The Philippines stands poised to reinstate the death penalty after it was put on hold 11 years ago. The church in the Philippines, which has grown more vocal in recent months, continues to oppose the measure that passed the Philippine House on the third and final reading March 7 and is widely expected to move
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Although the word almsgiving does not come up much in regular conversation, Catholics hear it plenty during Lent since it is one of the three pillars of the church’s Lenten practices along with prayer and fasting. Although the three practices work together, almsgiving can sometimes get the short shrift because people might
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Recalling that Pope Benedict XVI once said that those who live with hope live differently, Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington said faith communities have a lot to offer immigrant, refugee and other communities currently experiencing fear. From prayers, hope, friendship, advocacy and assistance, “I think that faith communities are going
WASHINGTON (CNS) — There is no getting around fasting during Lent. Not only is it one of the three pillars of spiritual practice along with prayer and almsgiving, but it also bookends the period of preparation for Easter. Fasting and abstinence is required of adult Catholics, ages 18-59, at the start of Lent on Ash
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Prayer, one of the three pillars of Lenten discipline, along with fasting and almsgiving, seems to get the biggest boost during Lent. Spiritual leaders note that Catholics are most likely praying already and that Lent is a time to make this act even more intentional — to pray more or in a
WASHINGTON (CNS) — While one Catholic archbishop was urging a fix to the country’s immigration laws before a Catholic crowd, another was pleading with the government not to separate mothers from their children while in immigration detention, and yet another, a cardinal, was accompanying a grandfather to an appointment that could have resulted in his
ROME (CNS) — Lent is a time to receive God’s breath of life, a breath that saves humanity from suffocating under the weight of selfishness, indifference and piety devoid of sincerity, Pope Francis said. “Lent is the time to say no to the asphyxia born of relationships that exclude, that try to find God while
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Like the people of Israel freed from the bondage of slavery, Christians are called to experience the path toward hope and new life during the Lenten season, Pope Francis said. Through his passion, death and resurrection, Jesus “has opened up for us a way that leads to a full, eternal and
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Expressing concern about thousands of deaths in the nation’s so-called “war on drugs,” the president of the Philippine bishops’ conference has sought courage from a deceased cardinal whose influence helped overthrow a dictator in the mid-1980s. Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan wrote a public letter to Cardinal Jaime Sin Feb. 25,
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People who don’t give money to the homeless because they think it will be spent on alcohol and not food should ask themselves what guilty pleasures they are secretly spending money on, Pope Francis said. “There are many excuses” to justify why one doesn’t lend a hand when asked by a
