Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Christians caught in the middle in Jerusalem

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An Israeli border police officer stands near Catholic tourists from Indonesia as they carry a cross Oct. 18 on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem’s Old City, near a site of several recent stabbings. (CNS photo/Debbie Hill)   Praying for peace in Jerusalem: Caught in the middle, Christians fear the police, the Israelis, the Muslims JERUSALEM […]

Father Kenneth Doyle | Can’t priests absolve sin of abortion?

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Can’t priests absolve sin of abortion? Q: I’m curious about the fact that to mark the Year of Mercy Pope Francis will allow all priests to absolve from the sin of abortion. Why isn’t that true already? If I had committed such a sin, then went to confession and found that the priest couldn’t forgive […]

Pope Francis canonizes first married couple with children

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VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis called on people to replace their thirst for power with the joy of quiet and humble service, as he proclaimed four new saints, including the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux. All of Christ’s disciples, especially its pastors, are called to model themselves after Jesus and “suppress our instinctive desire […]

Manaolana | Karen Osborne: What if you were a refugee?

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I was shopping at the neighborhood corner store, just minding my own business, when the cashier started to talk with his customer about the refugee crisis in Europe. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are streaming into Europe from war-torn Syria, Iraq and other Middle East and African countries. They are looking for an escape from […]

Pope says synod is not parliament, but place to listen to the Holy Spirit

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Pope Francis and members of the Synod of Bishops on the family concelebrate the opening Mass of the synod in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Oct. 4. (CNS/Paul Haring)   VATICAN CITY — The world Synod of Bishops on the family is not a parliament where participants will negotiate or lobby, Pope Francis said, […]

Pope Francis shows Americans who he is

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Pope Francis looks out at the Statue of Liberty while flying over New York Harbor on his way from New York to Philadelphia Sept. 26. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)   PHILADELPHIA — Pope Francis speaks often about memory and motion, the importance of remembering where you came from and setting off without fear to […]

Father John Catoir: Finding the holy in supernatural events

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Have you ever had an out-of-body-experience? Hundreds of books have been written about it going back centuries. They generally report that the sensation of being lifted out of one’s body happens unexpectedly. You find yourself looking down on yourself below. It happened to me once, and it had a powerful influence on my life. Recently, […]

Father Kenneth Doyle | Question corner: No wedding in a closed church?

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Q: I am having a hard time understanding why a Catholic church closed by a bishop can no longer be used for Masses, weddings and funerals. For more than 100 years, this particular church — built by my great-great-grandparents — was considered sacred ground. Now my grandson wants to get married in that beautiful little […]