Olive harvest at Garden of Gethsemane unites faithful with Christ
The opportunity to help a group of Franciscan priests harvest olives in the Garden of Gethsemane offers a sense of hope amid the adversaries one man's family has faced in their own olive groves.
Pope Francis calls for abolishing death penalty and life imprisonment
Pope Francis called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment, and denounced what he called a "penal populism" that promises to solve society's problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice.
Bishop: Decision to house those monitored for Ebola ‘right thing to do’
DALLAS (CNS) — Dallas Bishop Kevin J. Farrell said that he followed the teaching of Christ and stepped in to house the fiancee of Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan and three others for several weeks at a diocesan facility because no one else would. On Oct. 20, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, among other officials, spoke at an early morning news conference saying area residents should be compassionate and welcoming of those who had been self-monitoring themselves.
Pope speaks out on Mideast violence; Phoenix stands in solidarity with Christians fleeing persecution
In Phoenix, Catholics have embraced the growing community of Christians who have fled the ongoing violence and persecution in Iraq.
Terrorism in Mideast has reached ‘unimaginable proportions,’ pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The unjust situation in the Middle East, especially Iraq and Syria, "demands, beyond our constant prayers, an adequate response from the part of the international community as well," Pope Francis said.
The church is united in its "desire for peace and stability in the Middle East and the desire to promote the resolution of conflicts through dialogue, reconciliation and political efforts," he said.
Pope beatifies Blessed Paul VI, the ‘great helmsman’ of Vatican II
Beatifying Blessed Paul VI at the concluding Mass of the Synod of Bishops on the family, Pope Francis praised the late pope as the "great helmsman" of the Second Vatican Council and founder of the synod, as well as a "humble and prophetic witness of love for Christ and his church."
Archbishop Kurtz on synod and next steps [VIDEO]
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz reflects on the conclusion of the synod on the family.
Synod ends by affirming tradition, leaving controversial questions open
After several days of animated debate over its official midterm report, the Synod of Bishops on the family agreed on a final document more clearly grounded in traditional Catholic teaching. Yet the assembly failed to reach consensus on especially controversial questions of Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried and the pastoral care of homosexuals.
Paul VI was pope of firsts, a pope of dialogue, cardinal says
A retired Italian cardinal, who worked for Pope Paul VI and comes from the same diocese, told reporters Oct. 17, two days before Pope Francis was to beatify Pope Paul, described the late pope as a man rich in spirituality, a thinker and a pastor "very sensitive to the challenges of the modern world."
U.S. Catholic health care workers, dioceses respond to Ebola crisis
Tabiri Chukunta has been trying to get the word out to the West African community in New Jersey that their families and friends in Liberia need to put on hold, at least temporarily, cultural traditions of greeting people affectionately and washing bodies of the dead.
