Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

In the second year of his pontificate, Francis continues to take ‘the world by storm’

by

Pope Francis greets the crowd at the start of his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 15. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)   WASHINGTON — During the second year of his pontificate, Pope Francis was still feeling the love, and not just from Catholics or those from his homeland of Argentina. A Pew […]

Church heightens focus on environment, climate change

by

WASHINGTON — When a Vatican official suggested that Pope Francis was contemplating an encyclical on the environment a year ago, he signaled that climate change and environmental degradation were such pressing concerns that the pope wanted to address them in a teaching document. No word has emerged on what the encyclical might say or when […]

Pope warns Vatican officials of ‘spiritual Alzheimer’s,’ other ills

by

Cardinals are pictured as Pope Francis gives his speech during an audience to exchange Christmas greetings with members of the Roman Curia in Clementine Hall at the Vatican Dec. 22. Pictured from left are: Cardinals Robert Sarah, Francesco Monterisi, Raymond L. Burke, Kurt Koch and Manuel Monteiro de Castro. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)   VATICAN CITY […]

2014 Vatican news highlights: from family issues to Middle East strife

by

Israeli President Shimon Peres, Pope Francis and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attend an invocation for peace in the Vatican Gardens June 8. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)   VATICAN CITY — Controversy over family issues and the ongoing search for peace in the Middle East dominated Vatican news in 2014. Here are the highlights at a glance: […]

Year in review: 2014 brought a chance at change for millions of immigrants

by

A boy waves the American flag Nov. 20 at CASA de Maryland’s Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., after hearing President Barack Obama’s national address on immigration. The year 2014 brought potentially significant changes for millions of people who are in the United States illegally and either arrived here as minors or who have U.S. citizen […]

Pope Francis: Do not be complicit, indifferent to tragedy of exploitation

by

VATICAN CITY — When shopping and when interacting with people on city streets, everyone can help fight the evil of modern-day slavery, Pope Francis said in his annual message for the World Day of Peace Jan. 1. “Together with the social responsibility of businesses, there is also the social responsibility of consumers,” the pope said. […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: I’ve been asked to scatter ashes

by

I’ve been asked to scatter ashes Q: I understand that, as Catholics, if we choose to be cremated our cremains are to be treated with dignity and must be buried or entombed. My husband and I have two family members who have asked us to arrange to have their ashes “scattered.” One is a Catholic, […]