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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The rumor spread quickly: A man had been beaten to death by police. For blacks - frustrated by high unemployment, inadequate schools, substandard housing - yet another abuse by police was too much to bear, and they erupted....
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) -- A woman charged with killing four of her young children and her husband smiled and flashed a double thumbs up to news cameras during her first court appearance Friday in metro Atlanta before telling a judge she doesn't want an attorney....
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) -- Despite clinging to only a sliver of territory in Mosul, Islamic State militants managed to launch a counterattack Friday that reversed days of Iraqi army territorial gains in just a matter of hours - a setback that underscores the fragility of the Iraqi security forces despite years of U.S.-led coalition training as well as the instability likely to follow the city's liberation....
EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) -- Islamic militants attacked a remote Egyptian army outpost in the Sinai Peninsula with a suicide car bomb and heavy machine gun fire on Friday, killing at least 23 soldiers in the deadliest attack in the turbulent region in two years....
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Terry Francona's heart, of all things, has kept him away from baseball....
Hamburg, Germany, Jul 7, 2017 / 10:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis sent a message to leaders of the world's economy gathered for the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, reminding them of the responsibility they have to care for those not represented at the summit.The G20 Summit is annual meeting of heads of state and finance from the leaders of the world's economy. While only 20 countries are members, they represent 85 percent of the world's GDP and two-thirds of it's population.German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hosting this year’s G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany from July 7-8. The summit has been met this year with small but significant groups of mostly anti-capitalist protesters, who among other things are protesting the meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin.In his address to the leaders, Pope Francis reflected on four key themes, starting with "time is greater than space," at which point he told the group to ...
Hamburg, Germany, Jul 7, 2017 / 10:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis sent a message to leaders of the world's economy gathered for the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, reminding them of the responsibility they have to care for those not represented at the summit.
The G20 Summit is annual meeting of heads of state and finance from the leaders of the world's economy. While only 20 countries are members, they represent 85 percent of the world's GDP and two-thirds of it's population.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hosting this year’s G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany from July 7-8. The summit has been met this year with small but significant groups of mostly anti-capitalist protesters, who among other things are protesting the meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In his address to the leaders, Pope Francis reflected on four key themes, starting with "time is greater than space," at which point he told the group to consider effective solutions for the immigration crisis that has hit Europe and the Middle East in the past several years. Immigration was already listed on the agenda of the G20 group, for which the Pope said he was thankful.
"An effective solution, necessarily spread over time, will be possible only if the final objective of the process is clearly present in its planning," he said.
"In the minds and hearts of government leaders, and at every phase of the enactment of political measures, there is a need to give absolute priority to the poor, refugees, the suffering, evacuees and the excluded, without distinction of nation, race, religion or culture, and to reject armed conflicts."
He paused to especially remind the group of the crisis in South Sudan, where thirty million people are lacking the food and water to survive.
In his next point, "unity prevails over conflict," the Pope reminded the group that "war…is never a solution", reiterating the words of Pope Benedict XV.
"There is a tragic contradiction and inconsistency in the apparent unity expressed in common forums on economic or social issues, and the acceptance, active or passive, of armed conflicts," Francis said.
The Pope also told the summit in his third theme that "realities are more important than ideas", and asked them not to fall into the ideologies of the first half of the 20th century that brought "exclusion, waste and even death."
"I pray to God that the Hamburg Summit may be illumined by the example of those European and world leaders who consistently gave pride of place to dialogue and the quest of common solutions: Schuman, De Gasperi, Adenauer, Monnet and so many others," he said.
And finally, the Holy Father asked the global leaders to remember that "the whole is greater than the part."
"Problems need to be resolved concretely and with due attention to their specificity, but such solutions, to be lasting, cannot neglect a broader vision," he said.
"While it is reasonable that G20 Summits should be limited to the small number of countries that represent 90% of the production of wealth and services worldwide, this very situation must prompt the participants to a profound reflection. Those states and individuals whose voice is weakest on the world political scene are precisely the ones who suffer most from the harmful effects of economic crises for which they bear little or no responsibility," he noted.
"This great majority, which in economic terms counts for only 10% of the whole, is the portion of humanity that has the greatest potential to contribute to the progress of everyone."
At the end of his remarks, the Pope asked for God's blessings on the summit.
By Greg ErlandsonWASHINGTON(CNS) -- The first century of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops hasconcluded with its organization of an unprecedented and powerful gathering ofCatholics in Orlando, Florida.With the somewhat ungainlytitle of "Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America," itwas nine years in the making. It brought together more than 3,100 people,mainly laity but also more than 150 bishops and 500 priests and deacons. Itfelt a bit like a class reunion for highly engaged Catholics, or as oneobserver put it, a World Youth Day for adults.For four days ofspeeches, panels, Masses and much conversation, the convocation became atangible expression of church unity and missionary zeal. There were manyhighlights, from the opening speech by Hosffman Ospino to the closing homily byCardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, USCCB president.A tour de force was thefinal address by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the UnitedStates. He call...
By Greg Erlandson
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The first century of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has concluded with its organization of an unprecedented and powerful gathering of Catholics in Orlando, Florida.
With the somewhat ungainly title of "Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America," it was nine years in the making. It brought together more than 3,100 people, mainly laity but also more than 150 bishops and 500 priests and deacons. It felt a bit like a class reunion for highly engaged Catholics, or as one observer put it, a World Youth Day for adults.
For four days of speeches, panels, Masses and much conversation, the convocation became a tangible expression of church unity and missionary zeal. There were many highlights, from the opening speech by Hosffman Ospino to the closing homily by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, USCCB president.
A tour de force was the final address by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the United States. He called the gathering "a new Catholic moment, a privileged time to be renewed for the mission of evangelization in this country."
Weaving together references to nearly every plenary talk, the archbishop showed that he had not just attended every session, but had listened as well.
The nuncio called the convocation a "journeying together" that strengthened "our common bonds."
"This convocation has reawakened our collective conscience to the plight of the poor, the persecuted, and those at the peripheries," he concluded.
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez spoke at length about the peripheries in our society. "America is pulling apart," he warned. "We are people divided along lines of money and race, education and family backgrounds."
For Archbishop Gomez, as for many other speakers, the challenges we face in society demand missionary discipleship, a going forth to evangelize anew. This means not just converting others, but first converting ourselves. "We know the church's mission is not just a 'job' for bishops and clergy and 'church professionals,'" he said.
"You are here today," he told the attendees, "because you have heard the call of Jesus: 'Follow me!'"
The speeches and liturgies were accompanied by dozens of breakout sessions featuring more than 239 panelists, each with bishop facilitators. The emphasis was more on dialogue than lectures. What was most evident, however, were the constant conversations taking place throughout the hotels and gathering spaces.
This may have been the greatest gift of the convocation: opportunities for highly committed Catholics from chanceries and parishes, from Catholic apostolates and organizations, to mingle, to share, and to realize they were not alone.
The convocation brought together people not just from prolife and social justice areas of the church, but also people involved in education, evangelization, media and communications, liturgy, and youth and young adult ministries. In addition, there were those serving Hispanics, Asians, African-Americans and other communities.
This cross-fertilization of ministries may have been one of the great opportunities of the convocation, a breaking apart of the silos that often impede the work of the church.
While there was a great sense of unity, the delegates were challenged to hear the voices of the poor and the marginalized: Ospino on the growth of Latino Catholicism, strong words from Ansel Augustine on the role of African-American Catholics, and much applauded remarks by Helen Alvare and Kerry Weber on the role of women and the church.
Patrick Lencioni, a famous management guru and founder of Amazing Parish, brought his analysis of successful teambuilding to the convocation, wittily skewering the kind of "nice" behavior that lacks trust, avoids conflict and ignores results in many church organizations. The knowing laughter and applause that accompanied many of his observations suggest where the church needs to get better.
So what next? That question was constantly asked. How does this energy get brought back to parishes and dioceses? The last day each of the 157 diocesan delegations huddled to propose their own answers to these questions at the personal, parish and diocesan levels.
One less obvious takeaway, however, is that the convocation underscored the value of the U.S. bishops' conference itself. The conference was born in 1917 as a response to the demands of World War I and the realization by the bishops that they needed a national organization with a national voice.
This convocation was the fruit of several years of work by USCCB staff and a bishops' working group. It is impossible to imagine another organization with the resources, the skill sets and the knowledge to pull off such a gathering.
Perhaps one fruit of the convocation will be that church leaders see their conference not only as a bureaucracy, but as a phenomenal tool for engaging our entire church in its 21st-century mission.
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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob RollerBy Laura DodsonORLANDO,Fla. (CNS) -- Theirs was a monumental responsibility: shepherding lay leaders, cardinals,archbishops, bishops, religious, deacons, musicians, event staff and a legionof volunteers at the historic "Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of theGospel in America" July 1-4 in Orlando."Thisconvocation is a journey, and there will be three of us here to guide youthrough the next four days," said Bishop Edward J. Burns of Dallas, one of theevent's emcees.Theconsistent presence -- on stage and off -- of Bishop Burns, along with emceeJulianne Stanz, director of new evangelization for the Diocese of Green Bay,Wisconsin, and moderator Gloria Purvis, co-host of "Morning Glory" on EWTNRadio, kept the entire program flowing smoothly despite any behind-the-sceneshiccups.Sponsoredby the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the convocation brought together morethan 3,100 lay and religious leaders from 160 dioceses and 185 nationalorganizations. The...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller
By Laura Dodson
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) -- Theirs was a monumental responsibility: shepherding lay leaders, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, religious, deacons, musicians, event staff and a legion of volunteers at the historic "Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America" July 1-4 in Orlando.
"This convocation is a journey, and there will be three of us here to guide you through the next four days," said Bishop Edward J. Burns of Dallas, one of the event's emcees.
The consistent presence -- on stage and off -- of Bishop Burns, along with emcee Julianne Stanz, director of new evangelization for the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and moderator Gloria Purvis, co-host of "Morning Glory" on EWTN Radio, kept the entire program flowing smoothly despite any behind-the-scenes hiccups.
Sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the convocation brought together more than 3,100 lay and religious leaders from 160 dioceses and 185 national organizations. They gathered to explore the current challenges and strengths of the church and its evangelization efforts.
Bishop John G. Noonan of Orlando, host of the convocation, joked that when New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, an event chairman, "called me five years ago to tell me he'd like to come to Orlando in July -- he didn't tell me how many he had invited!"
"Welcome as we celebrate the joy of the Gospel!" Bishop Noonan told the delegates.
"All the good, dedicated, committed lay faithful present truly touched me," Bishop Burns said in an interview for Catholic News Service, "especially knowing that they are the Catholic leaders in their dioceses and Catholic organizations."
"It was powerful to see them engaged in conversation on how we can be missionary disciples," he said. "In addition, seeing the authentic faith of every person on stage and how they shared it so honestly. It was incarnational -- we definitely encountered the word made flesh."
Stanz, who is a wife and the mother of three young children, was impressed by the numbers of Catholics, especially the young people who were all hearing the message personally and realizing, "I can do this!"
"There was the transformative message that each of us is being called and sent out not only by the bishops but also by Jesus Christ himself," Stanz said. "What was most surprising was the availability of the cardinals, bishops, speakers -- the experts working in ministry that made conversations familiar, intimate. I didn't expect it.
"People witnessed to their struggles and the challenge of living out their Catholic faith in 21st-century America. I saw the face of Jesus very clearly," she added.
In an interview, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles said, "I understand the pain and the challenges and this is a blessing for me to serve them."
"Even with these difficult subjects, there was always openness, happiness and congeniality," Purvis said. "People were willing to share intimate things, they want to work on everything to make it right, to do what we need to do. It was not about me -- it was about the conversation and how we can better serve the Lord."
A highlight for Purvis was eucharistic adoration. "The public witness on our knees praising God -- I was overcome with tears and grateful to be able to worship. I was very much humbled by how kind people were in my role as moderator. I felt they were encouraging me."
The event, which marked a first in U.S. church history, was a national response to Pope Francis' 2013 apostolic exhortation, "Evangelii Gaudium" ("The Joy of the Gospel"), according to organizers.
The exhortation lays out a vision of the church dedicated to evangelization -- or missionary discipleship -- in a positive way, with a focus on society's poorest and most vulnerable, including the aged, unborn and forgotten.
In addition to lay delegates, attendees included 155 cardinals, archbishops and bishops, along with 380 priests, 175 women religious, 125 deacons and 10 religious brothers.
The top 10 states that sent delegates included California, Texas, Florida, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Minnesota and Michigan. The top dioceses sending delegations were Cincinnati, Orlando, New York and Miami. Nine of the Eastern Catholic eparchies sent over 50 delegates.
Following the final plenary, delegates met with their respective bishops for goal setting as a result of the convocation. Bishop Noonan was effusive in his gratitude to and for all who had contributed in making the event so seamless.
"What do you want to do for the next few weeks?" Bishop Noonan asked his delegates. "Rest and read over what you have absorbed -- deepen the experience. Listen again -- the seeds have been planted. Make it more of a spiritual time.
"Pope Francis has called us to get moving," he continued. "People are saying a lot on social media -- they are motivated and inspired to spread the good news and bring it into their homes. We will use this weekend as inspiration."
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami summed it all up: "Just three words -- a wonderful encounter."
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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
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