FLATONIA, Texas (CNS) -- The birth of Raphael's Refuge in Flatonia is a supernatural story that parallels Mary's fiat: It exists because Mildred "Midge" Elam said yes to God. The refuge in the Diocese of Victoria, Texas, is a regional a monument to babies who have died.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Assuming the Supreme Court upholds Mississippi's law banning most abortions after 15 weeks in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Care, the future of the pro-life movement may depend on a move away from partisan politics, specifically a move away from an alignment with Republican politicians.
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CHALATENANGO, El Salvador (CNS) -- El Salvador's Jan. 22 beatifications of two priests and two lay companions highlight our Salvadoran church's example as a martyrial church. Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto, Nelson Rutilio Lemus, Manuel Solórzano all died for the same cause: the Gospel.
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PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- Ukrainian-American Catholics warn a Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border poses a grave threat not only to that nation, but to Europe and democracy itself. "It is a question of life or death for thousands, who will be massacred by an escalated invasion," said Archbishop Borys Gudziak, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. He said he expects 3 million to 6 million refugees to flee to Western Europe.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God is not frightened by people's sins, mistakes or failures, Pope Francis said. What God is afraid of is "the closure of our hearts -- this, yes, this makes him suffer -- he is frightened by our lack of faith in his love," the pope said Jan. 19 during his weekly general audience.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- It wasn't just his name that made Fame Academia distinctive. At the time of his death at age 93 Dec. 29, the Philippines-born Catholic was one of the few remaining witnesses to the Bataan Death March carried out by the Japanese military in the early days of World War II against U.S. and Filipino soldiers.
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Prominent leaders of the religious freedom movement introduced an organization they say will work to defend religious liberty and support political candidates at all levels of government who back the free practice of religion.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Supreme Court announced Jan. 14 that it would hear an appeal from a former high school football coach in Washington state who says his rights to freedom of speech and religionwere violated when he was fired in 2015 for praying on the football field after team games.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A federal appeals court sent a challenge to the Texas abortion law back to the state's Supreme Court Jan. 17. The decision leaves the law in place and is expected to delay action on reviewing a challenge to this law, which bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
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COLLEYVILLE, Texas (CNS) -- As the tense hours of a Jan. 15 hostage standoff situation unfolded at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, so too did an unbelievable manifestation of faith and community at nearby Good Shepherd Church, according to Franciscan Father Zachary Burns.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God likes to intervene behind the scenes and without fanfare, always ready to help and lift people up, Pope Francis said. "And then, if we are attentive to these 'signs,' we will be conquered by his love, and we will become his disciples," he said to visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square Jan. 16 for his Sunday Angelus address.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When the goal of Christian unity seems far off, "let us remind ourselves that we are making this journey not as those who already possess God but as those who continue to seek him," Pope Francis told members of an ecumenical pilgrimage from Finland.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a time when social networks can tend to divide people, Christian media must instead work to unite men and women, Pope Francis said. Meeting with a delegation from the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land in Rome to commemorate the 100th anniversary of their bimonthly magazine, "Terrasanta," the pope encouraged the group to continue to highlight stories of genuine brotherhood, especially, "the fraternity between Christians of churches and confessions that are unfortunately still separated, but which in the Holy Land are often already close to unity."
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged all people of goodwill to commemorate the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Jan. 17 holiday named for him by remembering "not only the justice he pursued, but how he pursued it."
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EASTON, Mass. (CNS) -- The Congregation of Holy Cross has appointed Valentina Culurgioni to be the new postulator for the sainthood cause of Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton. The congregation announced Jan. 12 that Culurgioni succeeds Andrea Ambrosi, a civil and canon lawyer in Rome, who retired as postulator.
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TRENTON, N.J. (CNS) -- In a joint statement Jan. 11, New Jersey's Catholic bishops unequivocally condemned the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act, an expansive abortion bill they said was passed with extraordinary haste by the state Senate and General Assembly a day earlier.
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WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- Two priests in Ukraine asked Western church leaders for support, especially in anticipation of a widely expected Russian invasion. "While our TV news shows tanks and army units deployed on our borders, the war in eastern Ukraine is continuing -- but the church in the West is saying little," said Msgr. Gregory Semenkov, chancellor of the Kharkiv-Zaporizhia Diocese.
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ROME (CNS) -- In the wake of a newspaper report revealing hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse in Spain, the country's bishops assured Pope Francis that every diocese has established a commission that will investigate allegations of abuse.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis approved "Pilgrims of Hope" as the motto for the Holy Year 2025. The motto aims to give a concise sense of the full meaning of the jubilee journey, Archbishop Rino Fisichella told Vatican News Jan. 13.
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BRAINTREE -- Almost two years have passed since the coronavirus prompted the closure of schools. Now, while the archdiocesan schools remain open and committed to in-person instruction, the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus is causing considerable challenges for the schools in matters of staffing and safety measures.
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BRAINTREE -- Dozens of parishes and collaboratives across the archdiocese are planning to hold Holy Hours for Life or similar pro-life events on the weekend of Jan. 21-23, bringing their communities together to pray for the unborn and for assistance in witnessing to the dignity of human life.
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BRAINTREE -- In response to the current surge of coronavirus cases, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley has extended the current mask mandate, which requires that face masks be worn at all public Masses in the archdiocese, including weddings and funerals. This measure, which went into effect on the weekend of Dec. 18-19 and was originally planned to expire on Jan. 17, will remain in place until March 3, the day after Ash Wednesday.
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On New Year's Eve, we gathered at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross with about 200 members of the pro-life and campus ministry communities for a midnight Mass. I have always had the custom of ending the year and beginning the year with the Eucharist. This year, particularly, being the year of the Eucharist, it was very meaningful to be able to do this.
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