Bishop of Fort Worth asks for prayers for Synagogue hostage situation involving alleged Al Qaeda terrorist

Breaking News / CNAFort Worth, Texas, Jan 15, 2022 / 20:53 pm (CNA).Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, made an urgent request to Catholics to pray for those involved in a hostage situation that was developing at a synagogue in nearby Colleyville on Saturday."Please pray for the safety of the hostages, their families, this congregation, for the members of law enforcement, and for the peaceful surrender of the perpetrator(s) of this crime," said Bishop Olson in a brief message posted on his Twitter account while the hostage situation was still developing. A man took hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas during a service that was being live streamed on Facebook on Saturday, Jan. 15. The ranting man, claiming to be Aafia Siddiqui's brother, interrupted the ceremony and took four hostages, including Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, demanding either to release Siddiqui or allow him to talk to her. At 5:00 PM local time, the man released one host...

Pope Francis asks Catholics to offer their sufferings for Christian unity

Pope Francis delivers his Angelus address on Dec. 19, 2021. / Vatican MediaVatican City, Jan 16, 2022 / 05:40 am (CNA).Pope Francis has asked Catholics to offer up their sufferings this week for Christian unity.During his Sunday Angelus address, the pope called on people to participate in the upcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity taking place January 18-25."We Christians, in the diversity of our confessions and traditions, are also pilgrims on our way to full unity, and we come closer to our goal the more we keep our gaze fixed on Jesus, our only Lord," Pope Francis said from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Jan. 16."During this week of prayer, we offer our difficulties and sufferings for the unity of Christians," he told the crowd gathered below in St. Peter's Square.The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity dates back to the 19th century when Pope Leo XIII encouraged the practice of a Prayer Octave for Unity. The Vatican and the World Council of Churches came together...

'Prayers answered. All hostages are out.': Texas synagogue standoff ends

A police car sits in front of the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, some 25 miles west of Dallas, Jan. 16, 2022. - All four people taken hostage in a more than 10-hour standoff at the Texas synagogue have been freed unharmed, police said late Jan. 15, and their suspected captor is dead. / Andy Jacobsohn/AFP via Getty Images.Denver Newsroom, Jan 16, 2022 / 08:25 am (CNA).An FBI team on Saturday shot and killed a man who had taken hostages during a live streamed service at a Texas synagogue, authorities said.At 9:30 PM local time, a loud bang followed by a short blast of rapid gunfire was heard, according to media reports from the scene. Shortly afterward, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted: "Prayers answered.  All hostages are out alive and safe."The FBI's action culminated an 11-hour standoff at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.The unidentified man interrupted a service at the synagogue that was being...

Blessed Mother statues still stand at Colorado family home destroyed by wildfire

A concrete statue of Mary stands near the burned home of the McLaren family in Superior, Colorado after the Dec. 30, 2021 Marshall Fire. / Bob and Tina McLarenDenver, Colo., Jan 16, 2022 / 16:00 pm (CNA).As Bob and Tina McLaren fled the Superior, Colorado neighborhood they had called home since 1992, Tina looked back and saw flames at the end of their street. As the Catholic couple, their daughter and two grandchildren made their way to safety, driving through clouds of ash and smoke, Tina hoped against hope that maybe, just maybe, their house would be spared. But a few days later, after the authorities permitted them to return, their fears were confirmed. Their house was ash. And yet, amid the rubble, two concrete statues of Mary that had stood on their property remained. A statue of St. Jude, who holds special significance for the family, also survived. Bob said when they were first building their house, their original plan for financing the build fell thr...

March for Life: What about bathrooms? Food? We've got answers here

Pro-life poster / ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 16, 2022 / 14:35 pm (CNA).Pro-life Americans from across the country are planning to attend the March for Life on Friday, Jan. 21 in Washington, D.C.Most years, the No. 1 question marchers have ahead of the event is, "What's the weather forecast?"This year, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, those thinking about coming have a host of other pressing questions. That's because the District of Columbia recently enacted new COVID-19 access rules for businesses in response to a current surge in cases.There's a lot you need to know. So let's get right to it.What about bathrooms?The short answer is that accessing bathrooms should not be a problem, whether you are vaccinated or not.A key reason we can say this is that the district's rules specify that proof of vaccination is not required to use a restaurant restroom, or to pick up take-out food (more on that in a moment.)This means that marchers can access their usual b...

Pope Francis: The Holy Spirit reforms the Church through the saints

Pope Francis at the general audience on April 25, 2018. / Shutterstock/CNAVatican City, Jan 15, 2022 / 07:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis said Saturday that it takes saints to reform the Church and for this each Catholic is called to a deeper "second conversion.""It is the Holy Spirit who forms and reforms the Church and does so through the Word of God and through the saints, who put the Word into practice in their lives," Pope Francis said Jan. 15.In an audience with the religious order founded by Saint Cajetan, the pope underlined that "reform must begin with oneself."A 16th century contemporary of Martin Luther, Cajetan sought to reform the Catholic Church, especially the clergy, but from within the Church itself. Pope Francis said that when Saint Cajetan "came to Rome to work in the papal curia, he noticed the unfortunately widespread spiritual and moral degradation.""And while he carried out his office work, he frequented the oratory of Divine Love, cultivating prayer and spiritu...

Pro-life congressional leaders praise pledge to oppose federal abortion funding

The US Capitol / Nicholas Haro/ShutterstockWashington D.C., Jan 15, 2022 / 06:00 am (CNA).One hundred and eighty one members of the House of Representatives signed a letter praising the pro-life leadership of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, as well as promising to vote against any appropriations bill that does not include a prohibition of the use of federal funds for abortion. "Thank you for the consistent pro-life leadership you have shown even as House and Senate Democrats have demonstrated their plan to use Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Appropriations legislation to strip out longstanding pro-life protections that have been in place for decades," the House members wrote in a letter. The letter was led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, and Jim Banks (R-IN), who leads the Republican Study Committee.  "For decades, federal appropriations legislation has included language to pro...

Cardinal Dolan laments attacks on houses of worship in Religious Freedom Day message

Remains of statues vandalized at Our Lady of Mercy parish in New York City, July17, 2021. Credit: Diocese of Brooklyn.Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 15, 2022 / 12:47 pm (CNA).Attacking houses of worship and religious art is akin to attacking the community who prays there, said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York ahead of Religious Freedom Day, observed Jan. 16. "For nearly two years, the U.S. bishops have noticed a disturbing trend of Catholic churches being vandalized and statues being smashed," said Dolan in a statement released Jan. 14 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Dolan is the chairman of the USCCB's religious liberty committee. "We are not alone. Our friends from other faith groups experience these outbursts too, and for some communities, they occur far more frequently," he said. "An attack on a house of worship is certainly an assault on the particular community that gathers there. It is also an attack on the founding principle of Amer...

Gomez: Imitate Rev. King's 'example, prophetic witness' in work for justice

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged all people...

Vatican announces 'Pilgrims of Hope' as motto for Holy Year 2025

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis approved “Pilgrims of Hope” as the motto for the...