News - November 2019 RSS Feed

The Church must face the fallout of the abuse scandal with humility and courage, Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix has said, while predicting “very difficult” years ahead for the Church.

Human rights groups have voiced concern over the arrest of a Coptic Christian activist in Egypt, on terrorism-related charges. Critics argue the arrest is an attempt to silence those who disagree with the government.

“We are many parts, but we are all one body,” says the refrain of a popular '80s Church hymn, based on the words of 1 Cor. 12:12. While we are one body in Christ, if you happen to be a Catholic saint, the many parts of your own body might be spread out all over the world. 

Theologians must explore and debate disputed questions, at times even taking "risks" with what they propose, but those discussions should take place within the academy so as not to confuse the faithful, Pope Francis said.

The church today can be compared to two forms of minority, says the newly elected master of the worldwide Dominican Order.

The pre-Christmas phase of the eighth annual SF Turkey Drive at St. Emydius Church in the Ingleside District of San Francisco will be held Dec. 21 from 9 a.m. till noon in the parking lot across from the church at 350 De Montfort Ave.

More than 10,000 lay Catholics in Mexico renewed their consecration to Christ the King at a special Mass and ceremony over the weekend.

The Nov. 23 observance at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington gave a voice to those who have died from religious persecution during the past two years, mostly in the Middle East, South Asia and African nations where Christians are in the minority. Candles were lit as their names were read.

More than 77 years earlier, June 4, 1942, Crawford, then a Navy ensign, held those same binoculars while on watch as a junior officer on the deck of the USS Yorktown, scanning the horizon as the pivotal World War II Battle of Midway began, Crawford told the Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.

At the end of his trip to Thailand and Japan, Pope Francis said he found truth in the saying, "Lux ex oriente, ex occidente luxus," or, as he roughly translated it, "the light comes from the East, and luxury, consumerism from the West."

Bishop Mark E. Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, has asked the former bishop of the diocese to pay back more than $792,000 to cover the "inappropriate expenditure of diocesan funds to support a luxurious lifestyle."

Activists are trying to highlight the violations of human rights, including the right to protest, expression, and even to gather for worship, taking place in Nicaragua, where government supporters have, of late, been accused of attacking crowds inside Catholic churches.

Two new books focus on how technology and excessive attachment to devices interacts with the faith of young adults.

Pope Francis led prayers for the people of Albania after the country was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake. "I would like to send my greetings and my closeness to the dear people of Albania who have suffered so much in these days," the pope said Nov. 27 before concluding his weekly general audience.

Known as "the cooking priest," Father Leo Patalinghug has a reputation for creating meals that have been described as heavenly. During a Nov. 22 session at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, the Filipino American priest provided listeners with a different kind of recipe: "Five Steps to Become a Teenage Saint."

The Archdiocese of San Francisco held its second annual Mass for the Homeless Dead on Nov. 23 at Church of the Vistitacion. According to its sponsor, the archdiocesan Office of Human Life & Dignity, the Mass gives Catholics an opportunity “to pray for those who are often forgotten both in life and in death.”

As a young priest at Holy Family Parish in San Jose during the 1970s, Jesuit Father Albert A. Grosskopf was tasked with forming a singles group. The majority turned out to be divorced or separated.

The story of John the Baptist really begins when he ... But wait! His story is multifaceted in ways history often overlooked. How should it start?

Some awfully nice visions of the future are painted in this year’s readings for the Second Sunday of Advent -- peace and justice, primarily.

"Stay awake." With this terse command, the Gospel of Matthew begins our season of Advent on Sunday, Dec. 1. How rich and rewarding will be the 24 days of this season if we keep those words in our heart each day.