Author Archive
From sidewalk weeds to Amazon waterways, the wonders of creation abound
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Jeffrey By Barbara J. Fraser VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The forests, rivers and swamps of the Amazon basin do many things. They lock away carbon and methane, two key greenhouse gases. They produce half of the rain that falls over the region. They are a source of …
Mission is to make disciples for Christ, not for one’s group, pope says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Every Christian is called to be a missionary, sharing the good news of salvation in Christ and making disciples for him, not for oneself or one’s clique of like-minded believers, Pope Francis said. "What instructions does the Lord give …
Catholic school students in Bahamas show resiliency after Dorian
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tom Tracy By Tom Tracy FREEPORT, Grand Bahama (CNS) — While many public schools in Grand Bahama remain closed some five weeks after Hurricane Dorian’s landfall, Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Academy is back in session with a new daily schedule and newly refurbished spaces. Principal Joye …
Church must make ‘preferential option for the Amazon,’ bishop says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Edgard Garrido, Reuters By Barbara J. Fraser VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As tropical forests fall victim to loggers, miners and ranchers, the Catholic Church must take sides to defend the Amazon region and its people, said a bishop whose Bolivian diocese has been ravaged by fire this year. …
Catholic priest murdered in Kenya, latest in string of killings
IMAGE: CNS photo/Fredrick Nzwili By Fredrick Nzwili NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) — A Catholic priest who disappeared from his family home was found dead in a shallow grave in southeastern Kenya a week after he was reported missing. Police investigators and pathologists Oct. 16 exhumed the body of Father Michael Maingi …
Development proposals at synod raise questions about indigenous rights
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Barbara J. Fraser VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Proposals for Amazonian development made by well-known observers at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon could conflict with the expectations of indigenous people unless they are included in decision-making, some synod participants said. In his four-minute presentation …
Couple says adoption is a blessing, gift and ‘roller coaster of emotions’
IMAGE: CNS photo/Sam Lucero, The Compass By Benjamin Wideman KIEL, Wis. (CNS) — After David and Maria Schuette got married in 2015, they wanted a family right away but months later they found out that infertility issues would likely prevent them from having children of their own. "It was tough …
North American indigenous support Amazonian indigenous at synod
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — As the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon heard pleas to defend the rights of the region’s indigenous people and of the land they hold sacred, indigenous leaders from Canada and the United States came to Rome to support them. …
Safe injection sites for drug addicts ‘a form of euthanasia,’ priest says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Gina Christian, catholicphilly.com By Gina Christian PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Safe injection sites are "a form of euthanasia," according to a Philadelphia priest who has spent almost 50 years ministering to those suffering from addiction. Officials are seeking to make Philadelphia the first U.S. city to open a safe …
Inadequate formation a factor in lack of vocations, bishops say at synod
IMAGE: CNS Photo/Paul Jeffrey By Barbara J. Fraser VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Existing formation programs are not preparing priests and other pastoral workers to be leaders in a church with an Amazonian and indigenous face, according to bishops participating in the synod for the Amazon. "It’s not the same to …