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Albuquerque, N.M., Aug 23, 2016 / 06:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic bishops of New Mexico are speaking up against a proposal to reintroduce capital punishment in the state, saying that respect for human life must be consistent.“We, the Catholic Bishops of New Mexico, in one voice, once again echo the teaching of the Church that life is sacred,” the bishops of Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Gallup said in a joint statement Aug. 18.“There is one seamless teaching on God’s gift of life that must be protected from birth to natural death,” they said. “It is always tragic and sad when a member of the community is murdered. These senseless acts must be prevented by calling for systemic change in society beginning with our youngest children. Crime can be prevented, and this is done by an investment in social capital.”The bishops responded to New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez saying that she will push during next year’s legislative session to...
Philadelphia, Pa., Aug 23, 2016 / 09:02 am (Aid to the Church in Need).- Martin Pistorius was a healthy 12-year-old boy living in South Africa with his family in the late 1980s when he was overcome with a mysterious illness.The doctors weren't sure what had come over Martin, but their best guess was cryptococcal meningitis. Over time, Martin lost his ability to move by himself, his ability to make eye contact, and eventually his ability to speak.The hospital told Martin's parents, Rodney and Joan Pistorius, that their son was in a vegetative state, and to take him home and make him comfortable.But approximately two years into this vegetative state, Martin woke up. He was aware of everything going on around him “like a normal person,” he told NPR – he just couldn't communicate. He spent 12 years in this state, most people thinking him a vegetable, until he was able to prove that he was conscious.Martin now owns his own business and has written a book abo...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Barbara FraserBy Barbara J. FraserJAMA, Ecuador (CNS) -- Ask Jose Santos about the earthquake that struck the northern coast of Ecuador in April and he paints a vivid picture."The ground moved like waves on the ocean," he recalls, while a pall of sulfurous-smelling haze rose over the town.Santos' welding shop collapsed, destroying the tools on which he depended for a livelihood. At his home in the village of Bigua, a few miles away, his wife and their children fled their house as the walls cracked.After the quake, they slept outdoors, afraid that one of the more than 150 aftershocks might bring the house down. Now, they and nearly 80 neighbors have temporary homes in 10- by 20-foot tents donated by the Catholic Church.Four months after the April 16 earthquake -- which killed more than 670 people, injured nearly 5,000 and left as many as 80,000 homeless -- residents of northern Ecuador are slowly rebuilding. But the disaster exposed long-standing problems that will t...
NEW YORK (AP) -- The fall television season has been an annual rite since viewers were splitting their time between the trio of networks on their black-and-white TVs....
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Storms caused a big spike in the number of trees blown down or severely damaged in forests where migrating monarch butterflies spend the winter in central Mexico, experts reported Tuesday....
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A South Carolina mother charged with killing her newborn son by putting him in the refrigerator for several hours was expected to appear before a judge on Tuesday....
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkish artillery shelled Islamic State targets across the border in Syria for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, a senior Turkish official said, amid reports that Turkey-backed Syrian rebels are preparing an offensive against an IS-held border town....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is making his first visit to flood-ravaged southern Louisiana as he attempts to assure the many thousands who have suffered damage to their homes, schools and businesses that his administration has made their recovery a priority....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a message, signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to the Bishop of Castellaneta, Claudio Maniago on the occasion of the 67th National Liturgical Week in Italy which takes place in Gubbio.Below is a Vatican Radio translation of the MessageYour Excellency,On the occasion of the 67th National Liturgical Week, which this year takes place in Gubbio, in the mystical and calming scenery of Umbria, the Holy Father Pope Francis is happy to send good wishes to you, to the CAL collaborators and to all those taking part in the significant study days.The choice of this place, inspired by the celebration of 1600 years of the Letter of Pope Innocent I to Decentius, Bishop of Gubbio (cf.. PL 20, 551-561), is particularly appropriate during the Holy Extraordinary Year of Mercy. In this document, in which the Roman Pontiff offered clarifying answers to questions posed by pastor eugubino, there is some interesting news abo...
(Vatican Radio) The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened proceedings against an Islamist militant from Mali for ordering the destruction of Timbuktu’s religious and cultural heritage.The ICC says the trial wants to send the message that attacks on religious sites constitute war crimes.Listen to Devin Watkins' report: The International Criminal Court has seen two ‘firsts’ in a single trial: the first war crimes proceedings for the destruction of cultural heritage, and the first confession and apology of a defendant.Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi is on trial for ordering the destruction of religious and cultural monuments in Mali’s capital of Timbuktu.Nine mausoleums and a mosque were destroyed by armed groups during Mali’s civil war in 2012, at least one of which was a World Heritage Site.Al Madhi was a member of the Ansare Dine rebel group which seized control of the capital in conjunction with Al Qaeda.He enforced the rulings of the Islami...
