Article Archive
Please click below to view any of the articles in our archive.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is celebrating the 47th anniversary of his priestly ordination on Tuesday 13th December. He will soon mark another milestone, when he turns 80 years old on Saturday 17th December. As this significant year comes to an end, we take a look back at some of the Pope’s highlights over the past twelve months, which include six overseas visits and the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.Susy Hodges spoke to John Allen, editor of Crux and author of nine books on Vatican and Church affairs, about what the legacy of the Pope’s activities and documents might be at the end of 2016. Mr Allen is one of the world’s leading Anglophone commentators on the papacy.Reflecting on the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Allen remarked that the Pope would probably call it the “peak moment” of his papacy, during which the message about the importance of mercy in the Church was revivified. He added that the call for every diocese around the world to s...
Vatican City, Dec 13, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Every day in the remote villages of Northeast India courageous priests and nuns are braving the elements of the wild – including tiger attacks and elephant stampedes – to bring the Good News to people who have yet to hear the name of Jesus.People in these “unreached” areas “are very attracted to a sense of relating in a very human way to a God who loves them and is present with them,” Msgr. John Kozar told CNA Dec. 7.Part of what makes this “missionary outreach” so important is the fact that the priests and sisters serving in the areas “heroically live in very crude conditions right with the people, in huts made of mud and cow dung, no plumbing and very little privacy.”“Even their meals are taken with the entire village outside in a common setting on the ground,” Msgr. Kozar said, explaining that the ministry carried out in these areas is primarily one &ldq...
Vatican City, Dec 13, 2016 / 04:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Saturday, Dec. 17, Pope Francis will celebrate his 80th birthday, which he will spend doing what he normally does: offering Mass and meeting with various heads of State and members of the Roman Curia.However, as a novelty of this year’s papal birthday festivities, the Vatican has invited faithful from around the world to send their well-wishes to the Pope through a special email address in different languages.According to a Dec. 13 communique from the Vatican, Francis will kick off his special day by offering Mass as usual. However, instead of the 7a.m. celebration in the Saint Martha Guesthouse, he’ll hold Mass inside the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace with all of the resident cardinals in Rome.The rest of the day business will proceed as usual, since Pope Francis has several meetings on his agenda.Among those he’ll meet are Marie Louise Coleiro Prec, President of the Republic of Malta; Cardinal Ma...
Little Rock, Ark., Dec 13, 2016 / 05:54 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Children’s birth certificates must be linked to biological parentage, the Arkansas Supreme Court has said in a ruling that involved the federal redefinition of marriage to recognize same-sex unions.“It does not violate equal protection to acknowledge basic biological truths,” Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Judge Jo Hart wrote in the Dec. 8 decision.The four-member majority ruling reverses a December 2015 ruling of Little Rock Circuit Judge Tim Fox who said that the state requirement to identify both a biological mother and a biological father of a child infringed on the constitutional due process rights of adoptive same-sex couples, Arkansas News reports.Three female couples in same-sex civil marriages brought the case. Some of the women had conceived using anonymous sperm donors. Insurers denied health insurance to the biological mothers’ children because of requirements that the parent-child rel...
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- By the time the Patriots took the field Monday night against the Ravens, they knew they'd have to wait at least another week to wrap up their eighth consecutive playoff berth....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A key Republican lawmaker wants to overhaul Social Security, the decades-old program that provides benefits to some 60 million retirees and disabled, with a plan to gradually increase the retirement age and slow the growth of benefits for higher-income workers....
NEW YORK (AP) -- President Barack Obama has criticized Donald Trump for saying he plans to shun daily intelligence briefings once inaugurated, saying that would be akin to "flying blind" in managing national security affairs....
BEIRUT (AP) -- The Latest on the Syrian conflict as the government is poised for the final sweep to retake the remaining rebel area of eastern Aleppo (all times local):...
Hi. My name is Abby and I've never seen a Star Wars movie from start to finish...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a message to participants in the Global Forum on Migration and Development, which took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh.In the message, sent through the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and published in the Osservatore Romano, the Holy Father “encourages governments and regional political authorities to confront the crisis provoked by the mass movement of people”.Pope Francis reminded them that migratory phenomena and development are closely connected “with the urgent questions of poverty, war, and human trafficking”, thereby requiring “a sustainable environmental and human development”.The 9th Global Forum on Migration and Development is organized by member states of the United Nations and took place on 10-12 December.
