Many Texas parishes to keep face masks, even with mandate lifted
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Many Catholic parishes in Texas will continue to ask parishioners to wear face masks and will limit capacity for Masses even though the state's governor, Greg Abbott, announced March 2 these pandemic [...]
Pope: Honor martyrs by remaining faithful, working for a better Iraq
BAGHDAD (CNS) -- Visiting a Baghdad cathedral "hallowed by the blood of our brothers and sisters" murdered in a terrorist attack that shook the world, Pope Francis said their sacrifice must motivate faith and a [...]
Pope arrives in Iraq, promoting peace, tolerance, equality
BAGHDAD (CNS) -- To consolidate peace and ensure progress, the government and people of Iraq must never treat anyone as a second-class citizen and must work each day to promote harmony, Pope Francis said. "Fraternal [...]
Bishop Rhoades: Latest COVID-19 vaccine can be used in good conscience
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a new video, the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Doctrine reiterated that use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine "can be used in good moral conscience." "There's no [...]
‘Finally,’ pope says he will be able to make pilgrimage to Iraq
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis told the people of Iraq he was going to their country as a "penitential pilgrim," asking God's forgiveness for years of war, persecution and destruction, and as a "pilgrim [...]
St. Bonaventure University president dies of COVID-19 complications
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (CNS) -- Dennis R. DePerro, the 21st president of St. Bonaventure University, died of COVID-19 complications March 1. He was 62. "Words simply can't convey the level of devastation our campus community [...]
‘We were here’ — health care chaplains reflect on COVID-19 ministry
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- As the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation this past year, hospital chaplains -- already accustomed to helping people cope with sickness and death -- found their ministries took on added significance. In [...]
Pope says he cannot disappoint Iraqis, asks prayers for trip
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- On the same day that 10 rockets hit an air base in Iraq, Pope Francis said he had to travel to the country because he could not disappoint them. "The Iraqi [...]
God offers humanity a love with no equal on earth, pope says at audience
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- There is no greater love in the world than the love God has for humanity, Pope Francis said. "What kind of God is prepared to die for people? What kind of [...]
Bishops address concern over Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s abortion link
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, approved Feb. 27 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, raises moral concerns because it was "was developed, tested and is produced with abortion-derived [...]
Catholic sculptor hopes to inspire with his liturgical art
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (CNS) -- When he was 7 years old, Dony Mac Manus' mother gave him a bag of clay for his birthday. The boy wasn't thrilled to receive what he considered a bit [...]
Honoring suffering, building bridges: Papal trip to Iraq has dual focus
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing security concerns, Pope Francis is determined to visit Iraq to pay homage to Christian and other minorities persecuted for their faith and to strengthen the [...]