By John Thavis – Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI welcomed the beginning of Advent with a prayer for life and a defense of the human embryo.
The pope presided over an evening prayer service at the Vatican Nov. 27, part of a worldwide pro-life vigil. He said it was an appropriate initiative to launch Advent, the liturgical period in which the church prepares to celebrate the birth of Jesus. (more…)
Catholic Extension has announced it will award $35,000 to the Office of Hispanic Ministry in the Diocese of Beaumont to subsidize the salary and housing expenses of four women religious and one deacon serving five rural Hispanic communities within the diocese. The grant will also help strengthen diocesan-wide programs designed to promote the spiritual, physical and emotional health of approximately 65,000 primarily first-generation Hispanic parents and their children. (more…)
By Anthony Barich Catholic News Service
PERTH, Australia (CNS) — The public debate on church teaching on condoms triggered by Pope Benedict XVI’s comments in a new book is an ideal opportunity for parish priests to clarify it for the faithful from the pulpit, said the president of Caritas Internationalis.
Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, told The Record, Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Perth, that many Catholics do not know what the church teaches in this regard.
“This could be a good opportunity for us in the parishes to clarify and to teach,” said the cardinal, who has completed separate doctorates in philosophy, theology and moral theology and holds a diploma in clinical psychology and psychotherapy. (more…)
The Port Arthur International Seafarer Center will be filled with Irish melodies Nov. 27 as Danny O’Flaherty, Celtic balladeer, takes the stage for a night of traditional Irish folk music.
As the last of a generation reared in the isolation of a pure Gaelic culture, Danny’s youthrecalled the simple tradition kept alive on the rugged and desolate islands. His first language is Gaelic, and his first love – the ancient music played and sung around the peat fires in the evenings. (more…)
The college students that frequent the Catholic Student Center at Lamar University, Beaumont, were thankful for good food and good friends Nov. 23 during the potluck lunch. Father Shane Baxter, director of campus ministry, cooked up a turkey and a ham while students brought in side dishes and desserts. The day was spent eating, talking, studying and watching movies. (more…)
By John Thavis Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI’s book-length interview is certain to spark global attention, and not only for his comments suggesting that condom use might be acceptable in some circumstances.
In the 219-page book, “Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times,” the German pontiff spoke candidly on the clerical sex abuse scandal, relations with Islam, papal resignation and the “threatening catastrophe” facing humanity. (more…)
Parishioners at St. Mary, Fannett, had a lot to be thankful for Nov. 21. After more than two years Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, rededicated the church after the parish suffered damage from Hurricane Ike in September 2008.
“When we visited this parish after Ike it was heartbreaking to see it. It has been a long road to where we are today. We have to thank God for giving us the resources and the guidance to rebuild,” Bishop Guillory said. (more…)
By Nancy Frazier O’Brien | Catholic News Service
BALTIMORE (CNS) — At the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ fall general assembly in Baltimore Nov. 15-18, the bishops:
– Broke with precedent to elect Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan as president rather than Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, USCCB vice president for the past three years.
– Affirmed a historic agreement with four Protestant communities of the Reformed tradition that will allow mutual recognition of baptisms performed in Catholic or Reformed churches. (more…)
BALTIMORE (CNS) — In what Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta called “a milestone on the ecumenical journey,” the U.S. Catholic bishops affirmed an agreement to recognize baptisms in four Protestant church communities.
By a 204-11 vote Nov. 16 in Baltimore, the bishops approved the “Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism,” which was drawn up over the past six years by a team of scholars from the Catholic-Reformed dialogue group, made up of representatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ. (more…)
By Nancy Frazier O’Brien | Catholic News Service
BALTIMORE (CNS) — In a series of close votes, the U.S. bishops elected Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York to head the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for the next three years and chose Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., as vice president.
By selecting Archbishop Dolan from a field of 10 candidates that included Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., USCCB vice president, the bishops diverged from the usual practice of electing the USCCB vice president as president. (more…)
