Year for Priests: A Roman testament to political action

By Paulist Father Tom Holahan
One in a series
ROME — The noise about the proper place for the church in debate on public issues seems ironic in Europe. If only people could get as “fired up” as the United States seems to be! Granted, most of the heat is about public funding of abortion, but the [...]

Send an Advent message to Burundi

During Advent, Development and Peace, the official aid agency of the Canadian bishops’ conference, has started an interactive campaign for people to communicate with its partner agencies in Burundi.
The campaign focuses on the Kamenge Youth Center in Bujumbura and the Iteka League, which defends human rights and supports social movements. Site visitors can watch French-language [...]

Damaging report on abuse in Dublin

After months of delay, the independent government commission set up to investigate child abuse in Ireland’s Dublin Archdiocese has released its report detailing abuse and church officials’ knowledge of such abuse. Catholic News Service is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, but we will have a followup story Monday. Meanwhile, you can read about the report here.
The report [...]

Year for Priests: Ministry without politics

By Basilian Father Chris Valka
One in a series
When I was first approached by Catholic News Service to contribute to this blog, I asked a lot of questions about their hopes for this initiative.  Among several ideas that I remember, I was told that is good to present what makes priesthood so amazing (as I understand [...]

Four arrested in protests at Army school

It’s been 19 years since the first call came from a fledgling campaign to close a training school for Latin American soldiers at the U.S. Army’s massive Fort Benning complex in Columbus, Ga.
The campaign, organized by School of the Americas Watch, continued Nov. 20-22 with an annual vigil at the base’s gates and the arrest [...]

Youths came from ‘urban centers and rolling prairies’

Check out The Catholic Key blog and postings by editor Jack Smith on the 2009 National Catholic Youth Conference held Nov. 19-21 in Kansas City, Mo. The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan., co-hosted the conference.
In one of Smith’s entries, you’ll find a photo of a virtual sea of teens processing down [...]

Pope meets artists in the Sistine Chapel

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI met this morning in the Sistine Chapel with more than 250 artists from around the world.
Sitting in front of Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment, he reflected on the beauty of God and on the connection between beauty and hope.
Pope Benedict told the artists:

You are the custodians of beauty: [...]

U.S. bishops disappointed in abortion-funding provisions in Senate health care bill

In a letter just released at 6 p.m. today, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged the Senate to make essential changes in its health care reform bill in order to keep in place federal law on abortion funding and conscience protection on abortion, protect access to health care for immigrants and include strong provisions [...]

Catholic Charities USA opens centennial celebration

From now through September, Catholic Charities USA will be celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Against the backdrop of the U.S. Capitol, the celebration opened Nov. 19 with a reception for 300 people at the Newseum, one of Washington’s newest and most interactive museums.
Catholic Charities used the kickoff of its centennial year to honor one of its longtime [...]

St. Damien: A model for public servants

When Congressional leaders, ambassadors and others gathered in a U.S. Senate hearing room to honor St. Damien de Veuster Nov. 19, Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva compared the work of the Belgian-born saint to that of public servants.
Bishop Silva noted that St. Damien — known for his work in Hawaii with victims of Hansen’s disease, or leprosy [...]