Posted in CNS, english, this just in on August 10, 2015|
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Like their Orthodox brothers and sisters, Catholics formally will mark Sept. 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis has decided.
The day of prayer, the pope said, will give individuals and communities an opportunity to implore God’s help in protecting creation and an opportunity to ask God’s forgiveness “for sins committed against the world in which we live.” (more…)
WASHINGTON—Congress should address challenges faced by the more than 650,000 men, women and juveniles who reenter society each year from prisons, jails and detention centers. This was the message of the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and the president of Catholic Charities USA in a July 8 letter supporting the Second Chance Act (S. 1513). (more…)
By Laura Ieraci Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The church today is called to be frank and courageous, just as the apostles were after the Resurrection, said Pope Francis at his first daily Mass after a two-week break for Holy Week and Easter.
“Even today, the message of the church is the message of frankness and Christian courage,” the pope said April 13. In attendance at Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae were the nine members of the pope’s advisory Council of Cardinals, who were to begin another round of meetings that day.
Reflecting on the day’s first reading (Acts 4:23-31), the pope said the apostles Peter and John were simple men, without a formal education. But by the Holy Spirit, they were granted strength and courage. (more…)
By Tom Tracy Catholic News Service
Chicago-based bullying expert Jodee Blanco meets April 8 with participants at the National Catholic Educational Association’s annual convention, held this year in Orlando, Fla. Bullying was a popular workshop topic at the April 7-9 convention. (CNS photo /Tom Tracy)
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — “Bullying” can be a testy topic for which few agree on any single definition, let alone the best way to respond once it happens in or around the classroom.
Still, no fewer than six presenters at an annual convention for Catholic educators took on the problems and controversies surrounding student and school-related bullying during the National Catholic Educational Association’s gathering at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando April 7-9.
Frank DiLallo, a diocesan case manager and consultant to Catholic schools in the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, said he defines the phenomenon as one causing physical or emotional harm to a student and one also interfering with learning. (more…)
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
Pope Francis looks on as he leads his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Feb. 5. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) (Feb. 5, 2014) See POPE-AUDIENCE Feb. 5, 2014.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a moving ceremony that recalled how Jesus loved the world so deeply that he lowered himself to serve and died for everyone’s sins, Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 prison inmates, plus a small toddler who lives with his incarcerated mother.
“Jesus loved us, Jesus loves us, but without any limits, always, all the way to the end,” he said during the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper April 2.
“He does not tire of loving anyone, he loves all of us” so much that he gave his life in order “to give life to us, for each one of us … for you, for you, for me, for them,” he said, pointing to the men and women inmates gathered in the “Our Father” chapel in Rome’s Rebibbia prison complex.
The pope arrived at the prison to the cheers and shouts of hundreds of prisoners chanting “Francesco” and applauding as they stood along metal barricades lining a prison courtyard. (more…)
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me. Isaiah 61:1
Southeast Texas Catholics are invited to join Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, at the annual Chrism Mass March 31 to share in the liturgy to consecrate the chrism and bless the oils used in each parish and mission in the Beaumont Diocese.
The Diocese of Beaumont will celebrate the Chrism Mass on the Tuesday of Holy Week, March 31, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, 700 Jefferson St., Beaumont.
Within the Chrism Mass is seen the rich diversity of the diocese in the many liturgical ministers who participate and in the music. (more…)
As sacred sites are being destroyed in areas of the Middle East, the annual Good Friday Collection April 3 will offer an opportunity to unite the faithful of Southeast Texas with the Christians in the Holy Land to help protect shrines, fund schools and provide assistance, such as housing and food, for the poor and needy who might otherwise flee the lands.
“Presently, there are millions of refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq,” said Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. “This year [the collection] presents a precious opportunity to become pilgrims in faith after the example of the Holy Father. It is a chance to become promoters of dialogue through peace, prayer and sharing of burdens.” (more…)
By Nate Madden Catholic News Service
A groom and bride hold hands on their wedding day. Catholic marriages in the United States are at their lowest point since 1965. (CNS file photo/Jon L. Hendricks)
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The number of Catholic marriages in the United States is at its lowest point since 1965.
Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate keeps records of Catholic Church statistics going back to 1965, tracking such things as the total number of priests, the Catholic population of the United States, and the number of baptisms and marriages per year.
The statistics show that while there were over 420,000 Catholic marriages in 1970, that number has dwindled to just over 154,000 for the year 2014.
“There’s no definitive answer” for this trend, according to Mark Gray, a senior research associate and poll director at the center. He cited some of the leading hypotheses about the decrease.
“We’re seeing an increase in cohabitation,” he said, which can “create a hurdle to receiving the sacrament of marriage, depending on the parish or diocese’s policies,” Gray said in an interview with Catholic News Service. “There’s also the notion of a destination wedding trumping the traditional notion of getting married within the church.” (more…)
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Francis went out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time, he said he did not prepare what he was going to say, but “I felt deeply that a minister needs the blessing of God, but also of his people.”
He did not know if it was right to explicitly ask the thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square to bless him, so instead he asked them to pray that God would bless him, he said. And he bowed for their prayers.
Marking the second anniversary of his election March 13, Pope Francis spoke about the conclave that elected him in 2013, about his life the last two years and about the future in an interview with Valentina Alazraki of Mexico’s Televisa. (more…)
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
Pope Francis waves as he arrives to lead his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican March 11. (CNS photo/Paul Haring
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Young people are honest and bold in identifying fakes, which is something church leaders should not be afraid of, Pope Francis told the bishops of South Korea and Mongolia.
“When we speak with young people, they challenge us to share the truth of Jesus Christ clearly and in a way that they can understand,” he said in the written message handed to the bishops March 12. The bishops met with the pope during their “ad limina” visits to report on what is happening in their dioceses.
Pope Francis said that just as Korea’s Catholic martyrs — mostly laypeople, who were unwaveringly committed to the faith and to charity — call the peninsula’s Catholics to continue caring for others, today’s Korean young people “challenge us to hear one another.” (more…)
East Texas Catholic 