Georgia Bulletin

Washington

• Year of Consecrated Life events planned

  Published January 22, 2015

  WASHINGTON—The Catholic Church continues to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life, which began Nov. 29, 2014, and will continue through Feb. 2, 2016. In Atlanta, on Monday, Feb. 2, on the Feast of the Presentation, a vespers service will be celebrated for the religious of the archdiocese at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, […] Full Story

• Supreme Court agrees to take up same-sex marriage cases this term

  

  By CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
  Published January 22, 2015

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—The Supreme Court Jan. 16 agreed to hear four cases over the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, tackling the questions of whether the 14th Amendment requires states to allow such marriages and whether it requires them to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states. In brief orders, the court accepted petitions from Tennessee, Michigan, Kentucky […] Full Story

• Catholic press raises questions about role of satire aimed at religion

  By CAROL ZIMMERMANN, Catholic News Service
  Published January 22, 2015

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—In the days since the terrorist attack in Paris that killed 12 people, including the editor and four cartoonists at a satirical newsweekly, the discussion about the role of satire and just how far freedom of speech should go has become a hot topic. From the onset, most commentators condemned the Jan. 7 attack […]

• Demographic changes affecting church now an emerging reality for nation

  

  By MARK PATTISON, Catholic News Service
  Published January 8, 2015

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—Catholics in the United States have been told frequently over the past decade or more about the demographic changes coming to the makeup of their church—especially with the growing number of Hispanics now living in the U.S. Now, however, it’s the United States’ turn to recognize and deal with the emerging reality of demographic […] Full Story

• Pope Francis continues to take ‘the world by storm’

  

  By CAROL ZIMMERMANN, Catholic News Service
  Published December 23, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—During the second year of his pontificate, Pope Francis was still feeling the love, and not just from Catholics or those from his homeland of Argentina. A Pew Research Center study released Dec. 11 showed that the pope has broad support across much of the world. Sixty percent of the 43 nations polled had […] Full Story

• Pope Francis credited for urging U.S., Cuba to normalize relations

  

  By DENNIS SADOWSKI, Catholic News Service
  Published December 23, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—Pope Francis personally appealed to President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro this year to encourage both leaders to normalize diplomatic relations, a senior Obama administration official said. Speaking on background, the official told reporters Dec. 17 that the pope followed up the personal appeals with letters to the U.S. and Cuban leaders, […]

• U.S. women religious find Vatican report affirms their ministry

  

  By DENNIS SADOWSKI, Catholic News Service
  Published December 17, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—U.S. women religious welcomed the conciliatory tone of a Vatican report on religious life and appreciated acknowledgement of the important ministry that they practice day in and day out in the life of the church. They also said the report, released Dec. 16, opens a new beginning for women religious, who have continued their […] Full Story

• Vatican Museums get 3-D treatment in film

  By MARK PATTISON, Catholic News Service
  Published December 11, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—For those who have never been inside any of the Vatican Museums, seeing a documentary about them done with a 3-D effect on the big screen could be a real treat. “The Vatican Museums 3D” begins a theatrical release on hundreds of screens around the country in December. Even for those lucky enough to […]

• Catholics should ‘rekindle’ commitment to end racism, bishop says

  By CAROL ZIMMERMANN, Catholic News Service
  Published November 27, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—The scenes of chaos and violence in Ferguson, Missouri, Nov. 24 following the grand jury’s decision not to indict the white police officer in the shooting death of Michael Brown, an African-American teenager, reveal deeper issues going on in the country, said one of the country’s black Catholic bishops. “The racial divide that exists […] Full Story

• Faith is getting its due on the small screen

  By MARK PATTISON, Catholic News Service
  Published November 27, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—Treatments of the Catholic faith are getting their due on various TV networks. Except that, with the fractured nature of the 500-channel universe—a quaint term to anyone with satellite TV—you have to keep your eyes wide open. Blink and it’ll be gone. About the only thing viewers can hope for is that the programming […] Full Story

• As Obama unveils program, other efforts aim to help Central Americans

  

  By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
  Published November 27, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—As millions of immigrants celebrate the possibility of protection from deportation under a new Obama administration plan, among those who cannot take advantage of it will be the 68,445 families and 68,541 unaccompanied minors who were apprehended at the border in the last fiscal year. The children and families, most from Central America, drew […]

• Mother of James Foley says faith, people’s prayers kept son strong

  By SARAH MCCARTHY, Catholic News Service
  Published October 30, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—Prayers from around the world and an unwavering faith in God have continued to provide a strong foundation for John and Diane Foley after their son, journalist James Foley, was murdered in Syria by Islamic state militants Aug. 19. “It’s faith in God that’s kept me together,” Diane said in an interview with Catholic […]

• Muslim leaders worldwide issue stern rebuke to ISIS

  

  By MARK PATTISON, Catholic News Service
  Published October 30, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—More than 100 Muslim leaders—clerics and laypeople alike—have signed on to a letter criticizing the Middle East Muslim military group ISIS, short for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. In the 17-page letter, the leaders quote extensively from the Quran, the Muslim scriptures, to rebuke ISIS’ tactics and actions. Since the letter was […]

• Business leaders explore ways to carry Catholic values to the office

  By DENNIS SADOWSKI, Catholic News Service
  Published October 2, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—Venture capitalist Frank Hanna believes that just because he’s a Catholic business owner, his faith and values don’t have to be checked at the office door. If anything, Catholic virtue and a deep feeling of solidarity with colleagues, customers and poor people around the world guide his decision-making to, as Hanna puts it, help […]

• Senate action urged to stop coverage of abortion in health care plans

  By SARAH MCCARTHY, Catholic News Service
  Published October 2, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—Members of Congress and pro-life leaders Sept. 18 criticized the federal government for failing to ensure federally subsidized health plans will not cover elective abortions. “Health care should always support the dignity and life of the human person. It can never be about taking a life,” said Melissa Swearingen, adviser and spokeswoman for the […]

• Debating just-war theory in light of Islamic State and past Iraqi wars

  

  By MARK PATTISON, Catholic News Service
  Published September 5, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—In the days that followed Pope Francis’ Aug. 18 remarks on U.S. airstrikes earlier in the month against Islamic State, the buzz was about whether the pope had actually given his consent to them. The more sobering post-buzz reality is how one stops what, in the pontiff’s words, is an “unjust aggressor.” Does the […] Full Story

• Ice bucket challenge spotlights pro-life research center

  By MARK PATTISON, Catholic News Service
  Published September 5, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—Few people think of Iowa City, Iowa, as a hotbed of medical research. But in a roundabout way more Catholics are beginning to take notice of a Catholic, pro-life medical research center. This summer’s ALS ice bucket challenge craze has netted nearly $100 million in donations for the ALS Association as celebrities and commoners […]

• Groups lash out at new opt-out rules for HHS mandate

  By CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
  Published September 4, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—Pro-life groups that have battled with the federal government since the first rules were issued on contraceptive coverage in 2012 derided the government’s latest rules allowing religious institutions—and potentially some for-profit companies—to opt out of the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act. “Once again HHS (the federal Department of Health and Human Services) […] Full Story

• Catholic schools, dioceses determine how to take part in ALS fundraising effort

  

  By CAROL ZIMMERMANN, Catholic News Service
  Published August 27, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, a major fundraising effort that began this summer to raise money to research a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease, has left many people scratching their heads. The challenge involves dumping a bucket of ice water on someone’s head and nominating others to go through the […]

• U.S. Dominicans ‘agonizing’ for Iraqi Dominicans, villagers; How to help

  By JULIE ASHER, Catholic News Service
  Published August 21, 2014

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—Dominican Sister Attracta Kelly in Adrian, Michigan, has been able to speak a few times with the superior of a group of Iraqi Dominicans and knows how desperate their situation is since they escaped Islamicists in northern Iraq. Sister Maria Hanna, the superior, and 51 other Dominican sisters, along with their family members and […] Full Story