Pope asks for prayers ahead of historic trip to Iraq (Vatican News) Pope Francis addressed the faithful on Wednesday morning asking them to accompany him with prayers as he sets off for an Apostolic Journey to Iraq. “The day after tomorrow, God willing, I will go to Iraq for a three-day pilgrimage. For a long time I have wanted to meet those people who have suffered so much; to meet that martyred Church in the land of Abraham,” he said, speaking during the weekly General Audience. Together with other religious leaders in the country, the Pope continued, he hopes another step forward will be taken “in fraternity amongst believers…”
Third man claims he was abused by Father Pfleger (CBS Chicago) A third man has come forward claiming that he was sexually abused by the Rev. Michael Pfleger when the man was a teenager more than 40 years ago…
French Catholic clergy may have abused 10,000 people (CNN) French Catholic clergy could have abused at least 10,000 minors and other vulnerable people since 1950, according to an independent investigation set up by the Church in France. The Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) “estimates that the number of victims could reach ‘at least ten thousand,'” it said in a statement released on Monday. The commission said it had so far received 6,500 testimonies, which concern at least 3,000 different victims…
Straw poll of conservative activists reveals that pro-life issues least important (CNA) Attendees at last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando were allowed to select up to three issues as their top policy priorities for the Washington Times/CPAC straw poll. Options included “election integrity,” “immigration/border wall,” and “second amendment.” A mere 16% of conference-goers choose pro-life policies as one of their top three issues, making it the issue that received the least number of votes among attendees. Election integrity, constitutional rights, and immigration were the three top-rated issues of importance, respectively…
Vandals strike at historic Knights of Columbus church (National Catholic Register) On Saturday, Feb. 27, St. Mary Church in New Haven, Connecticut, was the victim of a vandal or vandals. The parish church is also renowned with a shrine of the Infant of Prague and known as the birthplace of the Knights of Columbus. Blessed Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights, is entombed in a sarcophagus in the church. “Someone either punched or used some object to punch in the center doors’ stained glass windows,” Dominican Father John Paul Walker, the pastor, said. “It was clearly someone wanting to do damage” and “smash in the four stained glass windows that sit in the four main center doors” leading into the vestibule of St. Mary Church…
Nigeria’s bishops: ‘The nation is falling apart’ (CFC) Against an immediate backdrop of escalating mass kidnappings, jihadi resurgence, growing separatist sentiment in the old Biafra, and conflict over water and land that often assumes a religious and ethnic coloration, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has issued a statement sounding the alarm over the very survival of the nation. The statement expresses concern, inter alia, over high-level government officials advising citizens to resort to self-defense as exacerbating ethnic conflict…
Catholic sculptor hopes to inspire with his liturgical art (CNS) Recently, the Irish artist Dony Mac Manus moved to Northern Virginia, and he hopes to share his love of art and God with young people here, just as his mother first shared it with him. “I see my calling, my vocation as an artist is to resurrect the Christian tradition in the visual arts,” Mac Manus told the Arlington Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Diocese of Arlington. The sculptor, 49, was born in Dublin and raised in a devout Catholic family. Having dyslexia pushed him toward art…
