Catholic News 2
NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook is under fire for failing to rein in fake and biased news stories that some believe may have swayed the presidential election. Its predicament stems from this basic conundrum: It exercises great control over the news its users see, but it declines to assume the editorial responsibility that traditional publishers do....
BEIRUT (AP) -- Russian missiles pounded opposition targets in Syria on Tuesday, the start of a much-anticipated offensive, while activists reported the resumption of bombing in rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo for the first time in nearly a month, apparently by Syrian government warplanes....
OREM, Utah (AP) -- As a group of boys at a Utah high school changed Tuesday morning into gym clothes for physical education class, a straight-A student pulled out a knife in the locker room and stabbed five of his classmates, sending the injured running for their lives and covered in blood, police said....
CLAY, W.Va. (AP) -- A West Virginia mayor resigned Tuesday following a backlash after she posted a response to a racist comment about first lady Michelle Obama on Facebook....
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A Southwest Airlines employee was shot outside Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport on Tuesday and died after police closed the sprawling complex to search for his killer....
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- The Latest on a strong earthquake that struck New Zealand on Monday (all times local):...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Latest on a shooting at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City (all times local):...
Vatican City, Nov 15, 2016 / 11:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A year after Pope Francis released his encyclical on the environment, Laudato si', the Vatican has stepped up its efforts in the recycling game by creating a new central waste collection point within Vatican City.Announced Nov. 14 by the State Governorate of Vatican City Events Coordination, the new system builds on recycling practices already in place.With the implementation of the new, more organized system, the leaders of the Vatican’s State Governorate said they hope that the small state “can in some way become a good example of a ‘green’ and non-polluting state.”For many years now the Vatican has encouraged recycling and dispensed different colored bins throughout the Vatican for sorting and recycling waste appropriately, but this marks the first time there is one central collection area.In addition to the usual recyclable categories such as paper, plastic and organic material, there will ...
Vatican City, Nov 15, 2016 / 11:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A year after Pope Francis released his encyclical on the environment, Laudato si', the Vatican has stepped up its efforts in the recycling game by creating a new central waste collection point within Vatican City.
Announced Nov. 14 by the State Governorate of Vatican City Events Coordination, the new system builds on recycling practices already in place.
With the implementation of the new, more organized system, the leaders of the Vatican’s State Governorate said they hope that the small state “can in some way become a good example of a ‘green’ and non-polluting state.”
For many years now the Vatican has encouraged recycling and dispensed different colored bins throughout the Vatican for sorting and recycling waste appropriately, but this marks the first time there is one central collection area.
In addition to the usual recyclable categories such as paper, plastic and organic material, there will also be areas for larger construction-type waste, such as metal, and for special hazardous and non-hazardous waste, such as electronic equipment and certain liquids.
There will also be an assigned operator at the location in order to provide documentation and to ensure that the waste is deposited appropriately.
Although recycling has been going on at the Vatican for some time now, the communique explained that Laudato si' “contributed significantly” to the acceleration of the implementation of the new system.
The new system will help everyone in Vatican City to recycle in a more organized and punctual way, the communique stated. At the start of its implementation, users were informed both how to follow the system well and on the importance of separating the different types of materials.
“Care for our common home” has been a popular topic during Pope Francis’ pontificate, where he frequently places issues such as pollution within the context of how harm to the environment also ultimately harms people.
In Laudato si' he wrote about how pollution can be linked to a “throwaway culture,” which disregards not only the value of things, but also the value and dignity of persons.
“Human beings too are creatures of this world, enjoying a right to life and happiness, and endowed with unique dignity,” he wrote in the encyclical. “So we cannot fail to consider the effects on people’s lives of environmental deterioration, current models of development and the throwaway culture.”
In his Sept. 1 message for the World Day of Care for Creation, the Pope encouraged Christians to make an examination of conscience, evaluating the ways they have contributed to “the disfigurement and destruction of creation,” given that “we all generate small ecological damage.”
After making a sincere examination of conscience, “we can confess our sins against the Creator, against creation, and against our brothers and sisters,” he said, explaining that we confess sins against the environment because “we are penitent and desire to change.”
The grace received from confession must then be put into action with concrete ways of thinking and acting that are more respectful of creation, he said, suggesting the reduction of water use, recycling, carpooling, turning off unused lights and limiting the amount of food cooked to only what will be consumed as ideas with which to start.
Vatican City, Nov 15, 2016 / 01:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In a video message sent to the US bishops' plenary meeting on Tuesday, Pope Francis urged them to continue reaching out to immigrants, especially commending the upcoming fifth national “Encuentro” on Hispanic/Latino ministry.He said in the Nov. 15 message that while visiting the nation last year, “I was impressed by the vitality and diversity of the Catholic community … In this context, I would commend the coming Fifth National Hispanic Pastoral Encuentro.”The Church in the US has “welcomed and integrated new waves of immigrants” throughout its history, he noted, adding that “in the rich variety of their languages and cultural traditions, they have shaped the changing face of the American Church.”The Encuentro is a multi-year process meant to improve the quality of ministry among Hispanic Catholics, and is a priority for the US bishps' strategic plan. It invol...
Vatican City, Nov 15, 2016 / 01:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In a video message sent to the US bishops' plenary meeting on Tuesday, Pope Francis urged them to continue reaching out to immigrants, especially commending the upcoming fifth national “Encuentro” on Hispanic/Latino ministry.
He said in the Nov. 15 message that while visiting the nation last year, “I was impressed by the vitality and diversity of the Catholic community … In this context, I would commend the coming Fifth National Hispanic Pastoral Encuentro.”
The Church in the US has “welcomed and integrated new waves of immigrants” throughout its history, he noted, adding that “in the rich variety of their languages and cultural traditions, they have shaped the changing face of the American Church.”
The Encuentro is a multi-year process meant to improve the quality of ministry among Hispanic Catholics, and is a priority for the US bishps' strategic plan. It involves missionary activity, consultation, leadership development, and pastoral discernment.
The process will culminate with a national event held in Dallas in September 2018.
The Pope stated that “in continuity with its predecessors, the Encuentro seeks to acknowledge and value the specific gifts that Hispanic Catholics have offered, and continue to offer, to the Church in your country.”
“But it is more than that. It is part of a greater process of renewal and missionary outreach, one to which all of your local Churches are called,” he added.
Hispanics now constitute 40 percent of Catholics in the United States, and more than 50 percent of the nation's Catholics under age 35.
The Pope reflected that the Church's “great challenge” is “to create a culture of encounter, which encourages individuals and groups to share the richness of their traditions and experiences, to break down walls and to build bridges.”
Pope Francis said the Church “is called to 'go out' from its comfort zone and to be a leaven of communion … among ourselves, with our fellow Christians, and with all who seek a future of hope.”
“We need to become ever more fully a community of missionary disciples, filled with love of the Lord Jesus and enthusiasm for the spread of the Gospel,” he stated. “The Christian community is meant to be a sign and prophecy of God’s plan for the entire human family. We are called to be bearers of good news for a society gripped by disconcerting social, cultural and spiritual shifts, and increasing polarization.”
Francis hopes that the Church in the US “will accompany the Encuentro with its own reflection and pastoral discernment.”
“In a particular way, I ask you to consider how your local Churches can best respond to the growing presence, gifts and potential of the Hispanic community. Mindful of the contribution that the Hispanic community makes to the life of the nation, I pray that the Encuentro will bear fruit for the renewal of American society and for the Church’s apostolate in the United States.”
The US bishops' first Encuentro took place in 1972, while the fourth was celebrated in 2000; a youth version was held in 2006.
