Articles by Courtney Mares
Pope Francis blesses bell that will ring out in defence of unborn
Sep 23, 2020 / 09:00 amPope Francis blessed a large bell Wednesday that Polish Catholics hope will ring out in the defence of unborn life.
Pope Francis: Subsidiarity means everyone has a role in healing society
Sep 23, 2020 / 05:00 amPope Francis said Wednesday that he is worried that large pharmaceutical companies are listened to more than front-line healthcare workers in pandemic recovery and that the Catholic principle of subsidiarity is the solution.
Vatican official backs initiative to help prevent future pandemics
Sep 22, 2020 / 07:00 amIn an address to the International Atomic Energy Agency Monday, a Vatican official commended the organization for its preventative efforts to address another global threat: zoonotic diseases that cause pandemics.
Cardinal Parolin urges UN to return to founding ideals
Sep 22, 2020 / 05:00 amThe Vatican Secretary of State asked the United Nations Monday to return to its founding ideals to protect the common good and the right to life.
Judge killed by mafia 30 years ago is a candidate for sainthood
Sep 21, 2020 / 11:00 amThirty years ago Judge Rosario Livatino was brutally killed by the mafia on his commute to work at a courthouse in Sicily. Today he is recognized in the Catholic Church as a Servant of God and a candidate for sainthood.
Vatican calls for 'peaceful and just resolution' of Belarus crisis
Sep 21, 2020 / 04:00 amAfter President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he was putting troops on high alert and closing Belarus’ borders, a Vatican diplomat called Friday for dialogue and respect for the human rights of Belarusian protesters, who continue to take to the streets more than a month after disputed elections.
Cardinal says Syria has been hit with a ‘poverty bomb’
Sep 18, 2020 / 15:00 pmAfter nearly 10 years of war, the Syrian people have now been hit with a “poverty bomb” amid the coronavirus pandemic, a Vatican diplomat said this week.
Pope Francis accepts resignation of Bishop Bevard of US Virgin Islands
Sep 18, 2020 / 05:30 amPope Francis accepted the resignation Friday of Bishop Herbert Bevard of the U.S. Virgin Islands after he was hospitalized and airlifted to the U.S. mainland for medical treatment.
‘I will die with them and for them’: Franciscan friar who survived Syrian War dies of COVID-19
Sep 17, 2020 / 10:00 amWhen asked by his superior if he wanted to leave Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War, Fr. Edward Tamer replied that he would remain with the people “to die with them and for them.”
Pope Francis thanks sick and elderly priests for proclaiming Gospel of life
Sep 17, 2020 / 07:00 amPope Francis thanked sick and elderly priests for their quiet witness to the Gospel Thursday in a message that conveyed the sanctifying value of frailty and suffering.
Two US Catholic colleges resume Rome study abroad programs
Sep 16, 2020 / 11:00 amAt a time when many universities in the U.S. are only offering online classes this fall, American students from two Catholic colleges arrive in Rome this week to study abroad.
Taiwan foreign ministry: Vatican-China deal will not affect diplomatic recognition
Sep 15, 2020 / 07:00 amTaiwan’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that it has received assurances from the Vatican regarding the renewal of the Vatican-China deal.
Vatican official visits Belarus after archbishop blocked at border
Sep 11, 2020 / 11:19 amA senior Vatican official arrived in Belarus for talks Friday after the leader of the country’s Catholic Church was barred from returning to his homeland.
Cardinal calls for Marian devotion to be protected from mafia exploitation
Sep 11, 2020 / 09:30 amDuring a visit to a Marian shrine in southern Italy this week the Vatican Secretary of State issued a warning that Marian devotion must be safeguarded from mafia exploitation.
China’s foreign ministry: Vatican deal has been ‘implemented successfully’
Sep 10, 2020 / 15:00 pmA spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said Thursday that China’s interim deal with the Vatican has been “implemented successfully.”
This church is now the first minor basilica in Central Asia
Sep 10, 2020 / 09:30 amThe Vatican has named a church in Kazakhstan as the first minor basilica in Central Asia.
Pope Francis: ‘Never again to the culture of abuse’
Sep 10, 2020 / 05:00 amPope Francis has written a prologue to a recently published book on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church entitled “Theology and Prevention.”
Newly arrived American seminarians meet Pope Francis after travel quarantine
Sep 9, 2020 / 08:00 amAmerican seminarians met with Pope Francis this week after completing a 14-day mandatory quarantine upon their arrival in Rome.
Catholic priests kick off first international organ festival at Rome’s Pantheon
Sep 8, 2020 / 09:30 amUnder the nearly 2,000-year-old dome of Rome’s Pantheon and above the relics of early Christian martyrs, the melodies of Johann Sebastian Bach and other composers are being performed on the organ this month in an effort to use beauty to reconnect people with the mystery of God.
Italian president visits Loreto on Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sep 8, 2020 / 07:30 amThe Italian president and a senior Vatican official visited the Holy House of Loreto Tuesday for the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.