Cardinal says Vatican is not moving toward accepting gay marriage December 28, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Marriage & Family Life, News, Vatican, World News The Vatican’s affirmation that a priest can give an informal blessing to a gay couple who asks for one is not a first step toward the Catholic Church recognizing same-sex marriages, said Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
As migration increased in 2023, so did pressures on the church’s ministry December 28, 2023By OSV News OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Immigration and Migration, News, World News Unauthorized border crossings increased in 2023, fueled in part by shifts in U.S. policy and global migration trends. The year saw increasingly heated anti-immigrant rhetoric and actions that also put Catholic Charities agencies — and the church’s religious freedom to minister to migrants — in the crosshairs.
Pope encourages persecuted Christians to stay strong in their witness December 27, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News On the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Pope Francis prayed for people persecuted for their faith or denigrated for living a life marked by Gospel values.
Memorial services around country honor fallen homeless December 27, 2023By Sam Lucero OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Social Justice, World News At least 20 people experiencing homelessness in the United States die every day, according to HomelessDeathsCount.org. To help remember and honor those who have died, the National Coalition for the Homeless began sponsoring memorial services in 1990.
‘The devil is a seducer,’ pope says as he begins new series of talks December 27, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News The devil is sly and sneaky like a serpent and subtly entices people to sin, Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience Dec. 27.
‘Don’t give up,’ NY bishop urges survivors of Hamas attack, families of hostages December 27, 2023By Steven Schwankert OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, News, World News Members of the group meeting in Manhattan at AJC wore T-shirts and carried placards with their relative’s photo and age displayed on them and carrying the message, “Bring Her/Him Home Now!”
Pope’s Christmas message: Say ‘yes’ to the Prince of Peace, ‘no’ to war December 27, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Celebrating the birth of Jesus, the prince of peace, should mean making a commitment to opposing all war, to cherishing human life, feeding the hungry and speaking up for those who have no voice, Pope Francis said.
Maryland parish’s living Nativity offers reminder ‘the Lord still comes’ December 27, 2023By Mark Zimmermann OSV News Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, World News The Nativity — the gift of Jesus to the world on Christmas — was brought to life in a poignant way Dec. 24 during a living Nativity outside St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring.
‘Jesus, you take over,’ papal envoy cried out in Bethlehem amid wartime Christmas celebrations December 27, 2023By Paulina Guzik OSV News Filed Under: Christmas, Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News Christmas in Bethlehem was celebratory but not as festive as usual this year, given the outbreak of war in the Holy Land two-and-a-half months ago.
At Christmas, God shows love through ‘littleness,’ not power, pope says December 27, 2023By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News More than two millennia after the Holy Family was denied a room at the inn and Jesus was born in a manger, war once again renders his birthplace in the Holy Land inhospitable, Pope Francis said.
Catholic experts say rule to let franchise employees join unions would be major labor advance December 26, 2023By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Social Justice, World News If a new federal labor ruling goes into effect in late February, millions of franchise employees and contractors will find it easier to form or join unions
Molokai’s leprosy settlements — the ‘ohana’ of two Catholic saints — faces historic transition December 26, 2023By Naomi Klouda OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Saints, World News One of the last remaining leprosy settlements in the U.S., on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, testifies to St. Damien’s care as eight remaining patient-residents live out their lives.
