Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Left Behind: First movie in trilogy, weaves fiction with rapture theology

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Nicolas Cage stars in a scene from the movie “Left Behind.”  (CNS photo/Teddy Smith, courtesy Stoney Lake Entertainment)   NEW YORK — The fundamentalist conception of the rapture, as described in the best-selling “Left Behind” novels, may be arriving — for the first time — at a movie theater near you. Three earlier films, all […]

Pope tells bishops at family synod to speak fearlessly, listen humbly

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Pope Francis talks with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, retired Vatican secretary of state, before the start of the afternoon session on the first working day of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican Oct. 6. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)   Vatican City — Pope Francis opened the first working session of an extraordinary […]

Manaolana | Baseball player leaves the field to pursue the priesthood

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OAKLAND, Calif. — Bishop Michael C. Barber was able to do what general manager Billy Beane could not: Call Grant Desme to Oakland. Four years ago, the Oakland Athletics and the baseball community were stunned when Desme responded to an invitation to spring training by retiring from baseball at age 23 to pursue a vocation […]

Survivors of Albania’s dictatorship give witness, move pope to tears

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  Banners depict Albanian martyrs, most of whom died under communism, as Pope Francis arrives to celebrate Mass in Mother Teresa Square in Tirana, Albania, Sept. 21. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)   TIRANA, Albania — Two survivors of Albania’s communist crackdown against the church brought Pope Francis to tears with their stories during a vespers service […]

Father Eugene Hemrick: A changed church

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The lyrics of Mary Hopkin’s hit song — “Those were the days, my friend, we thought they’d never end” — remind me of my priesthood, a lifestyle I thought would never end, but it did! What happened? Decades ago, many priests spoke English, and their parents still spoke their native language. Even though they and […]

Manaolana | Karen Osborne: Go offline (and connect to real life)

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Yesterday, I left my cellphone on the kitchen table when I left the house. It felt as if the apocalypse happened. The first hour wasn’t so bad. It was bright and early in the morning, and I had coffee to drink and work to do. The second hour was a little worse. I really wanted […]

Father Kenneth Doyle | Question corner: Why won’t the church ordain women?

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Q: As a practicing Catholic, what should be my answer when my Protestant friends ask me why my church does not ordain women to the priesthood? (City of origin withheld) A: Catholics believe that the ordained ministry has its origin in Christ’s choice of the Twelve Apostles. Why Jesus selected only males for this sacramental […]

Exhumation disagreement suspends Archbishop Sheen’s sainthood cause

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Archbishop Fulton Sheen preaches at the Red Mass on July 29, 1973, in Honolulu’s Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. (Hawaii Catholic Herald file photo)   WASHINGTON — The canonization cause of Archbishop Fulton Sheen has been suspended indefinitely, according to a statement issued Sept. 3 by the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, where the archbishop […]

Pope Francis gives three lessons from Mary: Be joyful, help others, never give up

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Preparing for Albania: Pope Francis leaves after a private audience with Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania at the Vatican April 24. The pope will make Albania his first European destination Sept. 21. (CNS photo/Alessandra Tarantino, EPA)   VATICAN CITY — When a mother has a birthday, children send their greetings and love, so make […]