Opinion

ROME — Sometimes the political choices people face can seem like a choice between supporting a “snake” or supporting a “dragon,” but Pope Francis told a group of U.S. bishops their job is to step back from partisan politics and help their faithful discern based on values, said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. Meeting the bishops of Texas, Oklahoma ... read more

ROME — Pope Francis condemned the “barbaric resurgence” of anti-Semitism and criticized the selfish indifference that is creating the conditions for division, populism and hatred. “I will never tire of firmly condemning every form of anti-Semitism,” the pope told a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles that combats hate and ... read more

PHILADELPHIA — A shuttered 19th century Philadelphia church threatened with demolition may be getting a new lease on life following a sale to a New Jersey developer who said he hopes to save the stone building by turning it into offices. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia last week confirmed the sale of Saint Laurentius in Fishtown, which neighbors and former parishioners ... read more

FRANKFURT, Germany — Catholic leaders in Germany have compiled responses from lay Catholics in areas related to who holds power in the Church, sexual morals, the role of priests and the place of women in church offices in preparation for an upcoming synodal assembly to debate church reforms. More than 940 suggestions and questions had been submitted by early January ... read more

ROME — Pope Francis said he hoped that an international summit in Berlin would be the first step toward peace in war-torn Libya. “I very much hope that this summit, which is so important, will be the start of a path toward an end to violence and a negotiated solution leading to peace and the much-desired stability of the country,” ... read more

ROME — Accompanied by priests and seminarians from their dioceses, the bishops of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas knelt before the tomb of St. Peter after chanting the Creed in Latin. The profession of faith Jan. 20 was a formal, obligatory part of their visit ad limina apostolorum — to the threshold of the apostles — but also a response to ... read more

Virtually nobody likes to talk about dying or wants to imagine themselves lying on their deathbed. But that reluctance deprives us of opportunities to have some really important discussions, said Father Jeffrey Kirby. “I tell people, ‘Look, it can be awkward, but sit down and have these conversations,'” said Father Kirby, 44, a priest of the Diocese of Charleston, South ... read more

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, New York, is the latest Church leader in the United States to find himself under investigation for allegations that he sexually abused minors. On Jan. 7, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith instructed Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the metropolitan in New York State, to launch a canonical investigation of Bishop ... read more

WASHINGTON (CNS) — While the United States has “come a long way” in addressing racism and injustice, much more remains to be accomplished to achieve the dream of “the beloved community” envisioned by the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles urged the country ... read more

Question: I can’t understand the passage where St. Paul says, “In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church” (Col 1:24). How can anything be lacking, and what would it be? — Chester Martin, New Orleans Answer: When Christ suffered on the cross, the whole ... read more

FALL RIVER, Mass. — Two retired Catholic priests in Massachusetts have been suspended amid separate allegations of sexual abuse. The Diocese of Fall River said Sunday that Fathers James Buckley and Edward Byington have been accused of abusing minors decades ago. The diocese didn’t specify the nature of the abuse other than to say they are separate, unrelated claims and ... read more

LYON, France — One of the first people to notice Bernard Preynat’s unhealthy obsession for young boys was the supervisor at the seminary where, still a teen, the future priest started training for his career in the church. “At 14, 15 years old, I became interested in the youngest boys and the supervisor summoned me to tell me that I ... read more

WINSLOW, Maine — A Catholic school in Maine announced it will close at the end of this school year due to financial struggles and shrinking enrollment, school officials said. Officials at St. John Catholic School in Winslow sent a letter last week announcing the school would be closing after 92 years, the Morning Sentinel reported. “The sad truth is that ... read more

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Accompanied by priests and seminarians from their dioceses, the bishops of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas knelt before the tomb of St. Peter after chanting the Creed in Latin. The profession of faith Jan. 20 was a formal, obligatory part of their visit “ad limina apostolorum” — to the threshold of the apostles — but also a ... read more

WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Donald Trump said Jan. 16 his administration is issuing nine proposed rules to ensure the nation’s faith-based service providers and organizations are not discriminated against by federal agencies’ regulations or in their grant-making processes because of religion. The agencies affected include Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Labor, Agriculture, Education, Justice, Homeland Security, and International ... read more

ROME — Sometimes the political choices people face can seem like a choice between supporting a “snake” or supporting a “dragon,” but Pope Francis told a group of U.S. bishops their job is to step back from partisan politics and help their faithful discern based on values, said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. Meeting the bishops of Texas, Oklahoma ... read more

ROME — Pope Francis condemned the “barbaric resurgence” of anti-Semitism and criticized the selfish indifference that is creating the conditions for division, populism and hatred. “I will never tire of firmly condemning every form of anti-Semitism,” the pope told a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles that combats hate and ... read more

PHILADELPHIA — A shuttered 19th century Philadelphia church threatened with demolition may be getting a new lease on life following a sale to a New Jersey developer who said he hopes to save the stone building by turning it into offices. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia last week confirmed the sale of Saint Laurentius in Fishtown, which neighbors and former parishioners ... read more

FRANKFURT, Germany — Catholic leaders in Germany have compiled responses from lay Catholics in areas related to who holds power in the Church, sexual morals, the role of priests and the place of women in church offices in preparation for an upcoming synodal assembly to debate church reforms. More than 940 suggestions and questions had been submitted by early January ... read more

ROME — Pope Francis said he hoped that an international summit in Berlin would be the first step toward peace in war-torn Libya. “I very much hope that this summit, which is so important, will be the start of a path toward an end to violence and a negotiated solution leading to peace and the much-desired stability of the country,” ... read more

ROME — Accompanied by priests and seminarians from their dioceses, the bishops of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas knelt before the tomb of St. Peter after chanting the Creed in Latin. The profession of faith Jan. 20 was a formal, obligatory part of their visit ad limina apostolorum — to the threshold of the apostles — but also a response to ... read more

Virtually nobody likes to talk about dying or wants to imagine themselves lying on their deathbed. But that reluctance deprives us of opportunities to have some really important discussions, said Father Jeffrey Kirby. “I tell people, ‘Look, it can be awkward, but sit down and have these conversations,'” said Father Kirby, 44, a priest of the Diocese of Charleston, South ... read more

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, New York, is the latest Church leader in the United States to find himself under investigation for allegations that he sexually abused minors. On Jan. 7, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith instructed Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the metropolitan in New York State, to launch a canonical investigation of Bishop ... read more

WASHINGTON (CNS) — While the United States has “come a long way” in addressing racism and injustice, much more remains to be accomplished to achieve the dream of “the beloved community” envisioned by the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles urged the country ... read more

Question: I can’t understand the passage where St. Paul says, “In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church” (Col 1:24). How can anything be lacking, and what would it be? — Chester Martin, New Orleans Answer: When Christ suffered on the cross, the whole ... read more

FALL RIVER, Mass. — Two retired Catholic priests in Massachusetts have been suspended amid separate allegations of sexual abuse. The Diocese of Fall River said Sunday that Fathers James Buckley and Edward Byington have been accused of abusing minors decades ago. The diocese didn’t specify the nature of the abuse other than to say they are separate, unrelated claims and ... read more

LYON, France — One of the first people to notice Bernard Preynat’s unhealthy obsession for young boys was the supervisor at the seminary where, still a teen, the future priest started training for his career in the church. “At 14, 15 years old, I became interested in the youngest boys and the supervisor summoned me to tell me that I ... read more

WINSLOW, Maine — A Catholic school in Maine announced it will close at the end of this school year due to financial struggles and shrinking enrollment, school officials said. Officials at St. John Catholic School in Winslow sent a letter last week announcing the school would be closing after 92 years, the Morning Sentinel reported. “The sad truth is that ... read more

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Accompanied by priests and seminarians from their dioceses, the bishops of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas knelt before the tomb of St. Peter after chanting the Creed in Latin. The profession of faith Jan. 20 was a formal, obligatory part of their visit “ad limina apostolorum” — to the threshold of the apostles — but also a ... read more

WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Donald Trump said Jan. 16 his administration is issuing nine proposed rules to ensure the nation’s faith-based service providers and organizations are not discriminated against by federal agencies’ regulations or in their grant-making processes because of religion. The agencies affected include Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Labor, Agriculture, Education, Justice, Homeland Security, and International ... read more