News

New Book Illustrates Mother Teresas StrengthVatican officials said a new book that recounts in detail Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcuttas long crisis of faith illustrates her spiritual strength in the face of doubt. This is a figure who had moments of uncertainty and discouragement, experiencing the

Baltimore Basilica Marks 100,000 Visitors As Rosalie Dohm of Woodbridge, Va., climbed the stairs to the nations first Catholic cathedral Aug. 2, she thought it was unusual that Cardinal William H. Keeler was personally greeting each of the visitors from her parish tour group. The 66-year-old parishi

British Abuse Rules Must Conform to Canon Law An independent commission has urged the Catholic bishops of England and Wales to bring their child-protection measures into line with the Code of Canon Law amid fears that false allegations are driving priests away from working with young people. Produc

China Reserves Right to Elect, Ordain Bishops A Catholic lay leader from Beijing said China will continue to self-elect and self-ordain bishops. We ordain bishops only for the sake of evangelization in the mainland. Nobody can stop us, said Anthony Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the Chinese Catholic

Chaldean Bishop Calls for U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq U.S. troops should withdraw and let Iraqi factions fight it out, the bishop for most Iraqi Catholics in the United States said June 19. Let the Iraqis kill each other, but let the occupying power get out, because they are not killing each other bec

At Assisi, Pope Appeals for Mideast Peace On a pilgrimage to the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Benedict XVI appealed for peace in the Middle East and a return to responsible and sincere dialogue to end armed conflicts. The popes one-day trip June 17 marked the 800th anniversary of the c

Pope Expresses Hope for East Timor

Pope in Brazil Speaks on Discipleship and MissionSpeaking at the opening session at Aparecida, Brazil, on May 13 of a meeting of Latin American and Caribbean bishops, Pope Benedict XVI said the faith has serious challenges to address, because the harmonious development of society and the Catholic id

Freedom Commission Notes Violations in Turkey The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom strongly urged the U.S. government to include concerns regarding Turkey’s religious freedom violations on the U.S.-Turkey bilateral agenda. The United States should urge Turkey to continue its

Papal Visit to Conference in Brazil Begins May 9Pope Benedict XVI is making his first trip to the Western Hemisphere in mid-May, traveling to Brazil to open a strategizing session with Latin American bishops. The May 9-13 visit begins with a string of pastoral events in São Paulo, where the pope wi