WASHINGTON (CNS) - When President Barack Obama unveiled a series of executive orders Jan. 5 intended to make a dent in gun violence in the United States, people reacted. And how. "Thank God that someone finally has the courage to close the loopholes in our pitiful gun control laws to reduce the num...
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  Following are Pope Francis’ prayer intentions for January 2016: Universal – Interreligious Dialogue: That sincere dialogue among men and women of different faiths may produce the fruits of peace and justice. Evangelization – Christian Unity: That by means of dialogue a...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A world that carefully adheres to the dictates of being "politically correct" yet refuses to respect people's faith in God is a "sad paradox," the Vatican newspaper said. The Jan. 6 article, headlined "The Charlie Hebdo question: Manipulated faith," came in response to the fro...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) - People who attended a recent forum sponsored by the White House ignored the old adage not to speak about religion or politics in public. They were members of a variety of faiths, or no faith at all, focused not so much on own their own religious beliefs but on how to get rid of m...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The god of Mammon, who is "like a wild animal, trying to clutch me with his talons and enslave me," and people not open to the Holy Spirit, who "are like swamps that give off foul-smelling gases," are just a few of the analogies that appear in the latest collection of papal hom...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Francis established the Year of Mercy, a full slate of Jubilee events were slotted into his already packed calendar for 2016.    A typical "business as usual" year for a pope is already full with meetings, liturgies and foreign trips.    ...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- "No Irish need apply."    That was a typical sign more than a century ago in cities along the Eastern Seaboard when job openings were announced in store windows.    Of course, it wasn't the Irish alone who bore the stigma of anti-immigrant sentiment...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, thus paving the way for her canonization.    Pope Francis signed the decree for Blessed Teresa's cause and advanced three other sainthood causes Dec. 17, the Vatican...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In his message for World Peace Day, Pope Francis calls for abolishing the death penalty worldwide; lifting the burden of debt on poor nations; implementing global aid policies that respect life; and revamping laws to welcome and integrate migrants.     ...
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Q. To mark dates, why are people now using C.E. (the Common Era) and B.C.E. in place of A.D. and B.C., which have been in use for hundreds of years? I was told by a Catholic teacher in our area that this change is intended to foster better relations with non-Christians. This is too "politically cor...
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