NEW YORK – A speaker at a symposium celebrating the silver anniversary of the National Pastoral Life Center said the center has sought to strengthen the Catholic community and has a role in reconciling divisions and conflicts within the church.Read More
WASHINGTON – Instead of taking a typical vacation on a tropical beach, more college students are choosing alternative spring-break service trips to help the poor in the United States and around the world.Read More
JERUSALEM – A planned April 8 meeting of the bilateral permanent working commission between Israel and the Vatican convened only briefly prior to the Jewish Passover holiday.Read More
VATICAN CITY – In a sign of solidarity with those struck by a devastating earthquake and a series of tremors and aftershocks, Pope Benedict XVI donated a portion of the sacred oils he blessed to the Italian Archdiocese of L’Aquila.Read More
OXFORD England – The president of the Turkish Catholic bishops’ conference welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama’s expression of support for religious freedom during his visit to the country.Read More
FENGXIANG, China – A Chinese priest who was injured in a church property dispute with the local government said that narrating the part of Jesus during a Palm Sunday Mass helped him to connect his suffering to Jesus’ suffering.Read More
When St. Faustina Kowalska received revelations from Jesus over the course of her short life, the Polish nun reported that Christ frequently asked that a feast day be dedicated to Divine Mercy and that the feast be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter.Read More
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont legislators voted to override the governor’s veto of same-sex marriage legislation April 7, making the state the fourth to allow same-sex marriage and the first to do so without a court order.Read More
WASHINGTON – Dr. John T. Bruchalski would rather close the doors of his highly successful Fairfax, Va., medical practice than violate his conscience if he is forced to offer services that violate the basic tenets of his Catholic faith.Read More
TEMECULA, Calif. – One woman was killed and three people were injured April 7 after a 69-year-old man opened fire at a remote Catholic Korean retreat center in Southern California.Read More