Opinion

BERLIN — The European plazas where people would usually gather at crowded stalls to partake in hot mulled wine, gingerbread, sausages and other delicacies are just empty squares. Christmas markets, a cherished tradition in Germany and neighboring countries, have joined the long list of annual traditions that were canceled or diminished this year because of ... read more

MAIDGURI, Nigeria — Suspected members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram killed at least 40 rice farmers and fishermen while they were harvesting crops in Nigeria’s northern Borno State, officials said. The attack was staged Saturday in a rice field in Garin Kwashebe, a Borno community known for rice farming, on the day residents ... read more

CLEVELAND — The global pandemic and new limits on daily activities present a special time for a renewal of faith and the opportunity to deepen appreciation for Jesus in daily life, bishops across the country said in messages for the Advent season. This year as families are separated, several bishops said, Advent also can be ... read more

BERLIN — The year, the Christmas tradition of the Peace Light of Bethlehem continues, despite COVID-19 restrictions and border and church closures. In mid-November, the Austrian public broadcasting corporation, ORF, announced that the light had been lit from the oil lamp hanging over the 14-point star in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West ... read more

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — The Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico is cutting 20 positions and ending publication of its People of God magazine. Archbishop John C. Wester announced the layoffs in a letter to parishioners on Monday. “It is impossible to put into words just how much we are going to miss our ... read more

NEW ORLEANS — The sixth annual #iGiveCatholic Giving Day, which will benefit nearly 2,500 Catholic organizations in the United States, takes place Dec. 1 this year. “#iGiveCatholic offers communities across the country an opportunity to participate in #GivingTuesday in a way that specifically supports and celebrates Catholic parishes, schools and nonprofit ministries,” said Cory J. ... read more

ISLE DE PROVIDENCIA, Colombia — Laidy Betancourt now sleeps in a tent with her husband and 10-year-old son on the sanctuary floor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church (Nuestra Señora de los Dolores) on the tiny Caribbean Isle de Providencia. She, along with many of the island’s 5,000-plus residents, were left homeless after powerful Hurricane ... read more

WARSAW, Poland — Police blocked protesters from marching in Poland’s capital as demonstrations took place across the country against an attempt to restrict abortion rights and recent police violence. Police and protesters played a game of cat and mouse in Warsaw as officers set up cordons which the protesters sought to evade, pushing them to ... read more

ROME – Opening the Church’s season of Advent, Pope Francis celebrated Mass Sunday with a crop of new cardinals he elevated yesterday, warning against temptations of mediocrity and indifference and touting prayer and charity as the remedy. “Praying and loving, that is what it means to be watchful,” the pope said in his homily for ... read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Common Sense Media’s recurring survey of screen usage by our youngest children was issued Nov. 16. What shouldn’t be surprising is that children are using their screens more than ever, according to their parents. What should be surprising, however, is that all of their self-reporting took place before the coronavirus pandemic struck ... read more

ROME – Probably it should come as no surprise that reaction to Wednesday’s US Supreme Court decision granting an injunction against limits on public worship imposed by New York State was immediately swept up into the broader political fulcrum of 2020. After all, the governor who imposed those limits, Andrew Cuomo, is a liberal Catholic; ... read more

This Sunday, Christian believers begin the penitential season of Advent. The four-Sunday season is a time of preparation and purification, as the Church anticipates the annual celebration of the Lord’s Birth at Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. The season is also a time to recall that the Lord Jesus will return, and that all ... read more

ROME – On the eve of Advent, Pope Francis elevated 13 prelates from around the world to the rank of cardinal Saturday, telling them their new rank is not meant to propel them up the next rung on the ecclesial ladder, but is an invitation to follow the path of Jesus. Speaking during his Nov. ... read more

MUMBAI, India – A priest who was a pioneer of education in the Archdiocese of Bombay who died on Thursday was hailed as a “great educator and visionary” during his funeral Mass on Friday. Msgr. Nereus Rodrigues, 97, spent over 60 years in the archdiocese’s education apostolate and was the founder of St. Andrew’s College. ... read more

MIAMI — Catholic social teaching, “with its understanding of natural law,” can bridge the divisions that exist in U.S. society between religious adherents and secularists, said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami. Wenski portrayed the divide this way: “One side, the secularists, holds for a radical autonomy by which truth is determined not by the ... read more

BERLIN — The European plazas where people would usually gather at crowded stalls to partake in hot mulled wine, gingerbread, sausages and other delicacies are just empty squares. Christmas markets, a cherished tradition in Germany and neighboring countries, have joined the long list of annual traditions that were canceled or diminished this year because of ... read more

MAIDGURI, Nigeria — Suspected members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram killed at least 40 rice farmers and fishermen while they were harvesting crops in Nigeria’s northern Borno State, officials said. The attack was staged Saturday in a rice field in Garin Kwashebe, a Borno community known for rice farming, on the day residents ... read more

CLEVELAND — The global pandemic and new limits on daily activities present a special time for a renewal of faith and the opportunity to deepen appreciation for Jesus in daily life, bishops across the country said in messages for the Advent season. This year as families are separated, several bishops said, Advent also can be ... read more

BERLIN — The year, the Christmas tradition of the Peace Light of Bethlehem continues, despite COVID-19 restrictions and border and church closures. In mid-November, the Austrian public broadcasting corporation, ORF, announced that the light had been lit from the oil lamp hanging over the 14-point star in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West ... read more

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — The Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico is cutting 20 positions and ending publication of its People of God magazine. Archbishop John C. Wester announced the layoffs in a letter to parishioners on Monday. “It is impossible to put into words just how much we are going to miss our ... read more

NEW ORLEANS — The sixth annual #iGiveCatholic Giving Day, which will benefit nearly 2,500 Catholic organizations in the United States, takes place Dec. 1 this year. “#iGiveCatholic offers communities across the country an opportunity to participate in #GivingTuesday in a way that specifically supports and celebrates Catholic parishes, schools and nonprofit ministries,” said Cory J. ... read more

ISLE DE PROVIDENCIA, Colombia — Laidy Betancourt now sleeps in a tent with her husband and 10-year-old son on the sanctuary floor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church (Nuestra Señora de los Dolores) on the tiny Caribbean Isle de Providencia. She, along with many of the island’s 5,000-plus residents, were left homeless after powerful Hurricane ... read more

WARSAW, Poland — Police blocked protesters from marching in Poland’s capital as demonstrations took place across the country against an attempt to restrict abortion rights and recent police violence. Police and protesters played a game of cat and mouse in Warsaw as officers set up cordons which the protesters sought to evade, pushing them to ... read more

ROME – Opening the Church’s season of Advent, Pope Francis celebrated Mass Sunday with a crop of new cardinals he elevated yesterday, warning against temptations of mediocrity and indifference and touting prayer and charity as the remedy. “Praying and loving, that is what it means to be watchful,” the pope said in his homily for ... read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Common Sense Media’s recurring survey of screen usage by our youngest children was issued Nov. 16. What shouldn’t be surprising is that children are using their screens more than ever, according to their parents. What should be surprising, however, is that all of their self-reporting took place before the coronavirus pandemic struck ... read more

ROME – Probably it should come as no surprise that reaction to Wednesday’s US Supreme Court decision granting an injunction against limits on public worship imposed by New York State was immediately swept up into the broader political fulcrum of 2020. After all, the governor who imposed those limits, Andrew Cuomo, is a liberal Catholic; ... read more

This Sunday, Christian believers begin the penitential season of Advent. The four-Sunday season is a time of preparation and purification, as the Church anticipates the annual celebration of the Lord’s Birth at Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. The season is also a time to recall that the Lord Jesus will return, and that all ... read more

ROME – On the eve of Advent, Pope Francis elevated 13 prelates from around the world to the rank of cardinal Saturday, telling them their new rank is not meant to propel them up the next rung on the ecclesial ladder, but is an invitation to follow the path of Jesus. Speaking during his Nov. ... read more

MUMBAI, India – A priest who was a pioneer of education in the Archdiocese of Bombay who died on Thursday was hailed as a “great educator and visionary” during his funeral Mass on Friday. Msgr. Nereus Rodrigues, 97, spent over 60 years in the archdiocese’s education apostolate and was the founder of St. Andrew’s College. ... read more

MIAMI — Catholic social teaching, “with its understanding of natural law,” can bridge the divisions that exist in U.S. society between religious adherents and secularists, said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami. Wenski portrayed the divide this way: “One side, the secularists, holds for a radical autonomy by which truth is determined not by the ... read more