2011 articles
Pope's World Day of Peace message
Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace. January 1, 2011 Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace 1. At the beginning of the new year I offer good wishes to each and all for [ more... ]Lawyer gives up career for monastic life
Tara Clemens has been living her dream: After she finished law school in 2007, she worked for a law firm in Portland doing work she enjoyed, and went on to co-found a firm in Anchorage where she assists clients planning for [ more... ]Bishops offer cautious support for budget
California’s Catholic bishops reacted with cautious support for Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed $127.4 billion budget that would slash $12.5 billion in state spending and raise another $12 billion in taxes. But the [ more... ]Beatification for John Paul II set for May 1
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II’s intercession, clearing the way for the late pope’s beatification on May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope [ more... ]Planned Parenthood director to convert
The woman who walked away from her job as a Planned Parenthood clinic director after helping with an ultrasound-guided abortion is on the verge of entering the Catholic Church. Abby Johnson, 30, who will speak at the 11 [ more... ]Group joins march against abortion
With tears in her eyes, Yurizan Valencia listened to the testimony of those who shared their experiences of abortion. The 23-year-old parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in East Palo Alto was in the crowd at the [ more... ]Bishops and college leaders discuss identity
WASHINGTON (CNS) – In dioceses across the country this year, U.S. bishops and Catholic college and university presidents plan to discuss the specifics of how to best promote Catholic mission and identity on college [ more... ]Priest reflects on 40-year ministry
Now almost 40 years “in training” as counselor and friend to divorced men and women, Jesuit Father Al Grosskopf is known as a leader in the ministry. If there is one statement he has heard most often from [ more... ]Formidable Sister Mary Jane
Presentation Sister Mary Jane Floyd stands on the porch of a wood frame house in Redwood City, supervising a flock of chattering students and holding Blossom, her grey terrier. The children have just emerged from the Catholic [ more... ]Pilgrim’s path to the Tenderloin
It was disconcerting enough for Martha Arbouex when her parish, Sacred Heart, in San Francisco’s Western Addition, was closed after Christmas 2004, in need of an $8 million seismic retrofit while the number of its [ more... ]Corpus Christi School closes its doors
Monday was a somber day at Corpus Christi School in San Francisco, as Salesian Sister Cecilia Henry went from classroom to classroom listening to her students. Families had received letters the preceding weekend announcing that [ more... ]I saw tears streaming down his face
Catholic San Francisco is inviting readers to contribute their first-person Cathedral Memories to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. The paper will collect the [ more... ]Questions on stem cell institute endure
Shortly before the 2004 general election, I appeared on Jim Lehrer’s PBS NewsHour to speak out against Proposition 71, the Stem Cell Research and Cures Act, that would be on the California ballot. As Respect Life [ more... ]Deacon impressed by inmates’ ‘hunger'
There are enough house rules as is at San Quentin State Prison, and it is not Deacon Larry Chatmon’s place to add to them when he serves inmates in his prison ministry. He does have some friendly advice for them, however, [ more... ]The last acceptable prejudice
Anti-Catholicism has long been a feature of both the high and the low culture in America. From the 19th century to the middle of the 20th, it was out in the open: Many editorialists, cartoonists, politicians and other shapers of [ more... ]Shared prayer and faith in action crucial
Shared prayer and faith in action are crucial to the next phase of the long struggle to bring the world’s Christian churches toward a union of true catholicity, retired Cardinal Walter Kasper said Feb. 21 in a speech in [ more... ]Knights of Peter Claver membership grows
It became clear on the 100th anniversary of the Knights of Peter Claver that there wouldn’t be another 100 years for the largest historically African-American Catholic lay organization without an infusion of members, [ more... ]Lent 2011
Vatican Lenten Resources English Spanish Committee on Divine Worship from the USCCB Resources for Lent and Easter USCCB The Lenten Season Franciscan Radio Franciscan Radio Lenten [ more... ]The Gabriel Project now in 12 parishes
A pregnant mother might feel alone, frightened and overwhelmed by her new challenges. She might need a friend she can depend on and trust – one who will walk beside her on her journey. She might be concerned about her and [ more... ]New St. Mary's cancer center to be blessed
St. Mary’s Medical Center invites the public to a community celebration of its new CHW Cancer Center March 26 at 1:30 p.m. at 2250 Hayes St. in San Francisco. Archbishop George Niederauer will bless the new facility. [ more... ]Former Planned Parenthood chain closing
The former Planned Parenthood Golden Gate announced it is closing all of its clinics in the Bay Area, saying it did not have enough money to pay its employees. Golden Gate Community Health President and CEO Therese Wilson [ more... ]St. Brendan's ministry to imprisoned youth
Who is my neighbor? The Gospel question strikes at the heart of Christianity. St. Brendan the Navigator pastor Father Daniel Nascimento and a handful of parishioners have found the answer two blocks away from the [ more... ]Fr. Daly named auxiliary bishop of San Jose
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Archdiocese of San Francisco vocations director Father Thomas A. Daly as auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of San Jose. The appointment was announced in Washington, D.C., March 16 by Archbishop [ more... ]Lessons in Christian witness
Carl Wilkens stayed behind during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the only American known to have remained during the entire 100 days. “It’s a great thing to do, to pray for people, but I could do more than pray - I [ more... ]Students fight hunger and poverty
Lenten fundraising efforts to assist in fighting hunger and poverty here and around the world are a staple of abiding the season of prayer, penance, fasting and almsgiving at parishes and schools in the Archdiocese of San [ more... ]Professor's book misrepresents faith
WASHINGTON (CNS) – A 2007 book written by Fordham University theology professor Sister Elizabeth A. Johnson “contains misrepresentations, ambiguities and errors” related to the Catholic faith, the U.S. [ more... ]Bishops decry breakdown on budget deal
The breakdown of budget talks between California Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers is “tremendously disappointing for Californians but particularly devastating for the poor and vulnerable,” Los Angeles Auxiliary [ more... ]Visions of man: Huxley vs. Dante
This is an excerpt from a talk by French philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj March 24 in Paris at an event that was part of a Vatican-sponsored initiative to create dialogue among Catholics and atheists and agnostics in Europe, called [ more... ]Seeing the heavens through Galileo's eyes
ROME (CNS) – Top Renaissance scientists and scholars gathered on a grassy hill overlooking Rome one starry spring night 400 years ago to gaze into a unique innovation by Galileo Galilei: the telescope. “This [ more... ]Carry Christ’s peace
Again this Easter the Gospel of life proclaims to the disciples of Jesus, “The Lord’s tomb is empty! He is risen!” Grace and life in Christ have defeated sin and death. But the good news calls out to each [ more... ]Quest for God's love must never stop
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Never stop searching for God and being open to receiving his love and wisdom, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Driven by love, God has set out toward us" in order to "meet the unrest of our hearts, [ more... ]Way of the Cross at the Colosseum
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This evening, in faith, we have accompanied Jesus as he takes the final steps of his earthly journey, the most painful steps, the steps that lead to Calvary. We have heard the cries of the crowd, [ more... ]Urbi et Orbi - Easter 2011
“In resurrectione tua, Christe, coeli et terra laetentur! In your resurrection, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice!” (Liturgy of the Hours). Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and across the world, [ more... ]Archbishop Niederauer's Chrism Mass homily
From time to time, in magazines or on television, we will see a pseudo-sophisticated commentator describe some Christian believers as so simple-minded and uneducated that they literally believe in the second coming of Jesus [ more... ]Archbishop John R. Quinn's Homily on John 20: The Octave of Easter - In Rome, the Beatification of Pope John Paul II
St. Mary’s Cathedral, San Francisco, May 1, 2011. The whole world was electrified in 1987 by a photograph of Pope John Paul in the Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco. The Pope was holding in his [ more... ]Priest recalls ailing John Paul at Lourdes
ROME -- So much of our Christian faith centers upon a personal encounter. In the ultimate human encounter of the Incarnation, God comes to each one of us and meets us in the person of Jesus Christ. This past Sunday, a multitude [ more... ]The Virgin Mary and the Quran
Contemporary interest in Islam and the Quran, its sacred book, runs high. Quran means literally a book, a reading, a recitation, and is sometimes less accurately transliterated from Arabic to English as Koran. Among [ more... ]Our Lady of Fatima
On May 13 the church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Like the apparitions of Our Lady at Guadalupe and at Lourdes, her apparitions at Fatima are known across the world in both religious and secular circles. To [ more... ]'Oprah sisters' bound for Marin Catholic
One of the youngest and fastest growing orders of religious is coming to teach at Marin Catholic High School in the fall, complete with their floor-length 800-year-old-style habits. Four sisters from the Dominican Sisters [ more... ]Bishop-elect Tom Daly's reflection
After nine years as vocations director for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, it would be easy to bemoan obstructionist parents and a hostile culture that can make an already difficult job frustrating, but Bishop-elect Thomas [ more... ]Archbishop opposes circumcision ban
San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer called a proposed ban on circumcision that qualified for the Nov. 8 ballot in San Francisco “a misguided initiative” and “an unconscionable violation of the [ more... ]Mexican martyr’s relic at SMC
A bone relic of St. Toribio Romo, one of the martyrs of the Mexican Cristero War between the government and supporters of the Catholic Church, will be displayed at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco June 12. [ more... ]Public Rosary in San Francisco to draw thousands
San Francisco, Calif., Jun 2, 2011 / 06:01 am ( CNA ) - Fifty years after a 1961 public Rosary gathered over half a million people in San Francisco, a Catholic lay group is organizing the same event for October of [ more... ]Chaplain sees Jesus in inmates
Where others see murderers, rapists and gangsters, Jesuit Father George Williams, the new Catholic chaplain of San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, beholds Jesus. He sees Christ in the Hell’s Angel shouting a [ more... ]In Search of the Common Good
For five consecutive years California has stood on the edge of a budgetary abyss. The state’s credit rating has been seriously eroded. Severe cuts have been made in key social programs with profound implications for the [ more... ]End-of-life decisions
Of all pro-life issues, end-of-life decisions are perhaps the most universal and the most challenging. Not everyone will be forced to make a life-or-death abortion choice, nor will we all come face to face with a decision about [ more... ]Bishops approve major statement
BELLEVUE, Wash. (CNS) -- Taking on the issue of physician-assisted suicide in the state where voters most recently approved it, the U.S. bishops declared suicide "a terrible tragedy, one that a compassionate society should [ more... ]Explaining church teaching on marriage
The Minnesota House and Senate have placed a constitutional amendment on the November 2012 ballot that will define marriage in the state of Minnesota as the union between one man and one woman. Regrettably, the media and [ more... ]New president named to Marin Catholic
Msgr. Robert Sheeran, president of Seton Hall University for 15 years, has been appointed director of mission and ministry at Marin Catholic High School, effective Aug. 1. The appointment was announced by Marin Catholic [ more... ]Vatican, biotech firm promote cell therapy
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican will host an international congress to promote the use of adult stem cells as a safe, effective and ethical means to fight degenerative diseases. The congress, to be held Nov. 9-11, will also [ more... ]Pope Plans Summer Vacation
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI officially began his summer vacation July 7, taking a helicopter from the Vatican to the hilltop town of Castel Gandolfo, less than 15 miles south of Rome. "One can find [ more... ]Marin parish mission group builds school in rural Guatemala
Ten years ago, what passed for education in the Guatemalan village of El Sitio was a mud hut school with a dirt floor. Thirty Mayan children, shoeless, sat around a teacher, who did the talking. The kids’ [ more... ]Looking for Revelation
If there were a God and this God were to choose to reveal Himself and His plan for man, then it would be much easier to discern the nature of human dignity, to understand what makes the human person special, and what [ more... ]Parishioners donate more than $193,000 to Japan relief
(July 18, 2011) SAN FRANCISCO - In a letter to Archbishop George Niederauer, Catholic Relief Services has expressed “deepest appreciation to the people of the Archdiocese of San Francisco” for their [ more... ]Fewer priests, more Masses at fewer parishes
WASHINGTON — More U.S. Catholics are attending Masses at fewer parishes staffed by a rapidly declining corps of priests, according to a new report on “The Changing Face of U.S. Catholic [ more... ]Cardinal criticizes contraceptive mandate, calls exemption too narrow
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Department of Health and Human Services' proposed "religious exemption" to the requirement that all health insurance plans cover contraceptives and sterilization for women is "so [ more... ]Study shows the rise of Catholic megaparishes
Americans are known for their propensity to “supersize” almost everything, and Catholic parishes are no exception. A new study by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in [ more... ]Knights, Sisters of Life host WYD center for English speakers
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At World Youth Day Madrid, they will be back, bigger and offering more variety than ever. The Knights of Columbus and the Sisters of Life, assisted by several other organizations, are [ more... ]Catholic bookstores working hard to compete with online sellers
Like most small- and medium-size bookstores, shops specializing in Catholic religious books have been hit by the ubiquity of such online giants as Amazon. "We rely on hard work and God's grace," said [ more... ]Secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family warns against overemphasizing sexual aspects of Theology of Human Love
Bishop Jean Laffitte is warning against focusing too intently on the sexual aspect of Blessed John Paul II's Theology of the Body, which he says runs the risk of eliminating the depth and [ more... ]Plan of Study in preparation for the implementation of the revised Roman Missal Week 15
In preparation for the implementation of the revised Roman Missal, third typical edition , the Archdiocese of San Francisco is declaring liturgical year 2011 as a Year of Renewal in Worship and Prayer, echoing the [ more... ]Judge orders circumcision ban initiative tossed from San Francisco ballot
A California court ordered an initiative to ban circumcision removed from San Francisco’s November ballot. Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi ruled July 28 in San Francisco that circumcision was an area [ more... ]Renewed interest growing in Mary's role in faith life, depiction in art
There is renewed interest in Mary -- her role in lives of faith, how to interpret references to her in Scripture, how she is depicted in art and literature -- enough to spark a second "Mary in Our Day" [ more... ]Revised Roman Missal binds Catholics across a 2,000-year history
When the third edition of the English-language version of the Roman Missal is implemented at Advent, it will mark the continuing evolution of the eucharistic liturgy that began in the earliest days of the church. [ more... ]Heroic New York priests vividly recall Sept. 11 attacks
Father George Rutler remembers the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack as surreal. “The whole scene looked liked a black and white movie, with all the color drained out – that made it even harder to [ more... ]Religious leaders look forward to renewing 'spirit of Assisi' with pope
St. Francis of Assisi appeals to believers and nonbelievers alike because they long for a world where people see each other as brothers and sisters and where they recognize and respect creation as a gift to all, said [ more... ]Dangers of Secularism
Pope Benedict XVI has made the dangers of secularism a major theme of his pontificate. And it's a battle both sides take seriously. On the one hand, the pope warns that societies without the moorings of [ more... ]Islam set to be dominant religion in France
New research suggests there are now more practising Muslims in France than practising Catholics. While 64 percent of French people describe themselves as Roman Catholic, only 2.9 percent of the population [ more... ]Catholics, Lutherans unite in prayer, but differences don't disappear
Divided Christians can celebrate their common faith in Christ with beautiful prayer services, but that does not mean they leave aside all their differences. After joining Pope Benedict XVI for a long meeting and [ more... ]Catholic Church’s communications day to focus on silence
The new theme for the Catholic Church’s World Social Communications Day is “Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization,” a Vatican pontifical council has announced. Silence is not simply [ more... ]Bishops' new ad hoc committee will tackle religious liberty concerns
Saying they are increasingly distressed over government policies that promote contraception, abortion and same-sex marriage and amount to an assault on religious freedom, the U.S. bishops have established a committee [ more... ]Grace is always present – A Message from Archbishop George Niederauer
Let me begin by thanking you for your prayers and concern and support during my recent illness and now, during my recuperation. It is a humbling and welcome experience to be on the receiving end of such love and [ more... ]An Attack on Conscience
A department of the federal government is seeking to force churches to violate their conscience. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recently issued a new regulation requiring almost all private health plans [ more... ]Quotes without God on MLK memorial spark controversy
A new memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C. is drawing the attention of those who say that it disregards the civil rights leader’s deep faith in God. But his niece hopes that those who see [ more... ]Mass is what makes us Catholic
Cardinal says launch of new missal translation this Advent is opportunity to renew faith in what happens at Mass. One of the hallmarks of contemporary American evangelicalism is the dynamic flow of various [ more... ]Expert on Vatican council’s idea for financial body
After the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace made headlines this week by issuing a document advocating the creation of a global financial body, one expert in Vatican documents downplayed its authority and said [ more... ]New Jersey nurses face job loss for refusing to assist abortions
Twelve nurses in New Jersey have filed a lawsuit against a local government hospital for being told they would lose their jobs if they refuse to perform abortions. The case shows evidence of “a [ more... ]Chaplains care for soldiers' religious, morale needs, says chief
Soldiers "are making life and death decisions" every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, and military chaplains "are out there in the field with them day in and day out," said the Catholic priest who is [ more... ]What Will be Your New Liturgical Year's Resolution
Here is a popular phrase of motivational speakers describing those who do not want to adapt: “Change is good … as long as it doesn’t affect me.” We can all have this feeling from time to [ more... ]Poverty in the midst of plenty: Hunger persists in the United States
As U.S. nutritionists cringe over the prospect of an overweight nation indulging in a two-month binge of "season's eatings" -- from Halloween candy to Thanksgiving dinners to Christmas feasts to New [ more... ]Thanksgiving
We hear the theme for today’s celebration in our first reading: “Bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on the earth!” God, who, the author says, “fosters our growth in [ more... ]An Advent Prayer
Be still for a moment. Enter into silence. Turn off the noise. As a Russian mystic once said, this is all important for prayer, meditation and deep contemplation. For the listening soul needs stillness and silence in [ more... ]The dignity of the human person "a primary doctrine" of the Catholic Church
Calling the dignity of the human person "a primary doctrine" of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York told an audience at the University of Notre Dame Dec. 6 that it must prompt [ more... ]Pope says focus on Jesus, not pre-Christmas distractions
Pope Benedict XVI reminded Christians not to be dazzled by the shopping lights of the season but to keep focused on the coming on Jesus Christ, the “true light of the world.” “The [ more... ]
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