New Faith Formation Opportunities Available for the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa

Posted by - June 23, 2018

The Diocese of Chalan Kanoa has signed an agreement with the University of Dayton (a Marianist college) to offer faith formation courses online at a reduced cost to members of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa. Each course lasts five weeks and all materials are posted online. They require about four to five hours of study

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Children are pictured onstage as Pope Francis leads his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 13. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Biggest danger in life is fear, settling for less, pope says

Posted by - June 16, 2018

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The worst enemies in a young person’s life aren’t the problems they may face, Pope Francis said. The biggest dangers are being unwilling to find a way to adapt, mediocrity by settling for the status quo, and fear, he said at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square June 13. “It

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Students work together at St. Catherine of Siena School in Port Arthur, Texas. (CNS photo/courtesy Catholic Extension)

How Catholic schools foster self-discipline offers lessons, says study

Posted by - June 16, 2018

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A new study conducted by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found that children in Catholic schools are less disruptive and have more self-control than their peers in non-Catholic or public schools. The authors of the study said they believe that examining students’ self-discipline is particularly important in light of the ongoing debate

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Tyson and Katherine Babcock pose for a family photo in this undated picture. (CNS photo/courtesy Agnieszka Krawczynski)

A Father’s Day story: stepping in when the biological dad steps out

Posted by - June 16, 2018

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (CNS) — Katherine Babcock was in college studying toward an arts degree when she found out she was pregnant. The child’s father, her best friend of 10 years, could not cope with the news. “He said: ‘It’s early enough in your pregnancy. You could just terminate,’” Babcock told The B.C. Catholic, newspaper

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Pope: Small acts of kindness, not great speeches, show God’s love best

Posted by - June 16, 2018

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God shows his love, not with great speeches, but with simple, tender acts of charity, Pope Francis said. “When Jesus wants to teach us how a Christian should be, he tells us very little,” the pope said, but he shows people by feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger. Celebrating Mass

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Pope Francis greets children during an audience with children participating in the "Train of Children" at the Vatican June 9. Children from poor suburbs outside Milan arrived on a train that stopped at the Vatican. Also pictured is Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope shares childhood memories with Italian children

Posted by - June 16, 2018

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis told Italian schoolchildren that he grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, “the most beautiful city in the world,” and that besides playing soccer, he loved to fly kites as a child. “We would make them with cane and paper, light paper. We made them ourselves,” the pope told about

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An item with the national colors of Argentina is thrown at Pope Francis as he greets the crowd during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 13. The pope caught three objects of clothing or flags thrown at him within a span of a few seconds. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope launches appeal that World Cup in Russia helps promote peace

Posted by - June 16, 2018

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As 32 nations get ready to vie for the World Cup in Russia, Pope Francis greeted players, organizers and soccer fans who will be following “this event that overcomes all borders.” “May this important sports event become an occasion for encounter, dialogue and fraternity between different cultures and religions, promoting solidarity

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Pope advances sainthood cause for Mexican mother, Argentine martyrs

Posted by - June 16, 2018

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis issued decrees advancing the sainthood cause of four candidates, including a widowed mother of nine from Mexico, who founded groups for laypeople as well as two religious congregations. At a meeting June 8 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the pope signed a decree

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Pope Francis speaks during an audience with executives of oil and gas companies at the Vatican June 9. The executives were attending a symposium organized by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Pope to oil execs: ‘No time to lose’ in switch to alternative energy

Posted by - June 16, 2018

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The world needs a new kind of leadership that believes in building up the whole human family and protecting the environment, Pope Francis told a group of energy and oil executives and global investors. That also means using alternatives to fossil fuels for meeting everyone’s energy needs and mitigating the effects

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Philippine church leaders oppose pistol-packing priests

Posted by - June 16, 2018

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Church leaders in the Philippines criticized a proposal to arm priests as a protective measure in the wake of recent attacks on clergy members. Calls have come from several quarters for priests to take advantage of a 2014 law allowing journalists, priests, lawyers, doctors, nurses, accountants and engineers to carry firearms

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