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NEW YORK (AP) -- A blustery, late-season storm clobbered the Northeast with sleet and heavy snow Tuesday, crippling much of the Washington-to-Boston corridor after a stretch of unusually mild winter weather that had people thinking spring was already here....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Congressional Budget Office report on a Republican health care bill has set off an intense reaction in Washington, and some on both sides of the debate are playing loose with the facts....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House and Republican leaders in Congress scrambled on Tuesday to shore up support for their health care bill as critics went on the attack over new estimates that 14 million people would lose insurance coverage in the first year alone....
(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic has urged the international community to “embrace the perspective of victims” of the Syrian war.In a statement delivered to Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva, Jurkovic reflected on the disastrous situation that continues to unfold in Syria after more than six years of violence.Jurkovic, who is the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva, reiterated the Holy See’s solidarity with the Syrian people and called “all involved parties to engage in a serious dialogue and to work towards a future of peace and justice”.Please find below the Statement by Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic at the 34thSession of the Human Rights Council:Item 4 – Interactive Dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (Geneva, 14 March 2017)Mr. President,The Report of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as other sources, &n...
(Vatican Radio) Hunger-related illnesses have killed dozens of children over the past two months at just one government-run hospital in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. That’s according to the United Nations. A severe drought has brought Somalia to the brink of famine.There are currently 6.2 million people in need of assistance in Somalia, almost half of the country's population.Bishop Giorgio Bertin, the Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu spoke to Lydia O’Kane about the desperate situation facing people in the country as a result of drought and insecurity.Listen: “It is a severe crisis”, he said, “because the last two rainy seasons have been almost completely missed in several parts of Somalia but for the specific case of Somalia the problem of drought is coupled with insecurity.”He goes on to say that although there is a recognized government, it governs only part of Mogadishu and some other areas and therefore, “the lack o...
Top religious leaders in Sri Lanka have suggested ways to improve national unity and reconciliation ahead of a proposed new constitution.The 30-year civil war that ended in 2009 was fought between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils.Mano Ganeshan, Minister of National Co-existence and National Languages welcomed the initiative to form religious councils and said he would submit the proposal to the cabinet.The government will present the new constitution to parliament this year but the minister said they were still drafting the constitution and were not yet finished.Venerable Bellanwila Wimalarathana Nayaka Thero, a Buddhist monk, said he would propose a mechanism of religious councils to be set up at the divisional, district and national levels to promote national unity and reconciliation.Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, addressing the council, said religious leaders must focus on helping the people in the Tamil-dominated north and east, who have suffered a lot.Re...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob RollerBy Matt PalmerAUSTIN,Texas (CNS) -- The juxtaposition was striking.Duringthe early evening of March 11, 59-year-old Bishop Paul Tighe worked his waythrough the hallways of the Austin Convention Center, weaving his way throughthousands of young people who were in town attending the South by SouthwestFestival, more commonly known as SXSW.Thisyear's festival began March 10 and will conclude March 19."Onone level, it's kind of strange because you're wandering around the place," saidBishop Tighe, who is currently adjunct secretary of the Pontifical Council forCulture. "You're certainly the only one in a collar and you're possibly theonly one with white hair."WhenBishop Tighe walked the convention floor, many of the attendees had recentlyemerged from panels hosted by tech giants, comedians, actors, politicians andmore.Asthey passed by Bishop Tighe, no one seemed to realize they had just encounteredone of the Vatican's most influential communicators during the la...
By Junno Arocho EstevesVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Conversion doesn't comefrom the wave of amagic wand, but from learning to do good through concrete actions every day,Pope Francis said. Whileeven "the saintliest person sins seven times a day," conversionhappens through humility and trying to become "better than the daybefore," the pope said March 14 during the Mass in the chapel of the DomusSanctae Marthae."Convertingdoesn't mean going to a fairy with a magic wand," he said. "No, it isa path, a path ofturning away (from evil) and of learning."Reflecting on the day's first readingfrom the prophet Isaiah (1:10, 16-20), the pope said, "You learn to do goodthrough concrete things. Not with words, but with actions."The reading from Isaiah gives threeexamples: "Help the oppressed, hear the orphan's plea and defend thewidow."Inthe day's Gospel reading from Matthew (23:1-12), the pope continued, Jesus alsoreproaches the scribes and Pharisees because they do not practice what theypreach."They do...
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A Texas lawmaker is making a point about legislation that restricts women's access to health care and abortions by proposing to fine men $100 when they masturbate....
