Article Archive
Please click below to view any of the articles in our archive.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Short of votes for their health care bill, Republican congressional leaders turned to President Donald Trump on Thursday to wrangle support for the divisive legislation they hope to push through Congress before Easter....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- There is no indication that Trump Tower was "the subject of surveillance" by the U.S. government before or after the 2016 election, the top two members of the Senate intelligence committee said Thursday, directly contradicting President Donald Trump's claims....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump unveiled a $1.15 trillion budget Thursday, proposing a far-reaching overhaul of federal spending that would slash many domestic programs to finance a big increase for the military and make a down payment on a U.S.-Mexico border wall....
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Inside a small apartment in a San Diego suburb, Nadia Hanan Madalo sat before tins of kebab, roasted chicken, and tomato and cucumber salad. Her refugee flight credential still hung around her neck, as her children played with cousins they had only seen on Internet phone chats before this night....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held a private audience on Thursday with Mr. Michel Aoun, President of the Republic of Lebanon, and his wife, Nadia.A communique from the Holy See Press Office said their discussions were "cordial"."The Parties focused on the good bilateral relations between the Holy See and Lebanon, underlining the historic and institutional role of the Church in the life of the country. Satisfaction was then expressed for the efforts on the part of all the various political parties in putting an end to the presidential vacancy, emphasising the hope for an increasingly fruitful future collaboration between the members of diverse ethnic and religious communities in favour of the common good and the development of the nation," the communique read.Turning to current events on the international stage, the Pope thanked President Aoun for his country's welcome of Syrian refugees."The discussion then turned to Syria, with special attention ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’s scheduled visit to the northern Italian town of Carpi on 2 April will include a meeting with communities struck by the 2012 earthquake and a visit to the badly damaged Cathedral of Mirandola.A communiqué released by the Holy See Press Office provides details of the Pope’s 1-day journey to Carpi, a town counting some 70,000 inhabitants in the Modena area of the Emilia Romagna region.Over 20 people were killed and dozens of farms, castles, churches and other buildings were destroyed or damaged in the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the region in May 2012. The Holy Father is scheduled to celebrate Mass, pray the Angelus, give his blessing to three new diocesan buildings, talk to priests and religious, and visit sites of the earthquake such as the Duomo di Mirandola. Pope Francis, who will be travelling by helicopter, will depart from the Vatican at 8.15 am and arrive in Carpi at 9.45am at the “Dorando Pietri...
(Vatican Radio) The parable of the poor man, Lazarus, lying at the rich man’s door, was at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at the Santa Marta Mass on Thursday morning. The Pope warned of the risks we run if we have the same uncaring attitude towards the poor and homeless people we see around us today.Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report: Reflecting on the Gospel story of Lazarus, from St Luke’s Gospel, Pope Francis warned against those who place their trust in things of the flesh. Trusting in vanity, pride and riches, he said, will distance us from the Lord. He highlighted the fruitfulness of those who trust in the Lord and the sterility of those who rely only on themselves and the things they can control.Wealth can harden our heartsWhen people live in a closed environment, surrounded by wealth and vanity and trusting in their own devices, the Pope said, those people lose their sense of direction and have no idea of their limitations. Exactly as ...
(Vatican Radio) Environmental activists have hailed the Bangladesh Supreme Court for ordering Dhaka's billion-dollar tannery industry to move out of the capital city.On Sunday, the three-member bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha ordered the shutting down of 155 tanneries in Dhaka, and dismissed the petition challenging the court's decision, filed by Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association for a stay on an earlier High Court order.The court ordered the tanneries to shut operations by March 31 and asked ministries of industries and environment as well police to ensure implementation of the order by cutting water, gas and electricity supplies by the deadline. The court's verdict came following a petition by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association (BELA).Bangladesh's tannery industry, centered in the Hazaribagh neighborhood next the Buriganga River, consists of 155 factories and employ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will preside over a penitential service at the Vatican in anticipation of the ’24 Hours for the Lord’ initiative.The service will take place on Friday 17th March, one week before all churches around the world are asked to offer the sacrament of Confession, a request made by the Pontifical Council for the Promoting of the New Evangelization.The theme of the initiative this year comes from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew: ‘I desire Mercy’ (Mt 9:13).On Friday 24th March, the churches of Santa Maria in Trastevere and Le Stimmate di San Francesco will remain open from 8pm for Confession and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. On Saturday 25th March, a service of thanksgiving will take place at 5pm in the church of Santo Spirito in Sassia. Monsignor Rino Fisichella, the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promoting of the New Evangelization, will preside over First Vespers of the Fourth Sunday of Lent.People ...
(Vatican Radio) Bishops in Scotland have condemned the comments of a Member of Parliament as “chillingly intolerant” after it emerged recently that he would work with humanists to put an end to Catholic education in the country.Tommy Sheppard is a senior member of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and an MP for the capital city of Edinburgh. He is also a member of the Humanist Society Scotland (HSS), and was recorded while speaking at an HSS event during last year’s SNP conference.The event was promoting the HSS ‘Enlighten Up’ campaign, which seeks to put a stop to mandatory religious representation on local authority committees. Speaking about a secular school system in Scotland, Sheppard said, “Some of the things in the Enlighten Up campaign are, I believe, exactly the way to do that.” He added, “Chip away at the power organized religion has within our school system.”A spokesperson for the Bishops’ Conference of Scotlan...
