Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Effie Caldarola: Mollie Tibbetts and our church

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FOR THE JOURNEY Can you take any more bad news about the Catholic Church right now? I didn’t think so. The Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse and the cover-up by church officials, the disgrace of the former Cardinal McCarrick, the confusing letter by a disgruntled former papal nuncio to the U.S. in […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Sacraments for those with dementia?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I bring holy Communion to a local nursing home. Of the 66 Catholics there, many of them have no visitors. Those with dementia are asked whether they would like to receive the Eucharist, and if they say yes, I give them the host. It saddens me that Jesus suffered to give us […]

FRANCIS IN IRELAND: Pope begins Mass in Dublin with plea for forgiveness

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service DUBLIN — Before celebrating Mass in a Dublin park, Pope Francis solemnly asked forgiveness for the thousands of cases of sexual and physical abuse perpetrated by Catholics in Ireland. “We ask forgiveness for the abuse in Ireland, abuse of power and of conscience, sexual abuse” by clergy and religious, […]

Sex abuse crisis: Carolyn Woo | You have let us down!

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OUR GLOBAL FAMILY The McCarrick breaches and the Pennsylvania grand jury report of criminal child sexual abuse by the church drew anger, disgust, sorrow, disappointment and sadness for the “collateral damage.” I think of the priests who made God’s love real for my husband David and me, bishops who stood up for peace and justice, […]

Sex abuse crisis: Laura Kelly Fanucci | When hard conversations have to happen

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FAITH AT HOME “I wish we didn’t have to talk about this.” What parent hasn’t thought or uttered these words, taking a deep breath before jumping into a hard conversation with their child? Whether a crisis at home, a conflict at school or an atrocity in the news, tough subjects are unavoidable in families. The […]

Is there truth in Archbishop Vigano’s accusations?

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Catholics in the pews and even priests in the Vatican are confused about the long document Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano published claiming Pope Francis turned a blind eye to information he had about the sexual misconduct of now-Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick. Pope Francis’ response to journalists […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Is the death penalty out completely?

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  QUESTION CORNER Q: I have always been against the death penalty — since the prisoner is behind bars and removed from doing further harm to the public. But a recent piece in The Wall Street Journal included statements by criminals who said that they were not as aggressive with victims when they knew there […]

Catholic nuns in forefront of relief work for flooded Kerala

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By Saji Thomas Catholic News Service KOCHI, India — More than 6,700 Catholic women religious are among those helping more than 1 million people taking shelter in relief camps after unprecedented floods ravaged Kerala state in southwest India. “This is the biggest rescue and relief operation the Catholic Church in Kerala has undertaken in its […]

Survivors say they felt hurt by fellow Catholics’ lack of compassion

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By Zita Ballinger Fletcher Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — Sexual assault victims say they were hurt not only by individual priests, but by church officials and ordinary Catholics who treated them with intolerance and indifference. Four survivors of sexual assaults by priests shared their stories with Catholic News Service. They are: Jim VanSickle and Mike […]