MESA, Ariz. – A college campus is accustomed to high-speed objects flying across its grounds: students bicycling down the mall, professors hurrying to their next class, a sport utility vehicle adorned with pictures of Pope John Paul II disseminating campus ministry information. OK, so only students at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus in Mesa will...Read More
WASHINGTON – The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has informed four Catholic dioceses that it will not renew their contracts to provide foster care and adoption services because there has been “no meeting of the minds” about providing services to same-sex couples.Read More
Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., a nationally known death penalty abolitionist whose book inspired the movie “Dead Man Walking,” will present two talks about capital punishment next week in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Both events, co-sponsored by the Maryland Catholic Conference, will begin at 7 p.m., with Sister Helen speaking at St. Pius X in Rodgers...Read More
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI named an official delegation to represent him at the July 9 independence celebrations in Southern Sudan and charged members with conveying his hopes for “peace and prosperity” to citizens of the world’s newest nation.Read More
Its transparent wings beating in a flutter of motion, the locust almost seems ready to jump from the calf-skin parchment on which it is painted. Resting on a delicately arching green leaf, the insect is a physical reminder of a passage in the sacred text that fills the page.Read More
BLUEFIELDS, Nicaragua – Thousands of people living in Nicaragua’s remote northeast lost everything to the winds of Hurricane Felix, but a bishop in the affected area said the church would accompany them as they rebuild. “The winds and flooding have destroyed a lot. People will have to start with nothing. And since flooding has destroyed...Read More
CANBERRA, Australia – The head of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference said the Catholic Church would lend both spiritual and practical support to families victimized by a series of wildfires that left more than 180 dead in Victoria state.Read More
PITTSBURGH – At age 95, Joseph Martinelli is a regular at daily Mass at St. Colman Parish in Turtle Creek. In the parish bulletin he’s listed as pastoral assistant, just hinting at the many roles he fills.Read More
With this, my last column prior to a bit of a summer hiatus, I thought I would use the occasion to tie up some loose ends by commenting on a number of topics that have been on my “to-do” list for some time.Read More
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to each other on the telephone about the recent controversy surrounding a traditionalist bishop who has denied the Holocaust.Read More