Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Blind seminarian in Oregon ‘sees’ beyond external trappings

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By Katie Scott Catholic News Service BENEDICT, Ore. — Although Tony Del Castillo cannot see, a friend’s question years ago helped him perceive people with clarity and to look beyond an individual’s quirks, foibles and facades. “God used her to open up my eyes in a sense,” said Del Castillo, the first blind seminarian at […]

Synod: New ministries can serve evangelization in Amazon

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  By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — To proclaim the Gospel message of hope, the Catholic Church in the Amazon must open new paths of evangelization in the region, including by instituting new ministries for lay men and women, the Synod of Bishops said. The final document of the Synod of […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Ten Commandments or 613? Masses said for non-Catholics?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Why is it that Christians feel that the coming of Jesus freed them from the 613 prescripts that Jews count in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and that they can adhere only to the Ten Commandments? Why those 10 and not the other 613? (Albany, New York) A: […]

‘Soft’ ethnic cleansing of Christians reported in northeast Syria

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By Dale Gavlak Catholic News Service AMMAN, Jordan — Despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly assuring U.S. Vice President Mike Pence that his forces would not persecute religious minorities in northeastern Syria, people on the ground say minorities are being targeted. Amnesty International reported that the Turkish military and its allied Syrian armed groups […]

Pope apologizes that statues were vandalized

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis apologized that two men entered a church near the Vatican, took controversial statues and tossed them into the Tiber River. “As bishop of the diocese, I apologize,” he said Oct. 25, the first time the full membership of the Synod of Bishops for […]

With papal decree, Vatican Archives no longer ‘secret’

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By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Citing the negative misinterpretations that the word “secret” implies, Pope Francis has changed the name of the Vatican Secret Archives to the Vatican Apostolic Archives. In a decree, issued “motu proprio,” on the pope’s own initiative, and published by the Vatican Oct. 28, the pope […]

Respect for the indigenous

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Ministry, ecology, mission are the main themes for the first week of the Synod for the Amazon By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — The first week of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon saw support for the priestly ordination of married indigenous men, impassioned pleas for respect for indigenous culture and […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Is Medjugorje for real? How do we know where the true Cross ended up?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: A friend has just informed me that she is going next month to Medjugorje in Bosnia. She says that the Blessed Mother has been appearing there to six visionaries since 1981 and that Our Lady gives them messages on the 2nd and 25th days of each month. Can you shed some light […]

Tikuna man prepares to be first priest from Amazonian tribe

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By Catholic News Service NAZARETH, Colombia — On a Sunday morning, Deacon Ferney Pereira was leading a prayer service in this small village’s Catholic Church. After reading a passage from the Gospel of Luke, the 30-year-old deacon stepped down from the altar, walked among his congregation and delivered an animated sermon in Tikuna, the language […]

Accurate reading of synod document shows nothing to fear, theologian says

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By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service ROME — It only takes an accurate, unbiased reading of the working document for the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon to see its aim to find new ways to evangelize the region does not stray from church tradition or the teachings of previous popes, said a Brazilian theologian. […]