For Pope Francis, 2019 included his sixth anniversary as pope, his 83rd birthday and his 50th anniversary as a priest, but it also was a year that saw him still confronted with the clerical sexual abuse crisis and with Vatican financial scandals.Read More
Pope Francis has abolished the obligation of secrecy for those who report having been sexually abused by a priest and for those who testify in a church trial or process having to do with clerical sexual abuse.Read More
Each year the archdiocese attempts to celebrate Mass at a new location near the actual Dec. 12 feast day to recognize the long tradition of devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, particularly with Catholics of Central and South American heritage.Read More
Loyola University Maryland has received a $1 million gift from Ellen and Ed Hanway to support the construction of the Miguel B. Fernandez Family Center for Innovation and Collaborative Learning, according to a Dec. 12 news release.Read More
After a fire destroyed Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Franklin Lakes in the early hours of Dec. 11, the suspected arsonist was arrested. He was receiving burn treatment at a local hospital prior to his court hearing.Read More
In "The Two Popes," their glossy but highly speculative account of supposedly real events, screenwriter Anthony McCarten and director Fernando Meirelles ill-advisedly try to extol Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) by trashing retired Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins).Read More
Mary, the Mother of God is "the mother of all of us," Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said in his homily for midnight Mass celebrated at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for the Dec. 12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.Read More
Eventually, there may be a movie focused on some travail affecting people in West Virginia without John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" on the soundtrack.Read More
The world does not need more empty words, it needs committed, active peacemakers who do not exclude or manipulate, but are open to respectful dialogue, Pope Francis said in his annual message for the World Day of Peace Jan. 1.Read More