Repentance required for forgiveness?
Q. Regarding your recent column on forgiving ISIS: Must forgiveness be predicated on remorse and repentance by the offending party? I am thinking of Christ being crucified and saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing" -- or St. Stephen forgiving those who had stoned him....Read full story »
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Use wealth, power for common good, not to exploit others, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Wealth and power are meant to serve the poor and the well-being of everyone, not to selfishly exploit others, Pope Francis said. When power loses that sense of service, it "turns into arrogance and becomes control and subjugation," he said during his weekly general audience in...Read full story »
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Being human: Pope Francis delights many, frustrates some
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The pope is human. Pope Francis demonstrated that in Mexico, as he does wherever he goes, and most people find it attractive most of the time. In Pope Francis, Catholics can see a real person trying to live his faith in a complicated world. Sometimes he waves at them and they c...Read full story »
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Supreme Court without Justice Scalia: Will it lack a tip of the scales?
WASHINGTON (CNS) - As the nation looks ahead to upcoming Supreme Court decisions without Justice Antonin Scalia's input, it may see a lot of tie scores. That's because the Feb. 13 death of one of six Catholic members of the court -- who was often described as its most conservative voice and known f...Read full story »
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Support for miscarriage/Foster father or stepfather?
Q. Thank you for a recent answer in your column regarding a miscarried child. Until my own personal experience in losing a child, I had no realization as to how deeply a miscarried baby can touch one's heart. I had no idea where to turn for help, so, beyond my mother and my husband, I grieved in si...Read full story »
Thursday, February 18, 2016
In silence, pope remembers those who cross Mexican-U.S. border
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (CNS) -- At the border of Mexico and the United States, Pope Francis blessed a large cross in memory of all the people who have crossed the frontier. The pope said nothing Feb. 17, but he clasped his hands tightly in prayer and bowed his head in silent prayer. He left a bunch...Read full story »
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Justice Scalia remembered as both an upstanding Catholic and jurist
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Tributes to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia poured in almost as soon as news emerged of his Feb. 13 death at a Texas ranch while on a hunting trip. Scalia "was routinely described as a conservative, and so he was. He held fast to a lot of traditional values. He love...Read full story »
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Pope pushes 'door of mercy' wider, sends missionaries to local parishes
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - After opening holy doors in Rome to begin the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has now pushed those passageways even wider by sending forth hundreds of "missionaries of mercy" to every corner of the earth. Their special mission, he has said, is to be a living witness of God's closen...Read full story »
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Scourge of human trafficking slowly moving out of the shadows
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Even though slavery has been off the books in the United States for more than 150 years, the practice still exists in this country -- and elsewhere. Precise numbers are tough to document, but the United Nations' International Labor Organization estimates the number of humans bein...Read full story »
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Homilies by deacons; holy days of obligation
Q. At Mass recently, I was stunned by a statement made by the deacon who was giving the homily. That has made me wonder whether deacons have sole independence when preparing remarks or if the priest exercises oversight. (City of origin withheld) A. On the parish level, the pastor has the ultimate...Read full story »
Thursday, February 11, 2016
