When a priest is accused, the parish suffers too

When a priest is accused of sexually abusing a minor, the parish community inevitably becomes a victim.
The natural instinct of parishioners is to defend their spiritual guide,  and rally for his return.
No such outcome will occur at St. Leo Catholic Church in the Little Italy section of Baltimore, since it was announced this week that [...]

“Remembering Emilie”

Following up on yesterday’s post on the sad news of the death of Emilie Lemmons, we now offer a link to Catholic Spirit editor Joe Towalski’s column reflecting on her life, which has now been posted on the paper’s Web site. Towalski includes excerpts from Lemmons’ “Notes from a New Mom” articles over the past [...]

A sad but inspiring journey of a Catholic journalist, dead at 40

Death is nothing new to me.
Both of my parents died young, I’ve experienced the loss of friends and other family members, and I held my mother’s hand as she passed into the afterlife. As a journalist, I’ve covered more funerals and death-related tragedies than I care to count.
So, when I was assigned a story today about [...]

Jim Harney never forgot about the world’s poor

Catholic peacemaker Jim Harney, who promoted justice for the world’s poor through photography, lectures and retreats throughout the U.S. and Canada, died Dec. 26 after a protracted bout with brain cancer.
The 68-year-old former Catholic priest first gained notoriety as one of the Milwaukee 14, a group of priests and faith-based peace activists who burned some 10,000 Selective [...]

A reminder that Christmas is not yet over

Terry Mattingly, a religion expert who writes a weekly column for Scripps Howard News Service and is also a major contributor to the Get Religion blog (which is must-reading for anyone concerned about the coverage of religion in the mainstream media), gave a nice little plug in a couple places last week to the U.S. [...]

Happy Birthday, Vatican City!

VATICAN CITY — Mark your calendars. On Feb. 11, Vatican City State turns 80 years old.
To celebrate, the commission governing Vatican territory is presenting a special exhibition that will open Feb. 12 in the Vatican’s Braccio di Carlo Magno in St. Peter’s Square.
The show will document the birth and development of the world’s smallest country after the Lateran [...]

Vatican Nativity scene unveiled

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican unveiled its Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square at dusk on Christmas Eve. Workmen dropped a white curtain, and a few hundred camera flashes went off as a Vatican police band played. The scene changes a bit each year, and this one featured smaller home settings alongside Jesus’ manger in Bethlehem. A fountain and [...]

A few changes for the pope’s midnight Mass

VATICAN CITY — Like anyone preparing a traditional Christmas celebration, the pope’s master of liturgical ceremonies said he wants the venerable, tried and true elements to speak to people’s hearts as if they were brand new.
On Monday Msgr. Guido Marini, the papal Mass organizer, gave the Vatican newspaper a listing of rites and furnishings that [...]

“Merry Christmas” in Chinese

 
VATICAN CITY – Every year, Vatican Radio offers Chinese Catholics around the world two special broadcasts of midnight Mass on Christmas Day.
First it will air live over shortwave and the Internet Mass from the radio’s chapel at 7 p.m. Rome time, which will be midnight in Beijing. Then at midnight Rome time, it will broadcast Pope Benedict XVI celebrating Mass [...]

Need last-minute ideas for Christmas gifts?

Here’s one: How about the gift of service?
Even when people do not have “the economic means” to give to others, “every one of us has the ability to pray and find a way to be of service,” said Detroit Cardinal Adam J. Maida in a pastoral letter on the economy, “Christ Our Hope,” issued in [...]