Catholic News 2
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Drug overdose deaths have increased by 33 percent in the past five years across the country, with some states seeing jumps of nearly 200 percent....
TENOSIQUE, Mexico (AP) -- Carlos Mejia sleeps on a bare mattress in an otherwise unfurnished room with his girlfriend and spreads a sheet on the cool tile for their two young children, a small respite from the sweltering heat. Their neighbors on both sides are Hondurans like them....
TOKYO (AP) -- It's been five years since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took power following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, whose demise was observed at monuments and on city center plazas across the nation Saturday. Here's a look at five ways the country that has now been ruled by three generations of Kim - starting with grandfather Kim Il Sung - has changed since the ascension of its 30-something "respected marshal."...
CAIRO (AP) -- When a suicide bomber blew himself up in a Cairo church a week ago, it marked a bloody escalation by Egypt's jihadi militants, raising fears that an insurgency which for years largely focused on fighting in the Sinai and killing policemen may now turn to unleash attacks on civilians in the country's capital....
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Protesters say the North Carolina legislature's actions limiting the next governor's influence before he even takes office were unconstitutional power grabs by GOP legislators unhappy their candidate didn't win re-election....
ISTANBUL (AP) -- Thirteen Turkish troops were killed and 48 others wounded in a car bomb attack in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri on Saturday morning, the Turkish military reported....
Birmingham, Ala., Dec 16, 2016 / 07:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Dedicated to serving Catholic converts, the network Coming Home, will meet the closing of the year with record-breaking membership numbers, reporting over 5,000 new members for 2016.“Protestants and other non-Catholics on the journey to Catholicism need to meet Catholics who themselves are faithful Christians, as well as other converts who know the difficulty of the journey into the Church and beyond,” said JonMarc Grodi, the director of the Coming Home Network.“Handling these large numbers is a wonderful challenge, because ours is a very personal mission. We work to understand each individual person’s journey and needs, and then help them accordingly,” Grodi continued.The Coming Home network is an apostolate produced by members of The Journey Home program, which airs on the Catholic network EWTN. The network was founded over 25 years ago, and features apologetic resources, retreats, and catech...
Birmingham, Ala., Dec 16, 2016 / 07:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Dedicated to serving Catholic converts, the network Coming Home, will meet the closing of the year with record-breaking membership numbers, reporting over 5,000 new members for 2016.
“Protestants and other non-Catholics on the journey to Catholicism need to meet Catholics who themselves are faithful Christians, as well as other converts who know the difficulty of the journey into the Church and beyond,” said JonMarc Grodi, the director of the Coming Home Network.
“Handling these large numbers is a wonderful challenge, because ours is a very personal mission. We work to understand each individual person’s journey and needs, and then help them accordingly,” Grodi continued.
The Coming Home network is an apostolate produced by members of The Journey Home program, which airs on the Catholic network EWTN. The network was founded over 25 years ago, and features apologetic resources, retreats, and catechetical programs to journey with individuals on the road to Catholicism.
The organization began keeping track of their numbers in 1993, and recently reported that the 2016 year will mark the largest count of membership since then.
In order to tackle the growing multitude of members, the Coming Home network has implemented advanced social media strategies and redesigned their website for more efficient production. They have also prepared their staff to “handle the increase in inquiries.”
The members who have joined the Coming Home network throughout 2016 “include non-Catholic clergy, seminarian professors, seminarians, missionaries, lay ministers and even spouses of clergy.” Among the members are also “laypersons seeking to enter the Catholic Church and members who are already Catholic but have experienced a reversion to their faith.”
These members who have converted to Catholicism now serve the Church in various ways: as bishops, priests, deacons and religious, or also as active laypersons within the Church community.
“They’re serving in every imaginable way,” Grodi said of the converts.
Grodi, who is also the founder and president of EWTN’s The Journey Home, expressed excitement and gratitude at the growth in numbers.
“The personal touch of my guests telling their stories has been like the ripple effect from a stone thrown into a pond. A day doesn’t go by when we don’t receive grateful calls, emails, tweets, and texts from viewers and listeners,” Grodi said.
“I think however, that the main reason God is drawing people to the fullness of truth is for the sake of their own spiritual growth, and the graces of the sacraments.”
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The University of Minnesota football team is threatening to boycott one of the nation's top second-tier bowl games over the suspension of 10 players accused of participating in a sexual assault....
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- President-elect Donald Trump, in the latest stop of his victory lap, told a military veteran-laden crowd in Florida on Friday that while he would build up the country's armed forces, he would use them sparingly as commander-in-chief....
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- President-elect Donald Trump this week tapped Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson to serve as his secretary of state. If confirmed by the Senate, where opposition is emerging, the move could have broad consequences for U.S. environmental policy and affect the role the U.S. plays in multinational discussions about climate change....
