Catholic News 2
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) -- Dustin Johnson took the 36-hole lead in the U.S. Open on Saturday without ever hitting a shot....
DENVER (AP) -- A Colorado woman saved her 5-year-old son's life by prying his head from the mouth of a mountain lion that was attacking the boy in their front yard, authorities said Saturday....
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's defense minister visited Syria on Saturday to meet the country's leader and inspect the Russian air base there, a high-profile trip intended to underline Moscow's role in the region....
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Donald Trump railed Saturday against efforts by some frustrated Republicans planning a last-ditch effort to try to thwart him from becoming the party's nominee, threatening at one point to stop fundraising if Republicans don't rally around him....
CHICAGO (AP) -- The music was thumping and crowds were dancing Saturday at gay pride events around the U.S., with some revelers saying the partying was proof that people won't give in to fear after last weekend's attack at a gay nightclub in Florida....
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- People marched down Orlando streets with rainbow flags and others lined up to wait hours for a "One Pulse" tattoo on Saturday as supporters tried to boost the somber city's spirits while more victims of last weekend's nightclub shooting were buried....
(Vatican Radio) Saturday afternoon Pope Francis visited Villa Nazareth in the Pineta Sacchetti area of Rome. Villa Nazareth was founded in 1946 for orphans and poor children in order to provide the underprivileged with educational opportunities.Today Villa Nazareth helps young people who are experiencing economic hardship but who also show great intellectual potential. It provides them with a program of Christian formation and inspiration. The institution’s charism, its mission, is to promote a “diaconate of culture” and to form people who can be role models in society as moral witnesses.Pope Francis gave a catechesis on Luke’s gospel passage of the Good Samaritan. There are many characters in this passage, he said, but who qualifies as a neighbor? The robber, the poor man who was left for dead on the road, the priest, the doctor of the law, the lawyer? Or the innkeeper? Perhaps none of these knew how to answer such a question. The priest was in a hurry, li...
(Vatican Radio) Saturday afternoon Pope Francis visited Villa Nazareth in the Pineta Sacchetti area of Rome. Villa Nazareth was founded in 1946 for orphans and poor children in order to provide the underprivileged with educational opportunities.
Today Villa Nazareth helps young people who are experiencing economic hardship but who also show great intellectual potential. It provides them with a program of Christian formation and inspiration. The institution’s charism, its mission, is to promote a “diaconate of culture” and to form people who can be role models in society as moral witnesses.
Pope Francis gave a catechesis on Luke’s gospel passage of the Good Samaritan. There are many characters in this passage, he said, but who qualifies as a neighbor? The robber, the poor man who was left for dead on the road, the priest, the doctor of the law, the lawyer? Or the innkeeper? Perhaps none of these knew how to answer such a question. The priest was in a hurry, like all priests and no doubt he’s looking at his watch and saying to himself that he must celebrate the Mass, or that he’s left the door of the church open and he must close it. The doctor of the law, a practical man, said “But if I meddle in this, tomorrow I must go to court, give my testimony, say what I’ve done, losing two, three days of work … ”
Instead, this other person, a sinner, a foreigner who was not, properly speaking, a member of the people of God, finds himself moved: "He had compassion." And he stopped. All three – the priest, the lawyer and the Samaritan – knew well what to do. And each made their own decision.
Pope Francis said, however, that it could be of benefit to think of the situation from the perspective of the innkeeper who remains anonymous. He’s watched all of what has happened and does not understand anything, saying to himself, “But this is crazy! A Samaritan who helps a Jew? It’s crazy! And then, with his own hands he tends wounds and brings him to the hotel and tells me, ‘But you, take care of him, I will pay you if it's something more.’ But I have never seen this! This is crazy!"
And that man, Pope Francis continued, has received the Word of God in testimony. Whose? Of the priest? No, because he didn’t even see the man. The lawyer is the same. The sinner, however: he has compassion. He was not a faithful member of the People of God but he had compassion. And he understood nothing.
This, Pope Francis said, is what qualifies as testimony. The testimony of this sinner has sowed restlessness in the heart of the innkeeper. What happened to this innkeeper the Gospel does not say – and doesn’t even record his name. But surely this man’s curiosity grew, his restlessness has been allowed to grow in his heart.
Pope Francis asked, “And why do I dwell today on this character, this person?” The testimony, he says, is to live in this way so that others “may see your works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven", that is, to meet the Father.
Pope Francis concluded by hoping that all who see the good work of Villa Nazareth may respond in this way and not as priests who may rush away quickly or doctors who wish to present the faith of Jesus Christ with mathematical rigidity. May we be taught the wisdom of the Gospel: “to get one’s hands dirty.” May the Lord give us this grace.
(Vatican Radio) Belgian police have raided dozens of homes and detained 12 people for allegedly preparing new terror attacks in the country during at least one of Belgium's matches at the ongoing European Football Championship. Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel urged the people to remain calm at a time when the nation still deals with the aftermath of recent terror attacks which killed dozens of civilians.Listen to Stefan Bos' report: As people in Belgium planned massive parties Saturday to watch live broadcasts of the country's football team playing Ireland, police forces rushed into action. Authorities said one or more attacks were feared including in the capital Brussels, during one of Belgium’s Euro 2016 football matches. The federal prosecutor's office said that homes and car ports were searched overnight in 16 municipalities, mostly in and around Brussels. It explained that 40 people were taken for inter...
(Vatican Radio) Belgian police have raided dozens of homes and detained 12 people for allegedly preparing new terror attacks in the country during at least one of Belgium's matches at the ongoing European Football Championship. Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel urged the people to remain calm at a time when the nation still deals with the aftermath of recent terror attacks which killed dozens of civilians.
Listen to Stefan Bos' report:
As people in Belgium planned massive parties Saturday to watch live broadcasts of the country's football team playing Ireland, police forces rushed into action. Authorities said one or more attacks were feared including in the capital Brussels, during one of Belgium’s Euro 2016 football matches.
The federal prosecutor's office said that homes and car ports were searched overnight in 16 municipalities, mostly in and around Brussels. It explained that 40 people were taken for interrogation, of which 12 were arrested. A judge was to rule on their continued detention later Saturday.
At a hastily organized press conference following the raids, Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel urged his nation to remain calm. He said the terror level across the nation would remain at the second-highest level, meaning a threat of an attack "is possible and likely."
EXTREMELY VIGILANT
The prime minister made clear that Belgium must remain "extremely vigilant, hour by hour" and that special security measures have been introduced. "I also want to convey a message of calmness as we can observe that our security forces have reached results in their investigations," he added.
News of the latest imminent terror threat however comes at a sensitive time for Belgium.
The European Union country is still trying to overcome the devastation of the March suicide bombings in Brussels, that killed 32 people at its main airport and in a subway metro station.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the violence in Brussels, which hosts the headquarters of the European Union and the NATO military alliance.
BATH, Maine (AP) -- The mother of a fallen Navy SEAL christened the second Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer Saturday in honor of her son, who died in Iraq when he threw himself on an insurgent's grenade to save the lives of two fellow SEALS....
BRUSSELS (AP) -- Belgian authorities charged three men with terror-related crimes after two days of raids and the detention of 40 people in a major investigation which they said required "immediate intervention" because they feared a new attack was close....
