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Local
By Zoey Dimauro
In 1920s Germany, a 43-year-old civil servant named Joseph took out an ad in a local Catholic paper with the intent of finding a wife. Maria Peintner, a 36-year-old cook, responded, and the two were married four months later. In all likelihood, had Joseph and Maria Ratzinger, the parents of Pope Benedict XVI, met today, […]
Local
By Kyle Taylor
RICHMOND – Death penalty opponents lost a battle this week when a House committee endorsed a bill to make electrocution the default punishment if lethal injection is unavailable. The Virginia Catholic Conference, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty opposed House Bill 815, which would allow the […]
National
By Mark Pattison
WASHINGTON – A study issued Feb. 4 by the Washington-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate found that “a great majority” of those entering religious life had prior experience serving in at least one parish ministry. “The most common ministry service reported was liturgical ministry,” said the report, “followed by some form of faith […]
Global
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis said his reasons for going to Mexico are “easy and simple.” “I want to come as a missionary of mercy and peace,” the pope said in a video message to the Mexican people released by the Vatican Feb. 7. “I want to meet with you to profess our faith together […]
Columnists
By Elizabeth Foss
It’s time for the familiar, seasonal conversation. Every year, it’s about the same, just with different combinations of children. They talk about what to give up for Lent. They weigh one thing against another, testing the viability of various options. They bounce ideas off one another, and they are honest in rejecting or applauding those […]
Columns
By Sr. Constance Veit, L.s.p.
During a recent family reunion, my elderly mother and I were the only ones at the table without smart phones. We felt left out. A few days later I read that Pope Francis advised parents to ban mobile devices from the dinner table to help restore the quality of family relationships. These two occurrences reminded […]
Global
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY – After almost three decades of tense Catholic-Russian Orthodox relations, Pope Francis will meet Patriarch Kirill of Moscow Feb. 12 in Cuba on the pope’s way to Mexico. It will be the first-ever meeting of a pope and Moscow patriarch, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters Feb. 5. As Pope Francis […]
National
By Dennis Sadowski
AMHERST, Ohio – The foot-tapping melodies of Polish-style polka music that greets patrons as they enter the Kiedrowski family’s bake shop says that old-world hospitality is at hand. The upbeat music, owner Tim Kiedrowski says, is meant to evoke the memories of traditional food, family customs and church life. And in the days before Lent, […]
Global
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY – Although the number is not high, it is no longer “exceptional” to have priests turn down an appointment as bishop, said Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Speaking Feb. 1 about the annual course his office sponsors for new bishops, the cardinal was asked about rumors that more […]
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