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Washington D.C., Oct 20, 2016 / 06:02 am (CNA).- A reputed “Catholic Spring” group played a key role in influencing Barack Obama’s controversial 2009 Notre Dame speech, and its campaigns “broadened the agenda” of Catholic voters to see abortion as just one of several election issues.This is according to a leaked memo attributed to George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.The group, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, was founded in 2005. While early backing from billionaire financier George Soros’ philanthropic network was previously reported, a 2009 memo leaked earlier this year seems to provide the foundations’ view of the group’s early activities.“CACG has helped to transform Catholic values in the mainstream media and in the public discourse on religion and politics, thereby thwarting previously successful attempts by the conservative movement to use religious faith for partisan advantage,” said the memo.The ...
IMAGE: CNS/ReutersBy Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' recent insistence on"walking ecumenism," the notion that Christians will draw closer toeach other as they work together to help the poor, should resonate well withLutherans and Catholics in Sweden."Swedes are known to be people of consensus, pragmatic,so people try to cooperate even if they have different views andbackgrounds," said BishopAnders Arborelius of Stockholm,the country's only Catholic bishop and the first native Swede to hold the postsince the Protestant Reformation.More than 60 percent of Swedes are baptized members of theLutheran Church of Sweden and just over 1 percent are registered members of theCatholic Church, although Bishop Arborelius said that with the ever-increasingnumber of immigrants in the country, the number of Catholics probably is doublethe official 115,000.Still, Sweden has become almost famous for being one of themost secular countries in Europe. In surveys, less than a third of Swe...
By Alastair WanklynTOKYO (CNS) -- Heavy damage wasreported to homes and farm land in the northern Philippines Oct. 20 after thestrongest storm in three years struck overnight.Typhoon Haima barreled intonorthern Cagayan and Isabella provinces, ripping the roofs off homes andflattening crops. Nearly every building in thecity of Tuguegarao was damaged, Philippine media quoted officials as saying. Thecity's communication links were down, and phone calls to the archdiocesanoffice in Tuguegarao did not connect.Across the district, many roadswere flooded or blocked by fallen trees. Aid groups said the disruption made itdifficult to assess the extent of damage, with one aid official calling it"a communications black hole."Thousands of people inneighboring Isabella province spent the night sheltering in public evacuationcenters such as schools and churches."Most of the time, thechurches serve as evacuation centers if the government evacuation centerscannot accommodate some of the people," Ap...
JERICHO, West Bank (AP) -- Archaeologists have removed the protective cover from one of the Middle East's largest carpet mosaics - but only for a day....
MOSCOW (AP) -- The Russian military has conducted drills involving state-of-the art missiles near the nation's western border, amid tensions in relations with the West....
BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio woman accused of suffocating her three young sons over a 13-month period says in a recorded police interview that she smothered each boy with a blanket over the face because she didn't want to see them suffering....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bitter presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have one more face-to-face showdown before Election Day. And they're supposed to make it funny....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump launched into the campaign's closing stretch with a shot across the bow to American democratic tradition: He may reject the election's results if he loses. As Democrats pounced, Republicans braced for a fresh political headache with less than three weeks left until Election Day....
(Vatican Radio) Pilgrimages, being active on social media, sacrament of reconciliation initiatives and visits to the Holy Door. These are just some of the events the Diocese of Paisley in Scotland has been organizing during the Jubilee of Mercy. So what effect has the year had on the faithful there? Lydia O’Kane spoke to the Bishop of Paisley, John Keenan.Listen: As this Extraordinary Year draws to a close, the Bishop observed that, “one of the things I’ve noticed about this Holy Year distinct from perhaps the other ones is that, whereas like the others it started with a bang, the Year of Mercy hasn’t really fizzled out, it seems to be that it has kept this steady pulse going right through the year”.WYD in the Year of MercyOne of the highlights of the Jubilee was the World Youth Day celebrations in Krakow, Poland which Bishop Keenan participated at. He says, that the focus on mercy at this event had an “astounding effect on the young peopl...
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See reiterated its support for a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wednesday during a United Nations Security Council debate on the situation in the Middle East.“If Israel and Palestine do not agree to exist side-by-side, reconciled and sovereign within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders, peace will remain a distant dream and security an illusion,” said a statement by Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.The Vatican diplomat also voiced concern about the ongoing violence in the wider region, such as in Syria and Iraq.The cradle of civilizations and the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Middle East has become the theater of incredible brutality,” Archbishop Auza’s statement said.The utter disregard of international humanitarian law has reached alarming levels of inhumanity,” – he continued – ...
