Jupiter, Saturn to put on ‘Christmas Star’ show at winter solstice December 9, 2020By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service Filed Under: Advent, Christmas, Feature, News, World News A once-every-two-decade conjunction involving the solar system’s two gas giants will give earthbound observers a look at a so-called “Christmas Star” on the winter solstice.
Michigan project to replicate Padre Pio’s famed hospital in Italy is underway December 8, 2020By Catholic News Service Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, World News Thanks to the vision, faithfulness and tenacity of several Catholic health care organizations, individuals and the patronage of Lansing Bishop Earl A. Boyea, the Howell project, known as “Casa USA,” seeks to duplicate St. Pio’s hospital complex for the first time outside of Italy, including an exact replica of the great Capuchin Franciscan saint’s original friary church.
Pope proclaims year dedicated to St. Joseph December 8, 2020By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News, Year of St. Joseph Marking the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph being declared patron of the universal church, Pope Francis proclaimed a yearlong celebration dedicated to the foster father of Jesus.
Cardinal Piacenza upholds ‘probable invalidity’ of confession by phone December 8, 2020By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service Filed Under: Coronavirus, Divine Worship, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Even though the world is facing a pandemic that may limit many people’s ability to celebrate the sacraments, particularly those people who are in isolation, quarantining or hospitalized with COVID-19, confession by phone is still most likely invalid, said Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary.
Pope plans to visit Iraq in March December 7, 2020By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Pope Francis in Iraq, Vatican, World News Barring any obstacles caused by the global pandemic, Pope Francis is set to begin international travel again in 2021 by visiting Iraq in March, which would make him the first pope to visit this nation.
U.S. gives grant to Catholic groups helping poor cope with pandemic December 3, 2020By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service Filed Under: Coronavirus, Feature, News, Vatican, World News The U.S. government’s foreign aid agency awarded thousands of dollars in assistance to two Rome-based Catholic organizations assisting the poor in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.
Movie Review: ‘The Croods: A New Age’ December 2, 2020By Joseph McAleer Filed Under: Movie & Television Reviews, News, World News The most entertaining Stone Age family since the Flintstones returns to the big screen in “The Croods: A New Age” (Universal), a delightful animated comedy suitable for almost all ages.
Young Salvadoran speaks of what he learned from murdered U.S. women December 2, 2020By Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Social Justice, World News Childhood memories for Felipe de Jesus Abrego include celebrating each Dec. 2 with his grandmother at the tomb of two U.S. women religious buried in the local cemetery.
Detroit ‘families of parishes’ plan moves ahead; Pittsburgh announces mergers December 2, 2020By Catholic News Service Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, World News Heroic trust in the Holy Spirit and a firm resolve to move forward “on mission” are at the heart of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s transition to “families of parishes,” Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron said Nov. 22 in a new pastoral note.
Catholic leaders decry additional federal execution measures December 1, 2020By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Respect Life, World News A move by the Department of Justice to expand how it carries out federal death sentences — to include electrocution, gas or firing squads along with lethal injections –was sharply criticized by Catholic anti-death penalty activists.
Zairean rite offers example for developing an Amazonian rite, pope says December 1, 2020By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News The approval decades ago of a Zairean rite of the Roman Missal demonstrated that it is possible also to develop a rite for the Amazon region, Pope Francis said in a preface to a new book.
Pope appoints Washington Auxiliary Bishop Fisher, Baltimore native, to head Buffalo Diocese December 1, 2020By Catholic News Service Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Born in Baltimore and raised across the street from Memorial Stadium, Bishop Fisher was baptized at St. Anthony of Padua, Baltimore, and later attended the Church of the Annunciation, Rosedale.