JERUSALEM – In a reversal of an earlier decision, the papal nuncio to Israel attended a Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial ceremony after receiving a personal letter from the memorial’s chairman. Archbishop Antonio Franco said he decided to attend the ceremony April 15, the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, after receiving assurances from Chairman Avner Shalev...Read More

WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush praised Catholic schools and pressed for immigration reform in remarks delivered April 13 at the fourth annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington. “America’s Catholic schools play a vital role in our nation. The schools were built by poor immigrants, they were staffed by legions of dedicated nuns, brothers...Read More

When Tonya Watts was growing up, her father sold drugs and her home was never a very responsible place to be. She became addicted to drugs and it wasn’t until years later that she realized she needed help to get her life back together. “I started to feel like I was losing my spirit,” said...Read More

The April 29 inauguration of a Nigerian woman’s group is expected to attract about 40 natives of the African nation to St. Matthew, Northwood, in an effort to foster moral and Christian family values and help new immigrants adjust to life in the United States. The women of the Nigerian Igbo Catholic Community have been...Read More

All it takes to make Maureen Cannon cry is a good country or love song, especially “if I couple it with another situation going on in my life,” said the St. Francis Xavier, Hunt Valley, parishioner. “I think it’s extremely therapeutic to cry. Once I’ve cried, I have a better perspective and outlook on a...Read More

CHICAGO – Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George returned home from the hospital on Easter after falling and breaking the upper part of his right leg while blessing food baskets a day earlier. Cardinal George, 70, apparently slipped on water on the marble floor at St. Ferdinand Catholic Church April 7, landing on his hip and...Read More

VATICAN CITY – In his Easter message, Pope Benedict XVI lamented the countless wars, disasters and horrors ravaging the world, including “the continual slaughter” in Iraq and the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan. “Natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking” in the world, he...Read More

BEIJING – He’s known as “the black pope of China” – a play on the “black pope” title given to the powerful head of the Jesuits – and whether or not people like his methods, they all agree that he is one of the most powerful laymen in China’s Catholic Church. Anthony Liu Bainian, 73,...Read More