ROCHESTER, N.Y. – While the groundwork for improving Catholic-Jewish relations was laid out in the Second Vatican Council document “Nostra Aetate,” Pope John Paul II showed Catholics how to carry out the intentions of the document’s authors, said a priest who serves as a consultant on ecumenical and interreligious affairs to the U.S. Conference of...Read More
WASHINGTON – Although some had predicted that Pope Benedict XVI’s April 15-20 visit to the United States would take a decidedly political turn in a presidential election year, the pope’s major speeches avoided specific references to most domestic and international issues while defending the right of church leaders to speak out on public policy matters.Read More
WASHINGTON – Maryknoll Father Roy Bourgeois has confirmed his excommunication from the Catholic Church but said he has not changed his view that women who are called to priesthood should be ordained.Read More
NEW YORK – Christian leaders who gathered April 18 for an ecumenical prayer service with Pope Benedict XVI at St. Joseph’s Church in New York gave credit to the pope for joining 300 of them under one roof.Read More
TRENTON, N.J. – In New Jersey, where a vote on same-sex marriage is anticipated soon after the November elections, the state’s Catholic bishops are urging local Catholics to help uphold the sanctity of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman.Read More
Hoping that it doesn’t rain, construction attorney Lou Kozlakowski will exchange his business suit and briefcase April 26 for jeans, T-shirt, work boots and a tool box as he heads off to one of Baltimore City’s lower-income neighborhoods to help a family in need.Read More
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A federal judge in South Dakota ruled Aug. 20 that a 2005 South Dakota law requiring doctors to inform patients that abortion kills a human being is constitutional.Read More
WASHINGTON – People who had a professional interest in the April 17 papal Mass at Nationals Stadium – security, media reps, choirs, musicians, stadium facilitators, food coordinators and souvenir vendors – began arriving as early as 3 a.m.Read More
Many in the hierarchy of the church of North America seem to have a clouded view on the proposals being offered by President Obama and the Democrats in Washington on how best to fix our health care system. On the one hand they advocate universal coverage based on the notion of some social justice need....Read More
WASHINGTON – The liturgical celebration of Pope Benedict XVI’s April 17 Mass in Nationals Park reflected the diversity of Catholic heritages and sensibilities reflected in the Archdiocese of Washington, where the Mass was held.Read More
ST. PAUL, Minn. – “Guess who just signed on?” a teenage girl says to a couple of her friends huddled around a computer monitor. “Sarah. You know, Sarah – sits in the back of science (class), never talks to anybody. You know, Miss Science Fair.”Read More
WASHINGTON – At 5:21 a.m., the disc jockey on a country music radio station in Fredericksburg, Va. – 50 miles south of Washington – invited listeners to join her in singing “Happy Birthday” to Pope Benedict XVI.Read More