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Washington D.C., Jan 13, 2017 / 05:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- William Peter Blatty, whose fictionalized vision of demonic possession and Catholic exorcism transfixed a great swath of the American public, died on Thursday.In the 1960s he became a novelist and screenwriter, with only modest success. But then his 1971 novel The Exorcist portrayed the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her exorcism by two Catholic priests. He had drawn inspiration from a 1949 Washington Post story about a Jesuit priest’s successful exorcism of a 14-year-old boy in Mount Ranier, Maryland.For Blatty, the point of his the story was “that God exists and the universe itself will have a happy ending.”The book sold 13 million copies. Blatty wrote the screenplay for the movie, which became a blockbuster whose disturbing imagery and depiction of supernatural evil helped redefine the horror genre and the American religious imagination.Blatty voiced concern that the film’s climax, in...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Lucas Jackson, ReutersBy Rhina GuidosWASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic panelists gathered to discuss"Faithful Priorities in a Time of Trump" said it is difficult to get over someof the words the president-elect said during the campaign -- and even before hewas a candidate. But as his presidency nears, many of them said it's importantto find ways to work with him for the common good."When Donald Trump says things about women ... I have a hardtime stomaching those comments," said Msgr. John Enzler, president and CEOof Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. "We can still find away, though, to listen and say, 'How do we find common ground?'"Msgr. Enzler was one of five panelists Jan. 12 who addressed the role the Catholic faith can play as the country gets ready for the incomingTrump administration. Some Catholics such as Rep. FrancisRooney, R-Florida, expressed great optimism."We can have a lot of hope that he will protect life the waywe want him to do ... de...
WALTERBORO, S.C. (AP) -- Stolen from a hospital just hours after she was born, an 18-year-old woman finally learned her true identity and was reunited Friday with her birth family, by video chat. The woman she thought was her mother was charged with her kidnapping....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Donald Trump's national security adviser and Russia's ambassador to the U.S. have been in frequent contact in recent weeks, including on the day the Obama administration hit Moscow with sanctions in retaliation for election-related hacking, a senior official said Friday....
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Peter Turkson says the need for a ‘habitat’ or a home is found in the first pages of the Bible but that migration impedes the fulfillment of that need.The Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development made the comments in reference to Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which takes place on Sunday, January 15.The Pope’s message is dedicated to children, especially to the protection of vulnerable child migrants. Cardinal Turkson spoke to Vatican Radio’s Stefano Leszczynski.Listen to the full interview: Cardinal Turkson said that God did not "just create a human person and then leave him. He created a garden. There was a place where God put humanity: a garden, a home."He said this showed the basic human need for a home, "a habitat which provides all the different elements and ingredients for the development of the person". "Migr...
Valletta, Malta, Jan 13, 2017 / 11:31 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As debate over Amoris laetitia continues to gain steam, the Maltese bishops have come out with a new set of pastoral guidelines allowing divorced-and-remarried persons in certain cases, after “honest discernment”, to receive Communion.The introduction to the guidelines opens by saying that “like the star which led the Magi toward their encounter with Jesus,” Amoris laetitia also “enlightens our families in their journey toward Jesus as his disciples.”This message also includes couples and families in “complex situations,” such as those who are separated or divorced and have entered into new unions.While these people might have “lost their first marriage,” many have not lost hope in Christ, and “earnestly desire to live in harmony with God and the Church, so much so that they are asking us what they can do in order to be able to celebrate the sacraments of Reco...
Tampa Bay, Fla., Jan 13, 2017 / 12:14 pm (National Catholic Register).- Matt and Kristin Loboda, from Tampa, Florida, and their four young children were visiting family in Phoenix, Arizona. On Dec. 29, 2016, Matt suddenly noticed that his 19-month-old daughter, Joy, was missing. She had been with them just before that. “In my heart, I knew something was terribly wrong. So, I ran down to the Koi pond on the property. I ran around it four times looking between the shadows and fish for Joy. Momentarily I was relieved. But, [then] I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to run to the pool,” writes Matt on his Facebook page.When Joy disappeared, Matt hadn’t considered the possibility that she was in the fence-encircled pool. He sprinted there, and the sight he saw was enough to make any parent’s blood run cold: there was Joy’s little, lifeless body floating on top of the water. Matt leaped over the five-foot fence and dove into the water, bringing Joy out of the poo...
Saltillo, Mexico, Jan 13, 2017 / 01:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The body of Father Joaquín Hernández Sifuentes, a priest in northern Mexico who had been missing since Jan. 3, was found on Thursday, his diocese announced.“We confirm with profound sadness that our brother Joaquín Hernández Sifuentes, a diocesan priest for whom we tirelessly searched, with the great hope of finding him alive, has gone on to the house of the eternal Father. This afternoon the authorities reported he was found dead,” read a Jan. 12 statement from the Diocese of Saltillo. Comunicado sobre el P. Joaquín Hernández Sifuentes (JHS004) jueves 12 de enero del 2017 https://t.co/LHinTQkIBk #Saltillo #México pic.twitter.com/kQaMjQae5X— Diócesis de Saltillo (@diocesisaltillo) January 12, 2017 The priest, who served at Sacred Heart parish in Saltillo's Aurora neighborhood, had not been seen since Jan. 3. The diocese reported his disa...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Under certain circumstances and afterlong prayer and a profound examination of conscience, some divorced and civillyremarried Catholics may return to the sacraments, said the bishops of Malta.With "an informed and enlightened conscience," aseparated or divorced person living in a new relationship who is able "toacknowledge and believe that he or she is at peace with God," the bishopssaid, "cannot be precluded from participating in the sacraments ofreconciliation and the Eucharist."The Maltese "Criteria for the Application of ChapterVIII of 'Amoris Laetitia,'" Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on thefamily, was published Jan. 13 after being sent to all of the country's priests byArchbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta and Bishop Mario Grech of Gozo.The bishops urged their priests to recognize how"couples and families who find themselves in complex situations,especially those involving separated or divorced persons who have en...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's the great port-a-potty cover-up for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration....
