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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over the opening of the 69th General Assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference – the “CEI” – on Monday afternoon, in the Synod Hall in the Vatican.The main item on the agenda of the 69th CEI General Assembly is the renewal of the clergy through ongoing formation.In remarks to the participants prepared for the occasion, the Holy Father encouraged the bishops of Italy to listen to their priests and to learn from their example. “This evening,” said Pope Francis, “I do not wish to offer you a systematic reflection on the figure of the priest: let us rather try to turn the perspective on its head, and make ready to listen. Let us approach – almost in tiptoe – one of the many parish priests who spend themselves in our communities, let us leave his visage to pass before the eyes of our heart, and let us ask with simplicity: what gives life its flavor? For whom and for what does he do such ...
Sixty Indian nuns from the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel last week pledged to donate their organs, saying it was their contribution for the Year of Mercy. The nuns of Dehradun province in northern India's Uttarakhand state made the pledge on May 11 to state sports and forest minister Dinesh Aggarwal. "We have been helping people through our social services when we are alive and now after death our organs will be helpful to those in need," Sister Jaya Peter told UCANEWS. She said 110 Carmel sisters in Kerala made the same pledge last month. Lamenting that not many people are aware about organ donation in the country, the nun said that it was imperative to educate people about its importance.In India, people are hesitant to donate their organs despite the fact that the country has been facing acute shortage of donor organs. More than 3,000 organs transplants occur in the country annually while more than 1 million people nationwide a...
The International Federation of Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has pledged $110 million to a new initiative to help drought-stricken southern African countries.In South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe, last year's poor rains have been followed by an El Nino-driven drought that has delayed planting and stunted crops.An estimated 31.6 million people across the region are struggling to feed themselves, and the figure is expected to rise to more than 49 million by the end of the year, the IFRC said in a statement.The organisation aims to help a million people over the next five years with emergency food distribution, training in irrigation schemes and new farming practices.South Africa said last week its 2015 winter wheat crop had fallen 18 percent from the previous year, and it would have to import around 60 percent of its needs in this marketing year.(Reuters)
Washington D.C., May 16, 2016 / 08:53 am (CNA).- In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court sent the Little Sisters of the Poor HHS mandate case back to the lower courts on Monday, in light of new developments in the case.“We are very encouraged by the Court’s decision, which is an important win for the Little Sisters. The Court has recognized that the government changed its position,” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and lead attorney for the Little Sisters of the Poor.“It is crucial that the Justices unanimously ordered the government not to impose these fines and indicated that the government doesn’t need any notice to figure out what should now be obvious – the Little Sisters respectfully object,” he continued.Religious charities including the Little Sisters of the Poor had sued the federal government saying that they were being coerced, under threat of heavy fines, to violate their consciences. T...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Alessaandro Bianchi, Reuters)By Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- True piety and evangelical pity arefound together in those who are moved by the pain of others, take action tohelp them and, therefore, share God's mercy, Pope Francis said."We are called to cultivate attitudes of pity in theface of many situations in life, shaking off the indifference that prevents usfrom recognizingthe needs of our brothers and sisters and liberating ourselves from slavery tomaterial well-being," the pope said May 14 at a jubilee general audience.During the Year of Mercy, the pope is holding specialgeneral audiences one Saturday each month and using the occasion to speak aboutthe importance of experiencing God's mercy and sharing it with others."For Jesus," he said, "experiencing pitymeans sharing the sadness of those one encounters, but at the same time,working to transform sadness into joy."True piety and true pity are not superficial feelings, hesaid, but are expressions of comp...
By Ann CareyNOTREDAME, Ind. (CNS) -- The University of Notre Dame conferred it prestigiousLaetare Medal on Vice President Joe Biden and former House Speaker John Boehnerwithout incident at graduation May 15, but the controversy over the recipients stillhung in the air.Fromthe moment the university announced the 2016 medal recipients March 5,criticism swirled over the decision because the medal is supposed to honorCatholics for "outstanding service to the church and society."Manycritics find Biden, a Democrat, to be an inappropriate awardee because hisstand on abortion and his support for redefining marriage to legalize same-sexmarriage clash with church teachings. Some others find Boehner, a Republican, inappropriatebecause of his support for the death penalty, which the church also opposes.Yet,the Notre Dame president, Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, has defended the choice,saying that the two men are not being honored for policy positions but fortheir public service and dedicat...
CAESAREA, Israel (AP) -- Israeli archeologists say two divers have made the country's biggest discovery of Roman-era artifacts in three decades....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Radio host Glenn Beck and American Enterprise Institute president Arthur Brooks are some of the conservative leaders Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to meet with this week....
PINEDALE, Wyo. (AP) -- A father and son accused of heavily using drugs and tying up a woman and her four teenage daughters in a Utah home because they believed the family reported them to authorities surrendered five days later in Wyoming in a bizarre case that also led to the arrest of the younger man's mother....
