Catholic News 2
ALSOZSOLCA, Hungary (AP) -- When there's firewood to be chopped, Ferenc Vadasz cuts class....
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The San Diego Chargers are moving to Los Angeles, where they will join the recently relocated Rams in giving the nation's second-largest media market two NFL teams for the first time in decades....
When crews started searching for a plane that was carrying six people when it disappeared over Lake Erie, they began with an expanse about half the size of New York City's five boroughs....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans with no more than a high school diploma have fallen so far behind college graduates in their economic lives that the earnings gap between college grads and everyone else has reached its widest point on record....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump's pick to run the CIA took a tough stand against Russia on Thursday, distancing himself from the president-elect, who wants to warm relations with Moscow....
(Vatican Radio) "He made boots for the Pope and was released from prison." This is the story of Bobby Penny, the first inmate taken under the care of Deacon Thaddeus Horbowy, a retired chaplain for the US Federal Bureau of Prisons.Deacon Horbowy told Devin Watkins the story of the pair of Texan boots during a recent trip to Rome.Listen to their conversation: "Bobby Penny was my first inmate. He walked into my office and said, 'Chaplain, I've been sent here by the warden to work as your helper.'"The encounter took place in Abilene, Texas some 25 years ago at a prison facility which houses 3,000 inmates. Deacon Horbowy said he noticed that Mr. Penny was "somehow different; he didn't have an attitude". Having worked well together for several years, Deacon Horbowy was promoted and moved to another prison in Texas but was allowed to have Bobby Penny transferred with him. Despite being trained only in boot repair, Deacon Horb...
(Vatican Radio) "He made boots for the Pope and was released from prison." This is the story of Bobby Penny, the first inmate taken under the care of Deacon Thaddeus Horbowy, a retired chaplain for the US Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Deacon Horbowy told Devin Watkins the story of the pair of Texan boots during a recent trip to Rome.
Listen to their conversation:
"Bobby Penny was my first inmate. He walked into my office and said, 'Chaplain, I've been sent here by the warden to work as your helper.'"
The encounter took place in Abilene, Texas some 25 years ago at a prison facility which houses 3,000 inmates. Deacon Horbowy said he noticed that Mr. Penny was "somehow different; he didn't have an attitude".
Having worked well together for several years, Deacon Horbowy was promoted and moved to another prison in Texas but was allowed to have Bobby Penny transferred with him.
Despite being trained only in boot repair, Deacon Horbowy told Mr. Penny to make him a pair of boots, saying “You’ve got plenty of time. Learn it!” The result was impressive, he said.
After retiring, Deacon Horbowy was invited to come to Rome for Pope Francis' Jubilee audience for Deacons. Not long before his pilgrimmage, Deacon Horbowy saw Mr. Penny in the Texas prison and asked him to make a pair of boots for the Pope.
Despite resistance from the prison's warden, Mr. Penny was able to make the boots. Not long after their meeting, in a development which may or may not be related, Deacon Horbowy received a letter from Mr. Penny announcing he had made parole and was released from prison.
During his recent trip to Rome, Deacon Horbowy brought that pair of boots in hopes of presenting them to Pope Francis as a gift.
(Vatican Radio) The controversial McDonald’s fast-food restaurant that has just opened only steps away from St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican City State is to provide thousands of free meals to homeless people in the area.The restaurant was opened at the beginning of the year after months of protest from locals and prelates who deemed it inappropriate for the unique historical setting of the building it is housed in, with a prime view on the Vatican’s Saint Anne Gate. But a collaboration between the Borgo Pio branch of McDonald's and a local charity organization called ‘Medicina Sociale’ has yielded a fruitful agreement that promises to hand out over 1000 McDonald’s meals to homeless persons every Monday at lunchtime starting from January 16th.The special “McVatican” - as the outlet has immediately been nicknamed - lunch boxes will include a double cheeseburger, fresh apple slices and a bottle of mineral water.Lu...
(Vatican Radio) The controversial McDonald’s fast-food restaurant that has just opened only steps away from St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican City State is to provide thousands of free meals to homeless people in the area.
The restaurant was opened at the beginning of the year after months of protest from locals and prelates who deemed it inappropriate for the unique historical setting of the building it is housed in, with a prime view on the Vatican’s Saint Anne Gate.
But a collaboration between the Borgo Pio branch of McDonald's and a local charity organization called ‘Medicina Sociale’ has yielded a fruitful agreement that promises to hand out over 1000 McDonald’s meals to homeless persons every Monday at lunchtime starting from January 16th.
The special “McVatican” - as the outlet has immediately been nicknamed - lunch boxes will include a double cheeseburger, fresh apple slices and a bottle of mineral water.
Lucia Ercoli, director of the charity organization, said she was "very satisfied with this agreement with McDonald's" and pointed out that the fast-food chain responded "promptly" to their request.
‘Medicina Solidale’ has been working with the Papal Almoner over the past year, providing health check-ups and medical care to the local homeless community. Volunteers and workers at the charity will be charged with distributing the McDonald's meals.
Pope Francis had a reminder at Wednesday's General Audience, saying that tickets to the Audience are ALWAYS free, and people are not allowed to charge for them. At the end of the Audience the Pope said:“Now I have to tell you something I would not like to say, but I must. To enter the audiences there are tickets on which it is written in one, two, three, four, five and six languages that ‘The ticket is free of charge’. You do not pay to enter the audience, both in the Hall and in the Square; it is a free visit that one makes to the Pope in order to speak with the Pope, with the bishop of Rome. But I know that there are tricksters who make people pay for the tickets. If someone tells you that you need to pay to attend an audience with the Pope, it is a con. Be careful! Entry is free of charge. You come here without paying, because this is home to everyone. And if someone makes you pay to enter the audience they are committing an offence, like a delinquent, doi...
Pope Francis had a reminder at Wednesday's General Audience, saying that tickets to the Audience are ALWAYS free, and people are not allowed to charge for them. At the end of the Audience the Pope said:
“Now I have to tell you something I would not like to say, but I must. To enter the audiences there are tickets on which it is written in one, two, three, four, five and six languages that ‘The ticket is free of charge’. You do not pay to enter the audience, both in the Hall and in the Square; it is a free visit that one makes to the Pope in order to speak with the Pope, with the bishop of Rome. But I know that there are tricksters who make people pay for the tickets. If someone tells you that you need to pay to attend an audience with the Pope, it is a con. Be careful! Entry is free of charge. You come here without paying, because this is home to everyone. And if someone makes you pay to enter the audience they are committing an offence, like a delinquent, doing something you should not do”.
(Vatican Radio) Refugees from Eritrea and Somalia will be able to journey ‘safely’ to Europe thanks to a humanitarian corridor between Ethiopia and Italy. The Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) on Thursday signed an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation foreseeing the opening of the safe space which will allow vulnerable people who have the right to enter Italy to avoid the so-called journeys of death that take them across the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea as they flee violence and persecution.The news was announced on Wednesday by Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, Secretary General of CEI, during a press conference for January 15th’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees.Archbishop Galantino said the humanitarian corridor is part of the Church’s project to assist refugees and comes to life in collaboration with Caritas Italiana, Fondazione Migrantes and the Saint Egidio Community. He said some...
(Vatican Radio) Refugees from Eritrea and Somalia will be able to journey ‘safely’ to Europe thanks to a humanitarian corridor between Ethiopia and Italy.
The Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) on Thursday signed an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation foreseeing the opening of the safe space which will allow vulnerable people who have the right to enter Italy to avoid the so-called journeys of death that take them across the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea as they flee violence and persecution.
The news was announced on Wednesday by Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, Secretary General of CEI, during a press conference for January 15th’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
Archbishop Galantino said the humanitarian corridor is part of the Church’s project to assist refugees and comes to life in collaboration with Caritas Italiana, Fondazione Migrantes and the Saint Egidio Community.
He said some five hundred vulnerable Sudanese, Eritrean and Somali refugees who are currently located in camps in Ethiopia and are in particularly difficult situations have already been identified.
The project which aims to save lives follows a similar initiative which has already been successfully implemented by the Community of Saint Egidio in collaboration with the Waldensian Table.
Thanks to that initiative hundreds of mainly Syrian refugees have been able to travel to Italy with a humanitarian visa with limited territorial validity, the costs of which are covered by the associations themselves. Saint Egidio points out that these visas also have the advantage of increased security because thorough checks are carried out and digital fingerprints taken.
Archbishop Galantino said the cost of these journeys by plane or boat, plus accommodation and legal assistance costs, will be covered by the Italian “eight per thousand” voluntary contribution tax paid to Catholic Church.
Upon arrival in Italy, refugees will be able to take part in an integration programme, which will include Italian lessons, help with finding a job and school enrolment for children.
