VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During a search for the remains of a young Italian woman missing for more than 30 years, workers discovered an enormous number of bones inside two ossuaries in a building next to a Vatican cemetery.
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MIAMI (CNS) -- Jesuit Father Pedro Cartaya remembers shaking hands with astronaut Neil Armstrong. On Aug. 5, 1969, the priest was in New York City, among the crowd waiting to see the parade for the Apollo 11 astronauts. As the vehicle with the astronauts came by, Father Cartaya was fortunate enough to quickly shake hands with the first human to walk on the moon. He told Armstrong, "Great job! God bless you."
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BALTIMORE (CNS) -- As apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori announced July 17 that in working with the diocese's finance council, he has directed a number of steps to strengthen financial stewardship and ensure proper checks and balances are enforced.
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MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Philippine church leaders said the filing of sedition charges against four Catholic bishops, three priests, and several government critics are "beyond belief." In mid-July, the police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group filed charges of inciting sedition, cyber libel, libel and obstruction of justice against more than 40 people, including the country's vice president and 35 members of the opposition.
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The church in Africa needs courageous Catholics who will become involved in the continent's challenges, said participants at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.
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Berlin, Germany, Jul 22, 2019 CNA.- Continuing a years-long trend, the Catholic Church in Germany saw a significant drop in membership this past year, losing more than 200,000 members in 2018. According to the German Bishops’ Conference, the Catholic Church in the country declined by 216,078 members last year. Protestant churches saw a similar drop, with 220,000 members leaving during that time period.
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Rome, Italy, Jul 20, 2019 CNA.- A little over 100 years ago, the Catholic Church’s first Filipino-born bishop died while on a visit to Rome. Now, a group of Filipino priests are on the hunt for his remains.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Spanish Cardinal Jose Estepa Llaurens, a former military bishop of Spain, died July 21 in Madrid. He was 93. Pope Francis, offering his condolences in a telegram July 22, praised the cardinal's "generous service to the church."
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to put an end to his country's eight-year-long conflict and seek reconciliation for the good of the nation and its vulnerable people.
Read moreBALTIMORE (CNS) -- Did Apollo 11 mission make Archbishop William D. Borders bishop of the moon? Although Archbishop Borders was the 13th archbishop of Baltimore, at one time he may have been the bishop of a larger territory -- much larger.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- News that officials in the Trump administration are considering "zeroing out" the number of refugees accepted by the United States brought an immediate outcry from the chairman of the U.S. bishops' migration committee and leaders of Catholic and other faith-based agencies that resettle refugees.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston announced July 19 sanctions from the Vatican -- including taking away the faculties of celebrating Mass -- against a former West Virginia bishop who stepped down last year under a cloud of allegations of sexual and financial misconduct.
Read moreMANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- Italian medics should be given a chance to help a London girl who British doctors believe should die, a bishop said. Tafida Raqeeb, 5, collapsed at home Feb. 9 after she developed a blood clot on her brain; she has been in a coma since.
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PEORIA, Ill. (CNS) -- As Bonnie Engstrom watched lifesaving measures being taken for her son, who had been born just moments before without a pulse or drawing breath, she asked for help from the person whose prayerful support she had sought throughout her pregnancy: Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
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WALTHAM -- St. Jude School in Waltham has announced that it will not reopen for the 2019-2020 academic year due to growing debt and shrinking enrollment. A letter was sent to members of the school community on July 11 to notify them of the school's closure. The letter was signed by Father Adrian Milik, administrator of St. Jude Parish, and Jane O'Connor, principal of St. Jude School.
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BRAINTREE -- While visiting the Archdiocese of Boston, Bishop Raymond Wickramasinghe, from the mission Diocese of Galle in Sri Lanka, sat down with the Pilot on June 27 to talk about his home, the missions, and the impact of the Easter attacks on churches in his country.
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BOSTON -- On July 10, Boston City Hall hosted a performance of "The Last Dream," a play written and performed by the children of Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders in collaboration with Boston Experimental Theatre.
Read moreBRAINTREE -- The Theological Institute for the New Evangelization (TINE) announced this week that sponsorship of the institute will shift from St. John Seminary to the archdiocese's Secretariat for Evangelization and Discipleship.
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BRAINTREE -- In keeping with an ecumenical tradition shared by Boston's Catholic and Greek Orthodox communities, Father Demetrios Tonias, dean of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England, participated in and spoke at a Mass at the Pastoral Center on June 28, the eve of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
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Regular readers will remember that, as I concluded my last post, I was in Rome for a meeting of the Council of Cardinals, and it was the eve of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the patronal feast of the city.
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As the Eritrean government continues to punish the Roman Catholic Church by closing down their hospitals and other medical facilities in the country, members of religious congregations are bearing the brunt.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, and named as his successor Father William M. Joensen, a priest in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa.
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HOUSTON (CNS) -- Upcoming space travel plans need to include living on the moon, similar to scientific habitats in the Arctic and Antarctica, said Gene Kranz, NASA's former flight director. "I believe we need a habitat on the moon just like we have scientists living at the North and South Poles," Kranz said, a parishioner at Shrine of the True Cross Catholic Church in Dickinson, Texas. "The challenge of a long-term facility and learning to use the resources of the moon is needed for scientific and economic objectives, not political reasons. It needs to be a world project."
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MANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- Four Irish bishops said abortion and same-sex marriage will be imposed on Northern Ireland after British politicians "hijacked" a bill intended for other purposes. In a direct appeal to Theresa May, the outgoing U.K. prime minister, the four Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland accused the government based in London of behaving recklessly after the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill was amended to extend abortion and gay marriage to the province before it was rushed through the Houses of Parliament.
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CROOKSTON, Minn. (CNS) -- The Diocese of Crookston announced July 17 it has reached a $5 million settlement with victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse. The settlement resolves 15 lawsuits for sexual abuse claims filed between April 2016 and May 2017 because of the Minnesota Child Victims Act. The legislation lifted the statute of limitations on abuse cases in Minnesota, opening a three-year window that allowed victims an opportunity to file civil claims even on cases alleged to have happened decades ago.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- For Giancarlo Bernini, a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, things are not always as they appear and that's a good thing because it is how he plans to make a living.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Chaldean Christians in northern Iraq are determined to continue their 2,000-year-long mission despite the near-deadly blow inflicted by Islamic State forces and new challenges from nongovernment militias, said a priest ministering in the region.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis appointed Matteo Bruni to serve as director of the Vatican press office, replacing Alessandro Gisotti, who had been serving as interim director since Dec. 31. The Vatican announced the appointment July 18. Bruni, 42, previously served as assistant to the director since 2013, helping organize and coordinate media presence and pools on papal trips.
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Paris, France, Jul 17, 2019 CNA.- France’s Parliament on Tuesday passed a bill on the rebuilding of Notre-Dame Cathedral— three months after a fire destroyed the church’s roof— even amid disagreement on the best way to proceed with the restoration.
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NEW YORK (CNS) -- St. Frances Xavier Cabrini took to heart Jesus' greatest commandment to love God and love one's neighbor by tending to those most in need -- children, the sick, orphans and "most of all" immigrants, said New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan July 13.
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CONCORD, N.H. (CNS) -- A group of Mercy sisters has been honored by the New Hampshire Coalition Against the Death Penalty for the key role they played in making New Hampshire the 21st state in the country to abolish the death penalty.
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HOUSTON (CNS) -- At the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, Jesuit Brother Robert Macke finds his work as the curator of meteorites for the Vatican Observatory -- formally founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII -- allows him to, as the Jesuit saying goes, "find God in all things."
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Washington D.C., Jul 16, 2019 CNA.- Citing disagreements with board leaders over whether Planned Parenthood should focus on health care or abortion advocacy, the organization’s president is stepping down.
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Denver, Colo., Jul 16, 2019 CNA.- Shortly before launching the third season of 13 Reasons Why, Netflix has announced that it is removing a scene depicting a graphic teen suicide from the show’s first season.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- Retired Maj. Gen. Mike Wiedemer was an aerospace engineering and ROTC student at the University of Notre Dame in July 1969 when Apollo 11 launched and Neil Armstrong took a "giant leap for mankind" by becoming the first man to walk on the moon.
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