Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Pope turns 81 with singing kids and 13-foot pizza

by

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Celebrating his 81st birthday, Pope Francis blew out the candles on a 13-foot long pizza after being serenaded with song and dance by children and employees from a Vatican pediatric clinic. A group of children receiving assistance from the Vatican’s St. Martha Dispensary, a maternal […]

Vatican releases new instructions on authenticating, protecting relics

by

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Only relics that have been certified as authentic can be exposed for veneration by the faithful, said a new Vatican instruction. Published Dec. 16 in Italian by the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the instruction clarifies and details the canonical procedures to be followed by local bishops […]

Richard Doerflinger: ‘It’s no use reasoning with you!’

by

A MORE HUMAN SOCIETY Have you had arguments in which the other person would not concede your point, no matter how many compelling facts and reasons you brought to bear? That is most common in partisan politics, where mutual distrust and character assassination seem to have replaced rational debate. But it happens on moral issues […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Which Ten Commandments are Catholic?

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: Recently I read an article stating that the “Catholic” Ten Commandments are different from those given to Moses. According to this article, Catholics deleted the Second Commandment — about no idols or graven images — and then split the last one into two in order to make up for that deletion. (It […]

Pope prays for world’s suffering children on Christmas

by

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Those who recognize the Lord in the baby Jesus in the manger also should recognize his presence in children suffering today because of war, poverty and immigration, Pope Francis said. “Jesus knows well the pain of not being welcomed and how hard it is not […]

Christmas proclaims hope, charity where fear reigns, pope says

by

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christmas calls believers to see God’s presence where he is often perceived as absent, especially in the “unwelcomed visitor, often unrecognizable, who walks through our cities and our neighborhoods, who travels on our buses and knocks on our doors,” Pope Francis said. “Christmas is […]

Pope’s New Year priorities: Refugees, youths, trips, Curia reform

by

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Foreign trips, a focus on the rights and needs of migrants and refugees and a Synod of Bishops dedicated to young people all are on the 2018 calendar for Pope Francis. His activities and the passions that drive them are familiar by now. In fact, March […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Speaking of agoraphobia

by

QUESTION CORNER Q: I enjoy reading your columns in our diocesan newspaper. Recently you responded to a person who is concerned about missing Mass due to agoraphobia. (Editor’s note: Agoraphobia is defined as an extreme or irrational fear of crowded spaces or enclosed public places.) As a psychiatrist, I wish you would have added that […]

Effie Caldarola ‘A combo burger of hilarity and joy’

by

FOR THE JOURNEY I blame Jesuit Father Greg Boyle for the fact that people sitting around me on an airplane a few years ago suspected I might be nuts. I was reading Boyle’s book, “Tattoos on the Heart,” about his ministry with gang members in Los Angeles. Father Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries, […]