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Philippine bishop reports receiving threat to convert to Islam
By Catholic News Service
Posted: 7/23/2008
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- A bishop in the southern Philippines reported receiving a letter threatening him with harm if he does not convert to Islam or pay "Islamic taxes."
Neurologist calls withholding hydration ’euthanasia by omission’
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/23/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Withholding artificial nutrition and hydration from a patient in a persistent vegetative state amounts to "euthanasia by omission," said the former president of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations.
Cardinal to Anglicans: Ignoring Christian tradition like Alzheimer’s
By Simon Caldwell
Posted: 7/23/2008
LONDON (CNS) -- A Vatican official told the world's Anglican bishops that ignoring Christian tradition and making decisions apart from the wider church are like degenerative diseases.
Pope tells Australians of God’s plan for creation, especially people
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/20/2008
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- In the longest-lasting and longest-distance trip of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to Australians and to young people from around the world about God's plan for all creation, but especially for people.
World Youth Day kicks off in Sydney with Mass, dancing, testimonies
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/18/2008
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- World Youth Day officially kicked off July 15 with an opening Mass celebrated by Sydney Cardinal George Pell before an estimated 140,000 people.
Pope urges Group of Eight to put needs of poor at forefront of summit
By Catholic News Service
Posted: 7/18/2008
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI urged world leaders from the Group of Eight to put the needs of the poor and weak at the forefront of their discussions.
Traditionalists say they’ve met Vatican’s deadline for reconciliation
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/18/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said it met the Vatican's deadline to respond to a memo outlining preliminary conditions for full reconciliation with the rest of the Catholic Church.
Pope gives palliums to archbishops, says church’s mission is to unite
By Carol Glatz
Posted: 7/18/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The mission of the Catholic Church is to overcome the divisions of the world and bring God's healing power, love and peace to all people, Pope Benedict XVI told new archbishops from more than 30 countries.
Study reveals perils of cohabitation
By Father John Flynn, LC
Posted: 7/18/2008
ROME (ZENIT) -- Living together before marriage is a very common practice for couples in many countries. Many defend it on the basis that it enables the future husband and wife to get to know each other better.
Former Colombian hostage makes pilgrimage to Lourdes sanctuaries
By Catholic News Service
Posted: 7/18/2008
LOURDES, France (CNS) -- Accompanied by her mother, sister and children, former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt made a pilgrimage to the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes less than two weeks after she was freed from years in captivity.
Pope says he will apologize to Australian victims of clergy sex abuse
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/18/2008
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO AUSTRALIA (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said he would apologize to Australian victims of clerical sex abuse and would talk to the world's young Catholics about the moral obligation to safeguard the environment.
Vatican regrets Church of England’s move toward women bishops
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/18/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican has expressed its disappointment with a July 7 decision by the Church of England, the mother church of the Anglican Communion, to move ahead with plans to allow the ordination of women bishops.
Pope opens year of St. Paul, says apostle should serve as model
By John Thavis
Posted: 7/18/2008
ROME (CNS) -- Joined by other Christian leaders, Pope Benedict XVI opened the year of St. Paul and said the apostle's courageous witness to the faith should serve as a model for contemporary Christians.
U.S. church official says Haiti desperately needs political stability
By Catholic News Service
Posted: 7/17/2008
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNS) -- Haiti desperately needs political stability so that jobs can be created to lift the poor out of a critical situation, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Policy.
Pope urges young people to respect life by safeguarding all creation
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/17/2008
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- Wonder and awe, tradition and novelty were combined July 17 as Pope Benedict XVI shared a 45-minute boat ride through Sydney Harbor, chatting with a handful of young people before formally addressing thousands of them.
Vatican diplomat tells WYD pilgrims Spirit guides them to God
By Dan McAloon
Posted: 7/16/2008
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- The Vatican's ambassador to Egypt told World Youth Day pilgrims that the Holy Spirit will guide them in their relationship with God and stick with them when they leave the international youth festival.
Scottish traditionalist group nears full communion with Vatican
By Carol Glatz
Posted: 7/16/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A traditionalist group based in northern Scotland is on the road toward establishing full communion with the Vatican.
Catholic officials seek permission to exhume Cardinal Newman’s body
By Simon Caldwell
Posted: 7/16/2008
LONDON (CNS) -- Catholic officials have applied for permission to exhume the body of a 19th-century cardinal whose cause for sainthood is expected to soon progress to beatification.
Anglican bishop expects new wave of converts to join Catholic Church
By Simon Caldwell
Posted: 7/10/2008
LONDON (CNS) -- A traditionalist Anglican bishop has called on the Catholic Church to accommodate a potential new wave of converts following the decision by the Church of England to allow the ordination of women bishops.
Pakistani church official says extremists using violence distort religion
By Catholic News Service
Posted: 7/10/2008
KARACHI, Pakistan (CNS) -- Extremists who use violence distort their religions, said the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Karachi following deadly bomb blasts in the city.
French church reps defend Lourdes rector against embezzlement claims
By Catholic News Service
Posted: 7/10/2008
URDES, France (CNS) -- French church representatives have rejected media claims that the rector of the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes, Father Raymond Zambelli, embezzled more than $670,000 in pilgrim donations.
U.S. nuns flock to Sydney as pilgrims, volunteers for World Youth Day
By Dan McAloon
Posted: 7/10/2008
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- The gathering of American sisters in Sydney's Hyde Park was a harbinger of things to come as Australia's largest city began to transform under the influx of hundreds of thousands of World Youth Day pilgrims.
Pope to spend three days of rest at Opus Dei-run center near Sydney
By Anthony Barich
Posted: 7/9/2008
PERTH, Australia (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI will spend his three days of rest prior to World Youth Day at a tranquil Opus Dei-run center surrounded by wombats, frilled-neck lizards and eucalyptus trees.
Vatican reports deficit for 2007, partly due to poor stock market
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/9/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After three years in the black, the Vatican reported a $14 million deficit for 2007, due mainly to the continued fall in the value of the U.S. dollar and the poor performance of the stock market.
Assisted suicide case ignites public outcry across Germany
By Brigitte Schmitt
Posted: 7/9/2008
MUNICH, Germany (CNS) -- Gertraud Haberl sat quietly, thinking about how Bettina Schardt, a 79-year-old retired medical technician from Bavaria, ended her life with the help of a well-known German attorney.
Spanish bishop criticizes bill that guarantees rights of monkeys
By Anna-Patrice Bitong
Posted: 7/9/2008
PALENCIA, Spain (CNS) -- A Spanish bishop has criticized a bill pending in Spain's Congress of Deputies that would extend human rights to monkeys and apes.
Focolare members elect close associate of founder as new president
By Catholic News Service
Posted: 7/8/2008
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Maria Voce, a longtime close collaborator of the late Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement, has been elected the new president of the movement.
Pope recognizes miracles attributed to missionary in Hawaii, others
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/3/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has authorized publication of a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Damien de Veuster of Molokai, clearing the way for his canonization.
Pope expresses joy upon hearing news of hostages released in Colombia
By Carol Glatz
Posted: 7/3/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI expressed joy upon hearing that hostages held by Colombian rebels had been freed after the Colombian army staged a bloodless military operation.
South African churches ask world not to recognize Mugabe presidency
By Bronwen Dachs
Posted: 7/2/2008
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- The South African Council of Churches has called on the international community not to recognize the presidency of Zimbabwe's longtime ruler, Robert Mugabe, who was sworn in for a sixth term after a runoff election in which he was the only candidate.
Body of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati arrives in Sydney for WYD
By Dan McAloon
Posted: 7/2/2008
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- The body of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati arrived in Sydney for World Youth Day 2008, marking the first time it has left Turin, Italy, since his 1925 death.
Jesuit priest reacts to deadly attack in Jerusalem
By Judith Sudilovsky
Posted: 7/2/2008
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Violent acts focus priests back on the need to pray for peace, a Jesuit priest said following an apparent terrorist attack in Jerusalem.
Pope’s message for World Peace Day 2009 to focus on combating poverty
By Cindy Wooden
Posted: 7/1/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's message for World Peace Day 2009 will focus on the connection between poverty and a lack of peace in the world, the Vatican said.
Via satellite video, pope urges Catholics to make world better
By Deborah Gyapong
Posted: 6/27/2008
QUEBEC CITY (CNS) -- The Eucharist is the church's "most beautiful treasure" and introduces the faithful to eternal life, Pope Benedict XVI said in his homily during the closing Mass of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress June 22.
Environmental exegesis: Two sets of commandments
By John Thavis
Posted: 6/27/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Anytime there's mention of a new Ten Commandments at the Vatican, journalists start salivating. So the buzz was high when a new "Decalogue for the Environment" was promised in early June.
Vatican official says ’Humanae Vitae’ defends freedom of women
By John Thavis
Posted: 6/27/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Although bitterly criticized as burdensome on Catholic couples when it was published in 1968, the encyclical "Humanae Vitae" has ended up defending the freedom of women and the fullness of married love, a top Vatican official said.
Vatican gives official recognition to the Neocatechumenal Way
By Jesus Colina
Posted: 6/20/2008
VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) -- The definitive approval of the Neocatechumenal Way’s statutes is a moment of joy, both for the ecclesial group and for the Church itself, said Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko.
Lambeth Conference: Time of reckoning for ecumenical dialogue
By John Thavis
Posted: 6/20/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- This summer's once-a-decade Lambeth Conference marks a potentially defining moment for the worldwide Anglican Communion and a time of reckoning for ecumenical dialogue.
Opponents say bullet train threatens famous Spanish basilica
By Anna-Patrice Bitong
Posted: 6/20/2008
BARCELONA, Spain (CNS) -- Planned construction of an underground bullet train threatens to destroy one of Spain's most spectacular tributes to God, say opponents of the train.
Australian bishops ask forgiveness, urge lapsed Catholics to return
By Anthony Barich
Posted: 6/20/2008
PERTH, Australia (CNS) -- The Australian bishops have undertaken a nationwide newspaper advertising blitz, inviting lapsed Catholics to return and asking for forgiveness for any hurt the church caused individuals in the past.
Bush, pope meet in Vatican Gardens for private talks, informal stroll
By Carol Glatz
Posted: 6/20/2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a cordial and festive visit to the Vatican, U.S. President George W. Bush met with Pope Benedict XVI in the lush Vatican Gardens for private talks, an informal stroll and a choral performance by the Sistine Chapel Choir.
Cardinal: Eucharistic congress helps Catholics examine life’s purpose
By Regina Linskey
Posted: 6/20/2008
QUEBEC CITY (CNS) -- When people pause and question the purpose of their lives, they "yearn for a spiritual answer," said Slovakian Cardinal Jozef Tomko at the opening Mass of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress.
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