Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Bishops find parts of House bill laudable, other parts ‘troubling’

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By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The inclusion of “critical life protections” in the House health care bill is laudable, but other provisions, including those related to Medicaid and tax credits, are “troubling” and “must be addressed” before the measure is passed, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ domestic policy committee. Bishop Frank J. […]

Father Eugene Hemrick: Sirach’s wisdom needed today

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For newly married couples, reading the Old Testament Book of Sirach is perfect for deepening your first love for each other. If children come along, teach them its principles, which contain the perfect seeds for growing their wisdom. And for everyone, not just married couples, it is a must-read. The Book of Sirach is sometimes […]

Richard Doerflinger: A divided church?

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A MORE HUMAN SOCIETY We sometimes hear that American Catholics are divided: Some advance the church’s teaching on abortion, others promote its teachings on peace and economic justice. And those factions are at war. I seldom saw this among the bishops or their national staff, where I once served. We each had areas of expertise, […]

Pope apologizes for Catholics’ role in genocide

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Meeting Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Pope Francis asked God’s forgiveness for the failures of the Catholic Church during the 1994 Rwanda genocide and for the hatred and violence perpetrated by some priests and religious. “He implored anew God’s forgiveness for the sins and failings of the […]

Bishop James Moynihan dies; championed sainthood cause of Mother Marianne Cope

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Catholic News Service SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Retired Bishop James M. Moynihan of Syracuse, N.Y., a champion for St. Marianne Cope’s cause for sainthood, died March 6. He was 84. He served as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Syracuse from 1995 to 2009. Mother Marianne, a Franciscan Sister of Syracuse, lived in and ministered […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: How’s a vegetarian to abstain?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I have always observed the fast and abstinence rules during Lent, but this year I find myself in a weird situation. Last summer, I decided no longer to eat any animal products — a decision I made for my health. So abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent is no longer a […]

Ohio company’s candles helping church celebrate Easter for generations

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By Katie Breidenbach Catholic News Service MEDINA, Ohio — Dozens of little wax flowers lay on the table in front of her. With a gentle grip, Judy Hamrick picks up each one and covers the back in glue. “It’s very peaceful work,” Hamrick said. “I’ve worked here 24 years and every paschal season I’ve been […]

Pope Francis: Lent breathes life into world asphyxiated by sin

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By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service ROME — Lent is a time to receive God’s breath of life, a breath that saves humanity from suffocating under the weight of selfishness, indifference and piety devoid of sincerity, Pope Francis said. “Lent is the time to say no to the asphyxia born of relationships that exclude, […]

Hawaii bishop joins others in allowing St. Paddy’s Day corned beef, however …

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By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service Bishop Larry Silva may not be Irish, but he has gotten in the spirit of St. Paddy’s Day this year by issuing a “dispensation from abstinence from meat” for anyone whose celebration of the wearin’ of the green would be incomplete without a slab of corned beef. When St. […]