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JERUSALEM (AP) -- Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces near a contested Jerusalem shrine after Muslim worshippers massed outside for evening prayers on Thursday as tensions over the holy site escalated further....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Several of President Donald Trump's nominees for key ambassador posts declined Thursday to say unequivocally whether Russia sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A revised Republican health care bill would drive up the number of uninsured Americans by 22 million by 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Thursday in a report unlikely to help GOP leaders persuade their party's senators to back the reeling legislation in an upcoming showdown vote....
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington, who sold millions of albums with an ever-changing mix of hard rock, hip-hop and rap, was found dead in his home near Los Angeles on Thursday, the Los Angeles County coroner said Thursday. He was 41....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Battling brain cancer, John McCain on Thursday vowed to return to the Senate, leveling fresh criticism at the Trump administration and aiming a good-natured dig at Republican and Democratic colleagues shaken by news of his diagnosis....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions, publicly skewered by his boss for stepping aside from the Russia-Trump investigations, declared Thursday he still loves his job and plans to stay on. Yet Donald Trump's airing of his long-simmering frustrations with Sessions raised significant new questions about the future of the nation's top prosecutor....
LOVELOCK, Nev. (AP) -- The Latest on O.J. Simpson's parole hearing (all times local):...
LOVELOCK, Nev. (AP) -- O.J. Simpson was granted parole Thursday after more than eight years in prison for a Las Vegas hotel heist, successfully making his case in a nationally televised hearing that reflected America's enduring fascination with the former football star....
Vatican City, Jul 20, 2017 / 06:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Fr. Pierangelo Pietracatella and Fr. Hans-Peter Fischer are the newest members of the Roman Rota, and mark the latest in a string of appointments Pope Francis has made this summer as part of his ongoing effort to restructure the Roman Curia.Hailing from the northern Italian diocese of Toronta, Fr. Pietracatella, a member of the Rota, has been named as its new Chief of Office.Fr. Fischer, a priest of the archdiocese of Freiburg, located in Germany's black forest region, has been named an auditor of the Rota. He is the current rector of the Pontifical Teutonic College of Santa Maria in Campo Santo, located in the Vatican.Composed of various auditors, the Roman Rota is one of the three courts of the Holy See, the other two being the Apostolic Penitentiary and the Apostolic Signatura.The Apostolic Penitentiary is the tribunal in charge of cases involving excommunication and serious sins, including those whose absolution is rese...
Vatican City, Jul 20, 2017 / 06:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Fr. Pierangelo Pietracatella and Fr. Hans-Peter Fischer are the newest members of the Roman Rota, and mark the latest in a string of appointments Pope Francis has made this summer as part of his ongoing effort to restructure the Roman Curia.
Hailing from the northern Italian diocese of Toronta, Fr. Pietracatella, a member of the Rota, has been named as its new Chief of Office.
Fr. Fischer, a priest of the archdiocese of Freiburg, located in Germany's black forest region, has been named an auditor of the Rota. He is the current rector of the Pontifical Teutonic College of Santa Maria in Campo Santo, located in the Vatican.
Composed of various auditors, the Roman Rota is one of the three courts of the Holy See, the other two being the Apostolic Penitentiary and the Apostolic Signatura.
The Apostolic Penitentiary is the tribunal in charge of cases involving excommunication and serious sins, including those whose absolution is reserved to the Holy See, while the Signatura functions as a sort of Supreme Court. The Rota, for its part, is akin to a court of appeals or court of “last instance,” and is also where marriage nullity cases are judged.
The Roman Rota is the Vatican's court of higher instance, usually at the appellate stage, with the purpose of safeguarding rights within the Church.
Among its responsibilities is the trying of appeals in marriage annulment cases. The annulment process was streamlined by Pope Francis in December 2015, giving the possibility of a stronger role to local bishops and cutting the automatic appeal of initial judgments, among other things.
Announced in a July 20 communique from the Holy See, the appointments to the Rota are the latest carried out by Pope Francis in his ongoing reform of the Roman Curia.
Earlier this month the pontiff made waves by choosing to not renew the 5-year term of Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In his stead, the Pope Francis on July 1 named Jesuit Archbishop Luis Ladaria, former secretary of the congregation, to take the helm.
Just over two weeks later, on July 18, he tapped the congregation's undersecretary, Father Giacomo Morandi, to take Ladaria's place as secretary. The priest was also appointed titular Archbishop of Caere, however, the date of his episcopal consecration has not yet been set.
These latest appointments by Pope Francis are significant, since they represent many of the curia officials had been named by Benedict before his resignation.
While Francis has made several of his own appointments since his election, the terms of the officials named by Benedict are now coming to an end, giving way for a curia that is shaped more by the mind of Francis as he moves forward in his process of Church reform.
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler OrsburnBy Rhina GuidosWASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chair of the migration committee ofthe U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged the Trump administration to"ensure permanent protection" for youth who were brought to the U.S.as minors without legal documentation.Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chair of the Committee on MigrationCommittee, reiterated the bishops' support for the Deferred Action forChildhood Arrivals, or DACA, a 2012 policy under then-President Barack Obama that,while not providing legal status, gives recipients a temporary reprieve fromdeportation and employment authorization in the United States as long as theymeet certain criteria.During his campaign for president, Donald Trump said hewould get rid of the program but later backtracked and it's unclear what will happento the estimated 750,000 youth who signed up for the program."DACA youth are contributors to our economy, veteransof our military, academic standouts in our universities, a...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn
By Rhina Guidos
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chair of the migration committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged the Trump administration to "ensure permanent protection" for youth who were brought to the U.S. as minors without legal documentation.
Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chair of the Committee on Migration Committee, reiterated the bishops' support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a 2012 policy under then-President Barack Obama that, while not providing legal status, gives recipients a temporary reprieve from deportation and employment authorization in the United States as long as they meet certain criteria.
During his campaign for president, Donald Trump said he would get rid of the program but later backtracked and it's unclear what will happen to the estimated 750,000 youth who signed up for the program.
"DACA youth are contributors to our economy, veterans of our military, academic standouts in our universities, and leaders in our parishes," said Bishop Vasquez in a July 18 statement. "These young people entered the U.S. as children and know America as their only home. The dignity of every human being, particularly that of our children and youth, must be protected."
He urged the administration "to continue administering the DACA program and to publicly ensure that DACA youth are not priorities for deportation."
The bishops join other Catholic institutions worried about the group and urging protection. In May, more than 65 college presidents representing U.S. Catholic institutions asked for a meeting with the Secretary of Homeland Security to talk about immigration policy, particularly DACA, saying they worried about the future of their students. They cited incidents in which DACA recipients have been placed under immigration detention, including a case in which one of them was deported.
"Many of these students will leave our campuses for internships, summer programs and jobs. Our prayer is that they return," their letter said, but so far there have been no announcements of what the administration will or won't do regarding the program.
In his statement, Bishop Vasquez said that since DACA is not a permanent solution, "I also call on Congress to work in an expeditious and bipartisan manner to find a legislative solution for DACA youth as soon as possible."
The country's Catholic bishops will continue efforts to find a humane and permanent resolution "that protects DACA youth," Bishop Vasquez wrote.
"Additionally, I note the moral urgency for comprehensive immigration reform that is just and compassionate. The bishops will advocate for these reforms as we truly believe they will advance the common good," he said.
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Follow Guidos on Twitter: @CNS_Rhina.
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