Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, OP, concluded his term as archbishop of Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday, his 80th birthday, when Pope Francis accepted his resignation. Schönborn, a theologian who led Austria’s most populous archdiocese for three decades, helped write the Catechism of the Catholic Church and chaired the Austrian bishops’ conference for 22 years. He is currently...
Author: Dominic C
Christian survivor of terrorism: ‘Pray for Boko Haram’
A Nigerian woman whose husband was killed by Boko Haram in 2014 has asked for prayers for persecuted Christians and for the terrorist group, “that they will be saved, that Jesus will reveal himself to their heart, so that they will repent.” “I prayed for those that have killed my husband and said, ‘I have...
Pope Francis at general audience: Jesus gives us the ‘grace of not fearing’
Pope Francis on Wednesday continued his yearlong jubilee catechesis series on “Jesus Christ Our Hope,” emphasizing that those who trust in God have no reason to fear. “The presence of the Lord always gives us this grace of not fearing,” the Holy Father said at his Jan. 22 general audience. “He says to Mary: ‘Do...
U.S. bishops voice concern over immigration, gender policies in religious freedom report
Policies related to immigration, gender ideology, abortion, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) are among the top religious liberty concerns heading into 2025, according to a report published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The USCCB Committee for Religious Liberty on Jan. 16 issued its Annual Report on the State of Religious Liberty, which...
Virginia bishop: IVF ‘contrary to justice,’ destroys many human lives
Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge on Wednesday urged Catholic families to offer a “heroic witness” to love by rejecting the practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF), which the prelate called “contrary to justice [and] replete with moral difficulties.” In a pastoral letter released on Wednesday, Burbidge acknowledged the “natural desire for family” as well as the challenges...
U.S. bishops criticize Trump’s executive orders on climate, death penalty, immigration
The president of the U.S. bishops’ conference on Wednesday criticized some of President Donald Trump’s initial executive orders on key issues including immigration and capital punishment, warning that harm could be done to “the most vulnerable among us.” Trump upon taking office on Monday signed a series of executive orders that included tough restrictions on immigration, a directive in...
By Robert Kinghorn I never knew the lady’s real name. When I met her she said, “Just call me Chilli, that’s my street name.” Readers of this column will know her as “The woman who lives in a doorway downtown.” It has been 10 months since we first met. At that time, she gave...
By Anabella and Daniel Ma Beauty is unmistakably powerful. So powerful in fact, that Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said “beauty will save the world” – a sentiment affirmed by Pope John Paul II in his Letter to Artists. It is one of the transcendentals for which God has put an undying thirst in our souls...
Pilgrims during last year’s Camino at Our Lady of the Mountains in Whistler. The pilgrimage, like one at St. James in Abbotsford, reflects a growing trend among local Catholics to embrace rediscovered traditions and deepen their faith. (Caio Resende photo)
B.C. pilgrimages: a chance to recharge spiritual batteries and ‘be freed from our phones’
By James Risdon The pastor at Whistler’s Our Lady of the Mountains Parish, Father Andrew L’Heureux, tucks his Mass kit into his backpack every year at this time. It adds another roughly two kilograms to the load the 48-year-old priest will have to carry over the three-day, 100-kilometre pilgrimage he plans to make in late...
Supporters gather at a prayer rally in Georgetown, Texas, Sunday in support of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who was shot the previous day in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Penn. FBI officials say have yet to determine what motivated the shooter to open fire from a nearby rooftop, killing one spectator and critically injuring two others before he was shot dead by the Secret Service. The FBI believes the shooter acted alone. (OSV News photo/Sergio Flores, Reuters)
U.S. bishops, Holy See offer prayers following attempt on Donald Trump’s life
By Charles Wells In a statement issued in the wake of Saturday’s attack on former U.S. President Donald Trump, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, said, “Together with my brother bishops, we condemn political violence, and we offer our prayers for President Trump, and those who were killed...