Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Effie Caldarola: Interesting and challenging times

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FOR THE JOURNEY My granddaughter Charlotte posed for the traditional first day of kindergarten photo on the front porch of her home in New Jersey, wearing a new sequined-splattered outfit popular with the under-7 set. Then, like millions of American kids, she turned around, walked with her backpack into her own house, sat down at […]

Christianity in Middle East likened to a sinking ship

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By Doreen Abi Raad Catholic News Service BEIRUT — Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai warned that the Christian presence in the Middle East is shrinking and church leaders “are called to face the winds that blow in our homelands.” The assessment by the patriarch of Maronite Catholics during a meeting of the Middle East Council of […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: In the creed, what about women? Can Jews be a baptism sponsor?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: My recollection is that the text of the Mass in English was rewritten about 20 years ago — to be a more accurate translation and to eliminate sexist references. I wonder, however, if they missed something: in the Nicene Creed, our parish still prints, “For us men and for our salvation he […]

Ask Father Doyle: How do I dispose of religious objects? What do I do if I want to go to Mass during the pandemic but my spouse doesn’t?

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QUESTION CORNER Q; What is the proper way to dispose of the medals, rosaries, small crucifixes, etc., that many Catholic organizations mail out unsolicited? (I have enough of everything!) (Atlanta) A: Perhaps surprisingly, church law on disposing of blessed articles of devotion is not very specific. Canon 1171 of the church’s Code of Canon Law […]

Pope to sign new encyclical in Assisi Oct. 3

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will travel to Assisi Oct. 3 to sign an encyclical on the social, political and economic obligations that flow from a belief that all people are children of God and therefore brothers and sisters to one another. The Vatican press office, confirming the pope’s […]

Cardinal Tagle tests positive for COVID-19

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By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and president of Caritas Internationalis, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Vatican confirmed. In a statement Sept. 11, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the result was discovered after Cardinal Tagle, 63, […]

Report confession or go to jail, says Australian state

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By Catholic News Service BRISBANE, Australia — A new law requires priests in the state of Queensland to break the seal of confession to report child sex abuse to police or face three years in jail. The law was passed by Queensland Parliament Sept. 8. It had support from both major parties and was opposed […]

40 years after killings, Maryknoll Sisters are remembered

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By Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service CHALATENANGO, El Salvador — On a bright and clear January afternoon, Bishop Oswaldo Escobar Aguilar walked into a cemetery and gently dusted off a white name plate on top of a sky-blue block of tombs. Making plans for the year ahead, he told secretary Violeta Esmeralda Serrano nearby that […]

Discovering he was never baptized, priest re-does all his sacraments

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By Michael Stechschulte Catholic News Service UTICA, Mich. — August has been a roller coaster for Father Matthew Hood, who was ordained to the priesthood — some might say for the second time, but in reality, for the first time — Aug. 17, 2020, for the Archdiocese of Detroit. Father Hood’s world turned upside down […]