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(Vatican Radio) The Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Archbishop Arthur Roche, says Pope Francis’ decision to raise the celebration of the memorial of St Mary Magdalen to the dignity of a liturgical Feast reflects the importance of this female disciple and women in general within the life of the Church. Archbishop Roche was interviewed by Susy Hodges:Listen to the interview with Archbishop Roche, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments: Asked to explain the significance of the Pope’s decision and the message it sends, Archbishop Roche said it reflects the Holy Father’s view about “the importance of women and their role within the life of the Church.”He said it also reflects the valuable role women can play in the new evangelization because they can reach places to spread the gospel where men do not readily go. The archbishop also drew a...
The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is planning to start a new ministry to assist Christian domestic migrant workers and fill a gap in providing spiritual and social care, and to save them from abuse and exploitation. "Migrant Christians often don't get proper sacramental, pastoral or social services because they are busy supporting their families and lose touch with the church," said Theophil Nokrek, secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB). "Most domestic migrant workers who come from rural areas are poorly educated and unaware about the challenges of city life, which makes them vulnerable to various kinds of abuse and exploitation," Nokrek said. He was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar for domestic migrant workers at the Holy Spirit National Major Seminary in Dhaka on June 10. The Justice and Peace Commission and Caritas Bangladesh organized the seminar, which drew about 200 part...
While Indian officials were working with Afghan authorities to secure the release of an Indian Catholic charity worker kidnapped in Kabul on Thursday, the Christian community in the aid worker’s home city of Kolkata have come around the family. Judith D'Souza, the 40-year-old Catholic woman from the eastern city, works with the Agha Khan Network in Afghanistan to raise awareness about the role of women. She was hired by the charity which provides education and health assistance in about 30 countries. “We pray for her safe release and return. Judith is someone involved in improving the lives of many people in difficulty,” Archbishop Thomas D'Souza of Calcutta told AsiaNews. “I assure the family of my prayers and our support. She is from the Fatima Parish, and just last month she visited her parents,” the archbishop said. He wished that Judith be able to return home to her family soon through ...
Santiago, Chile, Jun 10, 2016 / 06:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Saturday, June 4, right around lunch time, Chilean priest Father Francisco Rencoret Mujica received an unexpected call.The 35-year-old priest, who is suffering from metastasized lung cancer, received encouragement in the form of a surprise phone call from Pope Francis.Fr. Rencoret, who was studying Canon Law at the Gregorian University in Rome, returned to Chile this year to treat his illness.At first, his mother said, she thought the phone call was from a Spanish priest, Father Arturo, who called frequently to inquire about the state of her son’s health.“Hello, Father Arturo,” she recalled saying.“It's not Fr. Arturo, it's the Holy Father. Yes, it's His Holiness, it's the pope!”Then his father, Gustavo joined the conversation. Quite moved, he said that they had a photograph of Pope Francis in their home.Fr. Rencoret explained to CNA that the reason for the call was to “...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will send high-level observersto the pan-Orthodox council meeting in Crete as a sign of respect, support andencouragement of the Orthodox Church.The Holyand Great Council of the Orthodox Church was scheduled to open June 19,which is Pentecost on the Julian calendar, and run through June 26.EcumenicalPatriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople invited Pope Francis to sendobservers to the meeting on the Greek island of Crete, and the pope choseCardinal Kurt Koch and BishopBrian Farrell, respectively the president and secretary of thePontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.Sending the Vatican's top ecumenical officers demonstratesthat "it is the Holy Father's judgment that this is supremely importantfor the Orthodox, for our relationship with the Orthodox Church and, beyondthat, it's supremely important for the Christian witness in a world that isever more confused about the role of religion," Bishop Farrell ...
By Junno Arocho EstevesVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Growingacceptance of euthanasia does not indicate increased compassion, but highlightsthe rise of a selfish "throwaway culture" that casts aside the sick,the dying and those who do not satisfy the perceived requirements of a healthylife, Pope Francis said. Ina culture that is increasingly "technological and individualistic," sometend to "hide behind alleged compassion to justify killing a patient,"the pope told health professionals from Spain and Latin America June 9. "Truecompassion does not marginalize, humiliate or exclude, much less celebrate apatient passing away,"the pope said. "You know well that would mean the triumph ofselfishness, of that 'throwaway culture' that rejects and despises people whodo not meet certain standards of health, beauty or usefulness."Thanking doctors who carefor "those who suffer in body and spirit," Pope Francis insisted physicians' identity as doctorsdoes not depend solely on their knowledge or competenc...
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) -- Born blind, Juan Pablo Culasso has never seen a bird. But through his gifted sense of hearing, he can identify more than 3,000 different bird sounds and differentiate more than 720 species....
AUBURN, N.Y. (AP) -- Harriet Tubman's upcoming debut on the $20 bill is just half the good news in the upstate New York town where the Underground Railroad conductor settled down and grew old....
ISTANBUL (AP) -- Well before police could establish who was responsible for a car bombing in Istanbul that killed 11 this week, the government in Turkey had banned the media from reporting anything about the investigation....
