Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Father Eugene Hemrick: The greatest tragedy of war

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THE HUMAN SIDE “Never again war, never again war!” The rousing words of St. Paul VI rang like a bomb blast during his Oct. 4, 1965, visit to the United Nations. Throughout time, the most chilling cries have been against war. Horrendous violence, massive destruction, uprooting, psychological trauma and lifetime hate are just some of […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: How can I remain a Catholic?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: How, in good conscience, can I remain a practicing Catholic with all the scandal and hypocrisy exposed within the church? So many of the church’s actions seem far removed from the message of Jesus. The church gathers riches upon the earth, has its own country, bank and government and has a hierarchy. […]

WAR IN UKRAINE: ‘With a heart broken,’ pope prays for peace

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One who wages war, Francis said, ‘relies on the diabolical and perverse logic of weapons, which is the furthest thing from God’s will’ By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said his heart was “broken” by the war in Ukraine, and he pleaded again, “Silence the weapons!” “Many times, we prayed […]

Research shows Sisters of Charity once owned slaves

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By Dan Stockman Catholic News Service New research from public records and congregation and diocesan archives has found that six congregations of the Sisters of Charity Federation have predecessors who owned slaves. In a Feb. 7 letter to the more than 2,000 sisters whose congregations are members of the Sisters of Charity Federation, federation leaders […]

Vatican statistics show global imbalance in ratio of Catholics per priest

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  By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — The number of Catholics and of Catholic men and women who devote their lives to serving them continues to grow in Africa and Asia, Vatican statistics show, but pastoral ministry is still much more readily available to Catholics in Europe. At the end of 2020, […]

Effie Caldarola: Lessons from Monte Cassino

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FOR THE JOURNEY The hairpin turns were gasp-inducing, especially to someone afraid of heights. As we climbed higher and higher, I alternated between covering my eyes and then peeking out at the remarkable landscape unfolding beneath the narrow Italian road that spiraled up toward the peak of Monte Cassino. I was on my way to […]

Benedict asks forgiveness in response to Munich report

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By Carol Glatz and Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — At the age of 94, retired Pope Benedict XVI said he knows he will soon stand before God’s judgment and he prayed that he would be forgiven for his shortcomings, including in handling allegations of clerical sexual abuse. “Even though, as I […]

Effie Caldarola: Fishers of men

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FOR THE JOURNEY Best fishing story of January: A small group of fishermen and an Irish fishing association stopped the Russian navy from conducting war games in fertile fishing territory off Ireland’s coast. The little band of Irish fishermen vowed that they would continue to send up to 60 trawlers continually into the waters during […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Is there a literal hell?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: What is the Catholic view on whether there is an actual, literal hell? A lot of people, including some who are Catholics, while they believe in an actual, literal heaven, say that hell is simply death. (Indiana) A: Catholic theology holds that there is an actual, literal hell. The Catechism of the […]