit, we put ourselves in attentive obedience, becoming listeners of the Word” …

We’re halfway through Lent this Sunday, which is known as Laetare Sunday or Rejoice! The THREE things about this Sunday is in this video

By Gail Finke After the extra chairs brought in to supplement the auditorium seating filled up, some stood in the back. Some sat on the windowsills or in the aisles. And while many went elsewhere after seeing that the eminent physicist’s lecture at the University of Cincinnati was full to …

Bilingual program aims to encourage a new generation of Catholics Laura Diaz made the trip from Northern Kentucky to the University of Dayton.  Her reason was simple. “I’m hoping to find God and find a closer encounter with him,” Diaz said. Diaz attends St. Henry District High School in Erlanger, …

Staffer Gail Finke headed to the Old St. Mary’s Bockfest fish fry — the historic parish’s only fish fry of the year — last Friday. Parishioners and Bockfest revelers packed the parking lot for almost two hours before the parade began, and until the fish ran out about an hour …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Daughters of St. Mary of Providence By Joseph Albino SYRACUSE. N.Y. (CNS) — In the nautical world, a “spar” is the straight pole used to support the sails and rigging of a ship. In the world of faith and the ministry of the Daughters of St. Mary …