A little name change

Sharp-eyed viewers of these pages may have noticed a slight name change: Rather than calling this the CNS News Hub, we’re now simply calling it the CNS Blog.
The reason for the name change is equally simple. When this all started in 2006, the News Hub was a way chiefly to link to interesting stories from [...]

Also worth noting …

From here and there around the Catholic press:
 – Spreading the message of mercy. A story in the Arlington Catholic Herald in Virginia about a local nun who feels a close connection to St. Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun who promoted the divine mercy devotions on the Sunday after Easter.
– St. Vincent’s ‘Flat Stanley’ visits Congress, [...]

Pope to see ballgame in D.C.

I don’t usually blog on the weekend, but this is too good to pass up. Did you know that Pope Benedict is going to catch a ballgame at the new Nationals Park in D.C. when he’s here in just over two weeks?
Benedict is scheduled to visit the White House on April 16, a Washington Nationals [...]

The nightmares of preparing for a papal visit

The next time a journalist tells you that preparing for a papal trip is a nightmare, you might want to take it as a literal statement.
From applying for media credentials to planning preview stories, assigning coverage to purchasing additional equipment, it’s been nonstop since Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican’s representative to the United States, announced [...]

Pastry dialogue

I wandered into Rome’s Jewish ghetto neighborhood because I read an intriguing little report about Pope Benedict’s favorite bakery.
The tiny Limentani pastry shop has long been a favorite of mine. I go for the same reason most people go: their “Jewish pizza,” a type of miniature fruit cake packed with almonds, raisins and other stuff [...]

Popemobile shipped to U.S.

(Cross-post from the CNS Vatican page.)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While Pope Benedict XVI probably has not begun packing his bags for his April 15-20 trip to the United States, one big Vatican package was prepared just after Easter.
The white, 2002 Mercedes-Benz popemobile has left the Vatican and will be delivered by an air cargo company in [...]

Safe and sound

The Vatican is the safest and most stable country on Earth, according to a British-based risk assessment organization. 
Jane’s Information Group analyzed 235 nations and independent territories around the world, taking into account each country’s political makeup, social and economic progress, security threats and its relations with other states. The result is that out of a perfect [...]

Anticipating what the pope might say (Part 2)

With all the media speculation on what the pope might say in America next month, there’s a story of ours that’s not getting the attention it deserves. CNS Rome bureau chief John Thavis last week wrote that one need look no further than Pope Benedict’s Palm Sunday Mass homily for themes he’ll likely address here. [...]

Easter leftovers …

… but still tasty just the same:
– Dave Hrbacek, the outdoors-blogging photographer and writer at The Catholic Spirit in St. Paul, Minn., whom we’ve written about here before, has a great little entry on the power of confession, further cementing him as one of my favorite unknown Catholic bloggers.
– For those of you who love [...]

Jerusalem, at Easter, as it should be

As soon as I entered the Old City of Jerusalem through Jaffa Gate on Easter morning, I knew something was amiss. It was as if, with those few steps into the walled city, I had walked into another reality.
Jewish children dressed up as chefs and pirates clung to their mothers’ who were pushing baby carriages [...]