A funeral Mass will be celebrated May 21 at St. Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad for Benedictine Father Cyprian Davis, who died May 18 at Memorial Hospital in Jasper. He was 84.Father Davis wrote six books, including "The History of Black Catholics in the United States," published in 1990.
News
Nebraska Lawmakers Vote to Abolish Death Penalty
Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill on May 20 to abolish the death penalty by a big enough margin to override a threatened veto by Gov. Pete Ricketts.The measure passed 32-15 in the state’s unicameral Legislature. It would replace the death penalty with a sentence of life in prison.If lawmakers o
Recapture of Christian Towns Contrasts with Islamic State Gains in Syria
Church bells are ringing once again in the Assyrian Christian villages dotting the Khabur River in northeastern Syria after Islamic State militants were routed by a combination of forces.It's a stark contrast to the mounting concerns for one of the most renowned archaeological sites in the Middl
As Violence Grows, Salvadorans Look to Example of Archbishop Romero
Even as it gets ready to mark one of the biggest events in its history—the May 23 beatification of slain archbishop Oscar Romero—El Salvador, which in Spanish means “the savior,” is in the midst of one of its most violent periods.
Death for Boston Marathon Bomber
A Federal jury sentenced Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death today. The decision for death was reached despite a strong pushback against the use of capital punishment in the case from Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley and the Massachusetts Catholic Conference of Bishops and the appea
Wail of Sirens Calls Priest, Religious to Philadelphia Amtrak Train Crash
The wailing of sirens called Father Tom Higgins from his parish rectory and Sisters Linda Lukiewski and Julie Sertsch from their convent to the scene of the Amtrak train derailment the evening of May 12.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila Elected as the New President of Caritas Internationalis
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines has been elected as the new president of Caritas Internationalis at the confederation's 20th General Assembly in Rome. Speaking on the phone, Cardinal Tagle said to delegates from over 130 member organisations from all over the world: "
Syrians Keeping Faith But Running Out of Hope
Chaldean Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo, Syria, and his people are exhausted.The bishop, who is president of the church's charitable agency, Caritas Syria, left the country for a few days to attend the general assembly of Caritas Internationals in Rome May 12-17.Daily life "is becoming more
Periphery Pope: Bosnia Trip Aims to Build Bridges in Still Divided Nation
Pope Francis' concern for those suffering on the margins and for small Catholic communities that have kept the faith alive through war or repression will take him to Bosnia-Herzegovina in early June.By making a one-day trip June 6 to Sarajevo, he said he hoped he could "be an encouragement
Help Us ‘Go Back Home,’ Displaced Iraqi Sister Urges U.S. Congress
Speaking quietly and deliberately, Dominican Sister Diana Momeka from Iraq urged a congressional committee hearing May 13 to help the displaced Christian refugees in Iraq to "go back home.""We want nothing more than to go back to our lives; we want nothing more than to go home,"
