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By Rhina GuidosWASHINGTON (CNS) -- Can you put a dollar value on religion? OneGeorgetown University researcher has attempted something close to it, releasingfindings from a study that says organized religion and behaviors associatedwith it contribute, by one estimate, nearly $1.2 trillion to the United States.Brian Grim, of the Religious Liberty Project at GeorgetownUniversity, unveiled on Sept. 14 findings of a study he conducted with MelissaGrim, of the Newseum Institute, and which analyzed the economic impact of344,000 religious congregations, "from Adventist to Zoroastrians," around thecountry.Depending on which factors one considers, religioncontributes $378 billion, by the most conservative of estimates, and up to $4.8 trillion tothe U.S. annually, Brian Grim said of the study sponsored by Faith Counts, anonprofit organization of religious groups, whose aim is promoting the value of faith.University of Pennsylvania professor Ram Cnaan, who also is program director for the Pro...
By Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a change to church law, Latin-riteCatholic deacons may not preside at a wedding when one or both of the newspouses are members of an Eastern Catholic church.The new rule is one of the changes to 11 canons in theLatin-rite Code of Canon law that Pope Francis approved in order to harmonize the lawsof the Latin and Eastern Catholic churches on several issues involving thesacraments of baptism and marriage.After more than 15 years of study and worldwideconsultation, the conflicting rules were resolved by adopting the Easterncode's formulations for the Latin church as well, said Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of thePontifical Council for Legislative Texts.The bishop spoke to journalists Sept. 15 after thepublication of an apostolic letter published "motu proprio" (on hisown initiative) in which Pope Francis ordered the changes to the Latin Code ofCanon Law, the 1983 text governing the majority of the world's Catholics.In the Eastern Cathol...
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "South Park" has taken on the controversy over San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Thursday that he created the Atlantic Ocean's first national monument because the planet cannot be protected without trying to safeguard its oceans....
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An officer responding to a reported armed robbery shot and killed a 13-year-old boy when the teen pulled a firearm from his waistband that was later determined to be a BB gun but looked "practically identical" to the weapon that police use, authorities said Thursday....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The four-star officers in charge of each U.S. military branch pleaded with lawmakers to find common ground and avoid the return of strict, across-the-board spending limits that increase the risk of sending inadequately trained and equipped troops into combat....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump says he believes women should be able to obtain birth control without a prescription....
Am 8:4-7; I Tm 2:1-8; Lk 16:1-13 Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, once told about a make-believe country where only ducks lived. On Sunday morning all the ducks came into Church, waddled down the aisle, waddled into their pews and squatted. Then the duck minister came in, took his place behind the pulpit, opened the Duck Bible and read, "Ducks! You have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the skies! Ducks! You have wings!" All the ducks yelled, "Amen!" and then they all waddled home. [Jim Burns, Radically Committed (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991).] No one flew or even tried. Friends, there’s just too much truth to that little fable. Using the parable of a rascal manager in today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to see that it is time for the children of light to quit waddling. It's time for us to soar by wisely using our God-given talents and blessings for the welfare of others, thus glorifying God...
Bitrus Zachariah with his wife Rebecca came under the ferocious attack of Boko Haram elements on the 21 August 2014. This attack happened before the widely-publicised 2015 massive offensive which saw Boko Haram terrorists completely overran the headquarters of the multinational Joint Task Force in the town of Baga.Baga, a Nigerian town at the extreme north of Borno State has had more than its share of Boko Haram atrocities.Rebecca narrated to me how Boko Haram fighters stormed her town. In great confusion, she fled her lovely home with her husband, Bitrus and two sons, Zachariah who was 3 years, and Jonathan 1. At the time, she was expecting a third child. She lost her pregnancy six months later owing to the subhuman condition she was subjected to after her capture by the militants.On that fateful day of the attack, as they fled, she knew that her husband was the primary target of the militants. With Boko Haram hot in pursuit, Bitrus could not run fast enough because he was ...
(Vatican Radio) Papal diplomats from around the world are in Rome this week for a special Jubilee event that includes both practical refresher seminars and moments of spiritual reflection with the Holy Father.Relations with Islam, gender culture and other challenges facing the Church today are on the programme, as Philippa Hitchen reports:The year of mercy may be drawing to a close but Pope Francis is maintaining a packed agenda of Jubilee events. From September 15th to 17th he’s meeting with over a hundred representatives of the Holy See working in locations right across the globe. Of the 108 diplomatic missions in existence today, 103 are headed by archbishops serving as papal nuncios, while the other five posts are permanent observers to international organisations.The Jubilee event began on Thursday morning with Mass, presided over by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in St Peter’s Basilica, followed by two seminars held in the Synod Hall. The fi...
