Roman Catholic Church News

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 30, 2008 .- Advent is the season of hope par excellence, and during this time, the Church is called to be hope for itself and for the world, says Benedict XVI.

An inspection of troops in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig city, Metro Manila, yesterday.

The only exhibit of Vatican artifacts outside the papal capital is on display in an unlikely spot - the National Museum of Funeral History, an exhibit hall that celebrates coffins, hearses and other ceremonial ...

In a ceremony rich with tradition, Bishop William Weigand handed his shepherd's staff to his successor and the new the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, Jaime Soto.

The two-football-field length of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine opened for worship Sunday after years of cleanup from a fire that struck the world's largest Gothic cathedral in 2001.

The cathedral's 98-year-old Skinner organ was played for the first time since the fire, heralding a new beginning for the spiritual home of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.

'The rededication of this magnificent cathedral church speaks to all of us with such a wonderful sense of not only resurrection and renewal but of a recognition that through all that we have come together there is a constant sense of resilience arising from this cathedral in this great city,' said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who joined church officials and 3,800 parishioners at the rededication service.

An Egyptian-born writer who renounced Islam and was baptized by Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that he has formed a political party that would enter candidates in next year's EU elections.

Magdi Cristiano Allam said his 'Protagonists for Christian Europe' party would work to defend Europe's Christian values, which he sees threatened by secularism and moral relativism. He said his new party would be open to people of all faiths and would be close to the conservative European People's Party.

Allam built his career in Italy as commentator and book author attacking Islamic extremism and supporting Israel.

Inside one of Houston's best-kept secrets, soft music and hushed words are piped over the sound system, the sweet scent of flowers leaves a faint trail in the air _ and the business of death is saluted.

I doubt that much sleep was lost when the tiny Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, Ill., recently voted to secede from the national Episcopal Church for being too liberal.

Bishop William Weigand will step down Sunday as the leader of the sprawling the Sacramento Catholic diocese in a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

A Roman Catholic priest has told parishioners they should confess if they voted for Barack Obama because the president-elect supports abortion.

Thousands of Roman Catholic faithful and even President Raul Castro gathered Saturday for the beatification of a monk known as the 'father of the poor' _ the first ceremony of its kind on Cuban soil.

The act brings Friar Jose Olallo Valdes, a member of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, one step closer to sainthood.

Olallo was born in 1820 and abandoned at a Havana orphanage. He came to the central city of Camaguey to take his religious vows at 15 and stayed the rest of his life, earning his nickname by caring for the needy and chronically ill. He died in 1889 at age 69.

The Vatican has thanked Muslims for bringing God back into the public sphere in Europe.

The leak of a decade-old internal memo of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is providing insight into how deeply involved the church has been in the fight against same-sex marriage in California ...

Associated Press A November 28, 2008 A PORTLAND, Ore. -- A leading lawyer for victims of priest abuse says documents released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland this week fall short of implicating ...

The Vatican has warned that our obsession with modern technology, such as the internet and mobile phones, is not leaving people enough time for spiritual pursuits.

The fight over Catholic church closings in the New Orleans area has taken another turn, with the archdiocese not picking up Christmas donations from parishoners trying to save St.

A new album of songs based on poems by the late Pope John Paul II and performed by Placido Domingo goes on sale in Italy.

The world famous tenor says the album 'Amore Infinito' ('Infinite Love') will not just speak to the faithful. He says 'these are songs for everyone.'

The 12-track record was presented Friday at the Vatican.

The CD features duets with Andrea Bocelli, Vanessa Williams and Katherine Jenkins. The lyrics are in Italian, English and Spanish.

The Deutsche Grammophon record label says the CD will come out next month in Mexico, where Domingo grew up, and worldwide in January.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has described the scale of abuse by priests of the Dublin Diocese as "staggering". In a letter to priests, Dr Martin says at least 400 men and women have suffered trauma as a result ...

The Roman Catholic Church is set to hold its first beatification ceremony on Cuban soil this weekend, honoring a humble 19th-century monk who helped the sick during an 1835 cholera epidemic.

A US appeals court has ruled that three Kentucky men can pursue a lawsuit against the Vatican for the sex abuse committed by US priests.