Catholic News 2
HOUSTON (AP) -- Doctors removed former President George H.W. Bush's breathing tube on Friday and he was breathing well on his own at a Houston hospital, his spokesman said....
BANJUL, Gambia (AP) -- Longtime Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh agreed Friday to yield power to the man who defeated him in last month's presidential election, a Senegalese government official said....
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Latest on Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman facing drug trafficking and other charges in the United States (all times local):...
FARINDOLA, Italy (AP) -- With cheers of "Bravo! Bravo!" rescue crews pulled survivors from the debris of an avalanche-crushed hotel in central Italy on Friday, boosting spirits two days after massive snow slide buried some 30 people. Four children were among the 10 people found alive - and one asked for cookies when she got out....
ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) -- In living rooms, cafes and offices, people across America watched Donald Trump become the nation's 45th president on Friday, with many eagerly anticipating the historic transition and others deeply fearing it....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on Donald Trump's inauguration as the 45th president of the United States (all times EST):...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump's inaugural address held familiar echoes of the campaign speeches that led to his presidential win: downbeat about the state of the nation, to the point of hyperbole. A look at some of his assertions Friday:...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Protesters registered their rage against the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump's inaugural parade route. Scores were arrested for trashing property and attacking officers....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pledging to empower America's "forgotten men and women," Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States Friday, taking command of a deeply divided nation and ushering in an unpredictable era in Washington. His victory gives Republicans control of the White House for the first time in eight years....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Friday with Irish bishops who are in Rome this week on their ad limina visits – the first such visit since 2006.Following the encounter, which lasted for over two hours, some of the bishops came to Vatican Radio to share their impressions and to talk about the most significant challenges facing their Church today.Listen: Less than half of the bishops meeting with Pope Francis on Friday had been on an ad limina visit before. Yet all of them were clearly impressed by the level of openness and dialogue they discovered in all the offices of the Roman Curia and particularly in their closed door, informal and unscripted conversation with the Pope.Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh is president of the Irish bishops conference:“He said at the beginning, ‘I’ll throw in the ball and let’s see what happens’, so it turned out to be a conversation about the Church in Ireland, about the struggles and challenges we&rsqu...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Friday with Irish bishops who are in Rome this week on their ad limina visits – the first such visit since 2006.
Following the encounter, which lasted for over two hours, some of the bishops came to Vatican Radio to share their impressions and to talk about the most significant challenges facing their Church today.
Listen:
Less than half of the bishops meeting with Pope Francis on Friday had been on an ad limina visit before. Yet all of them were clearly impressed by the level of openness and dialogue they discovered in all the offices of the Roman Curia and particularly in their closed door, informal and unscripted conversation with the Pope.
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh is president of the Irish bishops conference:
“He said at the beginning, ‘I’ll throw in the ball and let’s see what happens’, so it turned out to be a conversation about the Church in Ireland, about the struggles and challenges we’re having, but also about the importance of a ministry of presence, a ministry of the ear, where we’re listening to the hopes, struggles and fears of our people….”
Featuring high on the agenda were discussions about the family and about the need to reach out to young people, especially those whose faith has been shattered by the numerous sex abuse scandals. As the bishops were meeting with the Pope in Rome, a new report was being published in Belfast about abuse cases and the bishops pledged their full cooperation in order to support victims and ensure the highest standards of child protection throughout the Church.
During their meetings the bishops said they spoke frankly of problems such as poverty and homelessness, the current political crisis in Northern Ireland, but also concerns about the place of women in the Catholic Church today, as Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin explained:
“No subject was off the agenda….Pope Francis again said to talk about our experiences, our challenges, our criticisms….One theme that came up on numerous occasions was the position of women in the Church, we brought it up in almost every congregation we went to and there was a willingness to listen and a recognition that we were asking a valid question, because the Irish episcopal conference is quite concerned about that theme”
The bishops said they also talked about preparations for the World Meeting of Families which will take place in Dublin next year, adding that they discussed with Pope Francis the possibility of his visit to Ireland for the occasion, a first papal trip there since Pope John Paul travelled to the country, back in 1979.
