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CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) -- People on Florida's Gulf coast stocked up on supplies Thursday and some set out sandbags as they braced for Tropical Storm Hermine, which forecasters said could strike land as a hurricane....
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A massive explosion rocked a SpaceX launch pad Thursday during a routine rocket test for a planned weekend launch....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has issued a Message to mark the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Taken from the Extraordinary Jubilee Year and his encyclical letter, Laudato si’, the theme of the Holy Father’ Message is: Show mercy to our common home.Below, please find the full text*******************************************************MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESSPOPE FRANCISFOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE CARE OF CREATION1 SEPTEMBER 2016Show Mercy to our Common HomeUnited with our Orthodox brothers and sisters, and with the support of other Churches and Christian communities, the Catholic Church today marks the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation”. This Day offers “individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of ...
Miami, Fla., Sep 1, 2016 / 03:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With Zika virus reaching the continental U.S. in recent weeks, scientists are scrambling to find a cure and a vaccine. Meanwhile, the local Church is stepping up to help protect the most vulnerable populations.“This is a public health crisis and we are working with people,” Richard Turcotte, CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, told CNA.Within the Archdiocese of Miami – an area that now contains two local Zika transmission zones – Catholic Charities serves nearly 4,000 people a year, through 14 different social service programs that include counseling, elderly services, substance abuse recovery and homeless shelters.The organization is focusing on prevention by working to reduce the likelihood of mosquito bites, particularly among the homeless population and children.In the areas specifically affected by Zika, Catholic Charities runs a child development center and a homelessness center. T...
Vatican City, Sep 1, 2016 / 04:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Thursday Pope Francis yet again showed his knack for surprises and his openness to “newness” by adding the care of creation to the traditional sets of both the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.“We usually think of the works of mercy individually and in relation to a specific initiative: hospitals for the sick, soup kitchens for the hungry, shelters for the homeless, schools for those to be educated, the confessional and spiritual direction for those needing counsel and forgiveness.”However, when we look at the works of mercy as a whole, “we see that the object of mercy is human life itself and everything it embraces,” the Pope said in his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, published Sept. 1.Since human life itself and all that it entails naturally includes caring for creation, Francis proposed “a complement” to the two traditional sets of seven co...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A charity watchdog with an ongoing relationship with the Clinton Foundation gave the former first family's nonprofit high marks Thursday, after an evaluation prompted by the heightened interest in the organization....
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- On a recent afternoon, the lobby of one of Mogadishu's most popular hotels was nearly empty, a stark contrast to the days when one could hardly find a seat....
BEIRUT (AP) -- Opposition activists say warplanes have carried out several airstrikes in Syria's Hama, killing at least 25 people, amid a lightning advance by insurgents on government-controlled areas of the central province....
(Vatican Radio) Thursday, September 1st marks a worldwide day of prayer for the care of creation, an initiative started back in 1989 by the Orthodox Churches to celebrate the beginning of their liturgical year. Last year, after the publication of his encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis established the day as an observance for the Catholic Church as well.Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report: Speaking to pilgrims and visitors gathered in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Francis looked forward to Thursday’s day of prayer for the care of creation, describing the event as, “an opportunity to strengthen our common commitment to safeguard life, respecting the environment and nature.” Christians of all different denominations will be marking the initiative, not just on September 1st but throughout the following weeks until October 4th, feast day of St Francis of Assisi for the Western Churches.In a message for this year’s eve...
Montgomery, Ala., Sep 1, 2016 / 12:29 am (CNA).- A devout Christian woman has said Alabama county officials violated her rights by forcing her to remove her headscarf for her driver’s license photo when she considers it part of her religious practice to cover her hair.Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, Ala. said the Lee County clerk told her only Muslim women are allowed to cover their hair.“I was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver license photo,” Allen said in a statement. “Revealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.”The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Montgomery federal court, names as plaintiffs Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge's office, and Probate Judge Bill English, her supervisor.The lawsuit says that the officials violated Allen’s rights under the Ala...
