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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Weak from heart surgery and a sepsis infection that would soon kill her, Patricia Paone was resting at home last summer when an apparition appeared on the TV - a famous businessman who had struck a deal with her husband years before....
MONESSEN, Pa. (AP) -- Republican Donald Trump took aim at U.S. free trade deals in a speech delivered in Western Pennsylvania Tuesday that painted his likely Democratic rival Hillary Clinton as a champion of the kind of globalization that has pushed manufacturing jobs overseas....
LONDON (AP) -- As continental powers pressure a nervous Britain to formally apply to exit the European Union, die-hard "remain" supporters are taking on the mission to put the brakes on the so-called Brexit....
ISTANBUL (AP) -- A Turkish official says two explosions have rocked Istanbul's Ataturk airport, wounding multiple people....
Indian Archbishop Emeritus Henry D'Souza of Calcutta passed away on June 27, following age-related illness. He was 90. He was the Archbishop of Calcutta now the city of Kolkata from 1986 till his retirement in 2002.Archbishop Emeritus Henry Sebastian D'Souza was well-known internationally as he was the Archbishop when Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997, in Kolkata.. Later on he played a crucial role in initiating the process of her canonization. Archbishop D’Souza often hailed Mother Teresa as “the face of Christ in the world” for spending her life time helping people understand the nature of the divine.He was born January 20, 1926, in Kolkata and was ordained a priest on August 24, 1948. He was appointed the bishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in 1974. In 1985, he was transferred to Calcutta as the coadjutor Archbishop. He succeeded Cardinal Lawrence Picachy as the archbishop of Calcutta on April 5, 1986.The Archbishop ...
Indian Archbishop Emeritus Henry D'Souza of Calcutta passed away on June 27, following age-related illness. He was 90. He was the Archbishop of Calcutta now the city of Kolkata from 1986 till his retirement in 2002.
Archbishop Emeritus Henry Sebastian D'Souza was well-known internationally as he was the Archbishop when Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997, in Kolkata.. Later on he played a crucial role in initiating the process of her canonization. Archbishop D’Souza often hailed Mother Teresa as “the face of Christ in the world” for spending her life time helping people understand the nature of the divine.
He was born January 20, 1926, in Kolkata and was ordained a priest on August 24, 1948. He was appointed the bishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in 1974. In 1985, he was transferred to Calcutta as the coadjutor Archbishop. He succeeded Cardinal Lawrence Picachy as the archbishop of Calcutta on April 5, 1986.
The Archbishop had served as the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India and secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.
Known as an educationist, he had also played a major role in founding the Sacred Heart School in Kharagpur town.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama, the new Bishop for the vacant Diocese of Hiroshima. Currently Fr. Alexis Shirhama was serving as the rector of the National Catholic Seminary of Fukuoka. He was born on May 20, 1962 in Kamigoto, Archdiocese of Nagasaki. In 1986 he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy at the Keio University in Tokyo, and in 1990 a Bachelor’s degree in Theology at the Seminary of St. Suplice Fukuoka. He later studied at the Catholic Institute of Paris, obtaining a Licentiate in Liturgy with specialization in Sacramental Theology.He was ordained a priest on March 19, 1990 at Urakami, Archdiocese of Nagasaki, and incardinated in the same city. In 1993 he joined the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice.After his ordination he was the professor in St. Sulpice Seminary of Fukuoka (1995-2008); since 1995, he was the member of the Liturgical ...
The Holy Father, Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama, the new Bishop for the vacant Diocese of Hiroshima. Currently Fr. Alexis Shirhama was serving as the rector of the National Catholic Seminary of Fukuoka.
He was born on May 20, 1962 in Kamigoto, Archdiocese of Nagasaki. In 1986 he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy at the Keio University in Tokyo, and in 1990 a Bachelor’s degree in Theology at the Seminary of St. Suplice Fukuoka. He later studied at the Catholic Institute of Paris, obtaining a Licentiate in Liturgy with specialization in Sacramental Theology.
He was ordained a priest on March 19, 1990 at Urakami, Archdiocese of Nagasaki, and incardinated in the same city. In 1993 he joined the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice.
After his ordination he was the professor in St. Sulpice Seminary of Fukuoka (1995-2008); since 1995, he was the member of the Liturgical Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan and professor of Liturgy and Sacramental Theology, since 2012 he served as the Rector of the Catholic Seminary of Japan.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday hosted a celebration for the 65th anniversary of the priestly ordination of his predecessor Benedict, the pope emeritus. Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name Benedict XVI when he was elected to the papacy in 2005, attended the celebration in the Sala Clementina within the Apostolic Palace. More than thirty cardinals were also present, as well as a number of other invited guests.The event began with music from the Sistine Choir and a speech by Pope Francis. In his remarks, the Supreme Pontiff recalled St Peter’s response to Jesus’ question, “Do you love me?” “Lord, you know that I love you,” answered the first Pope. And this, the current Pope said, “is the note that has dominated a life spent entirely in the service of the priesthood and of the true theology”.Pope Francis said that Benedict continues to serve the Church, “not ceasing to truly contribute to her growth with strength and wisdo...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday hosted a celebration for the 65th anniversary of the priestly ordination of his predecessor Benedict, the pope emeritus. Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name Benedict XVI when he was elected to the papacy in 2005, attended the celebration in the Sala Clementina within the Apostolic Palace. More than thirty cardinals were also present, as well as a number of other invited guests.
The event began with music from the Sistine Choir and a speech by Pope Francis. In his remarks, the Supreme Pontiff recalled St Peter’s response to Jesus’ question, “Do you love me?” “Lord, you know that I love you,” answered the first Pope. And this, the current Pope said, “is the note that has dominated a life spent entirely in the service of the priesthood and of the true theology”.
Pope Francis said that Benedict continues to serve the Church, “not ceasing to truly contribute to her growth with strength and wisdom.” “And you do this,” he said, “from that little Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, that is shown in that way to be anything but that forgotten little corner to which today’s culture of waste tends to relegate people when, with age, their strength diminishes.” He spoke, too, about the “Franciscan” dimension of the monastery, which recalls the Portiuncula, the “little portion” where St Francis founded his order, and laid down his life. Divine Providence, he said, “has willed that you, dear Brother, should reach a place one could truly call ‘Franciscan’, from which emanates a tranquillity, a peace, a strength, a confidence, a maturity, a faith, a dedication, and a fidelity that does so much good for me, and gives strength to me and to the whole Church.”
At the conclusion of his remarks, Pope Francis offered best wishes to Pope emeritus Benedict on behalf of himself and of the whole Church, with the prayer for Benedict, “That you, Holiness, might continue to feel the hand of the merciful God who supports you; that you might continue to experience and witness to us the love of God; that, with Peter and Paul, you might continue to rejoice with great joy as you journey toward the goal of the faith.”
Later, after more music and speeches by Cardinals Gerhard Müller and Angelo Sodano – respectively Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Dean of the College of Cardinals – Benedict offered words of thanks to all his well-wishers, and in a particular way to Pope Francis. Speaking to the Holy Father, Benedict said, “Your kindness, from the first moment of the election, in every moment of my life here, strikes me, is a source of real inspiration for me. More than in the Vatican Gardens, with their beauty, your goodness is the place where I dwell: I feel protected.”
The Pope emeritus also reflected on the concept of “thanksgiving,” reflecting on a word written, in Greek, on a remembrance card from his first Mass. That word, he said, suggests “not only human thanksgiving, but naturally hints at the more profound word that is hidden, which appears in the liturgy, in the Scriptures,” and in the words of consecration. The Greek word “eucharistomen,” he said, “brings us back to that reality of thanksgiving, to that new dimension that Christ has given it. He has transformed into thanksgiving, and so into blessing, the Cross, suffering, all the evil of the world. And thus He has fundamentally transubstantiated life and the world, and has given us, and gives us today the Bread of true life, which overcomes the world thanks to the strength of his love.”
Rome, Italy, Jun 28, 2016 / 06:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When EWTN director James Kelty produced a film about the first Native American saint Kateri Tekakwitha, he didn’t know that it would be recognized at one of the largest Catholic film festivals in the world.The 2015 film “Kateri” was awarded the Capax Dei Foundation Award at the seventh-annual Mirabile Dictus film festival in Rome, Italy last week.“I am very grateful to have received the Capax Dei award – it means 'space for God.' I think that says it all,” Kelty told CNA.“It’s a recognition of all our work, and we knew it was a success, but it’s nice to get an acknowledgment. And this is for all the people who worked so hard on the film.”The movie follows the story of Kateri Tekakwitha, a 17th century Mohawk native living in Canada who converted to the Catholic faith through the example of Jesuit missionaries.“Kateri is the story of a woman of great force ...
Rome, Italy, Jun 28, 2016 / 06:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When EWTN director James Kelty produced a film about the first Native American saint Kateri Tekakwitha, he didn’t know that it would be recognized at one of the largest Catholic film festivals in the world.
The 2015 film “Kateri” was awarded the Capax Dei Foundation Award at the seventh-annual Mirabile Dictus film festival in Rome, Italy last week.
“I am very grateful to have received the Capax Dei award – it means 'space for God.' I think that says it all,” Kelty told CNA.
“It’s a recognition of all our work, and we knew it was a success, but it’s nice to get an acknowledgment. And this is for all the people who worked so hard on the film.”
The movie follows the story of Kateri Tekakwitha, a 17th century Mohawk native living in Canada who converted to the Catholic faith through the example of Jesuit missionaries.
“Kateri is the story of a woman of great force and power. Although she only lived 24 years, her life was so impactful with those she lived with, that by the time she died she was already a legend,” Kelty said.
“We thought that Kateri would be a wonderful subject,” he said, adding that her life beautifully illustrated the work of the early Catholic Church in North America.
“Kateri” took about two years to produce, which included research, writing, location scouting, filming and post-production. EWTN started the project in 2013 and it officially aired in 2015.
It was among over a thousand other films from all over the world entered at Mirabile Dictus. The festival’s founder Liana Marabini was particularly touched by Kateri’s story and called the film a beautiful expression of the Catholic faith.
“I was really impressed by the beauty of the script and the fact that Kateri was explained with all her story – she’s very inspiring through her faith and her strength,” Marabini told CNA.
“It has a very high technical quality and beautiful performing of the actors and beautiful places,” she said.
According to Marabini, “Mirabile Dictus” is an expression from the bible that means “beautiful to say.” She founded the international film festival in 2010 under the Pontifical Council for Culture as an outlet for Catholic filmmakers to unite faith and beauty.
“A film has something to say for our faith in order to improve our lives. The purpose of the festival is to improve people’s lives through evangelization,” Marabini said.
She said “Kateri” was given the Capax Dei Foundation Award for it’s reflection on evangelization, and because it “answers the need of beauty in the faith.”
Kelty hopes the film will inspire young women and parents through Kateri’s universal journey of heroism and adversity.
“Kateri is someone who had to find her identity in a very complex society and changing world, and that’s what women today have to do,” he noted.
“And I hope it’s going to appeal to people who enjoy a good, historical epic story and I think we’ve got one here.”
Vatican City, Jun 28, 2016 / 06:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Benedict XVI gave his second public speech since his final day as Pope, expressing gratitude for a lengthy priesthood and for Pope Francis' “goodness,” which he said moves him deeply.Speaking to Pope Francis and members of the College of Cardinals gathered inside the Vatican’s small Clementine Hall for the 65th anniversary of his priestly ordination, Benedict said the Greek word “Efkaristomen (let us give thanks),” expresses “all that there is to say” for the occasion. “Thank you, thank you everyone! Thank you Holy Father – your goodness, from the first day of your election, every day of my life here moves me interiorly, brings me inwardly more than the Vatican Gardens.”“Your goodness is a place in which I feel protected,” he said, and voiced his hope that Francis would be able to “move forward with all of us on this path of Divine...
Vatican City, Jun 28, 2016 / 06:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Benedict XVI gave his second public speech since his final day as Pope, expressing gratitude for a lengthy priesthood and for Pope Francis' “goodness,” which he said moves him deeply.
Speaking to Pope Francis and members of the College of Cardinals gathered inside the Vatican’s small Clementine Hall for the 65th anniversary of his priestly ordination, Benedict said the Greek word “Efkaristomen (let us give thanks),” expresses “all that there is to say” for the occasion.
“Thank you, thank you everyone! Thank you Holy Father – your goodness, from the first day of your election, every day of my life here moves me interiorly, brings me inwardly more than the Vatican Gardens.”
“Your goodness is a place in which I feel protected,” he said, and voiced his hope that Francis would be able to “move forward with all of us on this path of Divine Mercy, showing Jesus’ path to God.”
Since his resignation from the papacy in 2013, Benedict XVI has made only a handful of public appearances, speaking only at his reception of an honorary doctorate from the University of Krakow last year in Castel Gandolfo.
The celebration inside the Vatican Palace, then, marks not only another rare public appearance, but is only the second time he has spoken in public since his resignation Feb. 28, 2013.
#BenedictXVI prays for transubstantiation of world to be a world not of death but of life, where love conquers death pic.twitter.com/UNde4vp0ej
— Mary Shovlain (@maryshovlain) June 28, 2016
The June 28 celebration was held for Benedict in honor of the 65th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, which took place June 29, 1951 – the feast of Saints Peter and Paul – in the cathedral of Freising. His older brother Georg, who is still living today and was present for the ceremony, was ordained with him.
After the choir singing sacred polyphony had finished, Benedict listened to brief speeches made by Pope Francis; Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Gerhard Muller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Cardinal Muller gifted Benedict several copies of a book containing his homilies on the priesthood printed specifically for the occasion of his anniversary. Benedict in turn gave one to Pope Francis.
In his brief, off-the-cuff speech, Benedict thanked both Cardinal Sodano and Cardinal Muller for their speeches, and for the book.
He told Cardinal Sodano that his address, which quoted scripture from the day of Benedict’s ordination and his speech during his visit to Freising in 2006, “truly touched my heart.”
Benedict then returned to the word “Efkaristomen (let us give thanks),” which he recalled a fellow priest ordained on the same day had written on the memorial card for his first Mass.
This word, he said, hints not only at “the dimensions of human thanksgiving,” but also “the deepest word that is hidden,” and which appears in both the liturgy and Scripture in the expression “gratias agens benedixit fregit deditque,” meaning “having given thanks, he broke it and gave it.”
“Efkaristomen sends us again to that reality of thanksgiving, to that new dimension that Christ has given,” Benedict said, explaining that Jesus has transformed into thanksgiving “the cross, suffering and all of the evil in the world.”
In doing so, Jesus “fundamentally transubstantiated” life and the world, he said, adding that the Lord both has given and continues to give us daily “the bread of true life, which overcomes the world thanks to the strength of his love.”
Benedict closed his address by expressing his hope that all would, with the help of God, help in the “transubstantiation of the world: that it be a world not of death, but of life; a world in which love has overcome death.”
In his brief speech, Pope Francis told Benedict that “you continue to serve the Church, you do not cease to really contribute with vigor and wisdom to her growth.”
By contributing to the Church and her mission from the small monastery of Mater Ecclesiae inside the Vatican, Benedict represents “anything but these forgotten corners in which today’s culture of waste tends to relegate people when, with age, their strength becomes less,” Francis said.
He prayed that the retired Pope would continue to feel the hand of “the merciful God who supports you,” that he would continue to both experience and bear witness to the love of God, and that alongside Peter and Paul, he would “continue to exult with great joy while walking toward the goal of our faith.”
Pope Francis greets Pope Emeritus #BenedictXVI at celebration for 65th anniv of Benedict's priestly ordination pic.twitter.com/IykxWX92zn
— Mary Shovlain (@maryshovlain) June 28, 2016
IMAGE: REUTERSBy Doreen Abi RaadBEIRUT(CNS) -- Suicide bombers attacked a predominantly Christian village innortheast Lebanon twice in one day, and residents called on the government tosupport them, saying Islamic State fighters were holed up on the outskirts oftown.Twoseparate sets of four suicide bombers attacked the village of Qaa June 27; thefirst attack killed five people in addition to the bombers. About 30 peoplewere injured in the two incidents, the second of which occurred near St. EliasMelkite Catholic Church as people were preparing for the funerals of the peoplekilled in the first bombing. Theincidents sparked fears that the Syrian civil war was spilling into Lebanon;Qaa is near the border with Syria's Homs district. Local news reports andsecurity sources said the Islamic State group was suspected of the attacks, butno one claimed responsibility. The Lebanese Army has indicated Islamic Statehopes to force the Christian community to leave the village and, by controllingQa...
IMAGE: REUTERS
By Doreen Abi Raad
BEIRUT (CNS) -- Suicide bombers attacked a predominantly Christian village in northeast Lebanon twice in one day, and residents called on the government to support them, saying Islamic State fighters were holed up on the outskirts of town.
Two separate sets of four suicide bombers attacked the village of Qaa June 27; the first attack killed five people in addition to the bombers. About 30 people were injured in the two incidents, the second of which occurred near St. Elias Melkite Catholic Church as people were preparing for the funerals of the people killed in the first bombing.
The incidents sparked fears that the Syrian civil war was spilling into Lebanon; Qaa is near the border with Syria's Homs district. Local news reports and security sources said the Islamic State group was suspected of the attacks, but no one claimed responsibility. The Lebanese Army has indicated Islamic State hopes to force the Christian community to leave the village and, by controlling Qaa, its militants will be able to start ensure a corridor to the Mediterranean Sea.
Melkite Catholic Archbishop Elias Rahal of Baalbek traveled to Qaa after the first attack and told Catholic News Service by phone: "We pray, we pray, we pray for the dead, for the injured. ... We are here for the families and for their children," he said, because people "are shaken by these terrorists."
The sounds of people wailing could be heard in the background as he spoke to CNS.
"Despite all that has happened," he said, the Christians are holding on to their faith and are determined to maintain their presence in the area. "We are here and we are here to stay."
Before the second blast, Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregoire III Laham had visited with wounded who had been taken to a Beirut hospital, about 90 miles from the village.
Residents of Qaa had organized patrols to guard their village against such attacks and had been successful until these suicide bombings. The village has a population of about 15,000, predominantly Melkite Catholic, with some Maronite Catholic and Orthodox. Between 20,000 and 30,000 Syrian refugees also live in the area.
Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, issued a statement June 27 during a pastoral visit to New York, expressing his "extreme sorrow" over the bombings.
"The hand of terror carried out once again on Lebanon's soil ... in the dear town of Qaa , a town of peace, love and coexistence," he said.
He called on the Lebanese to "return to their national unity and solidarity to confront the terrorist schemes that are being plotted against Lebanon" and urged the Lebanese officials to "shoulder their national responsibilities in order to spare Lebanon more tragedies."
Lebanon's army has periodically fought off jihadist factions along the border area with Syria and has sought to clamp down on local cells operating in the area.
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