Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Pope turns 81 with singing kids and 13-foot pizza

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By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Celebrating his 81st birthday, Pope Francis blew out the candles on a 13-foot long pizza after being serenaded with song and dance by children and employees from a Vatican pediatric clinic. A group of children receiving assistance from the Vatican’s St. Martha Dispensary, a maternal […]

Pope prays for world’s suffering children on Christmas

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Those who recognize the Lord in the baby Jesus in the manger also should recognize his presence in children suffering today because of war, poverty and immigration, Pope Francis said. “Jesus knows well the pain of not being welcomed and how hard it is not […]

Christmas proclaims hope, charity where fear reigns, pope says

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By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christmas calls believers to see God’s presence where he is often perceived as absent, especially in the “unwelcomed visitor, often unrecognizable, who walks through our cities and our neighborhoods, who travels on our buses and knocks on our doors,” Pope Francis said. “Christmas is […]

Pope’s New Year priorities: Refugees, youths, trips, Curia reform

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Foreign trips, a focus on the rights and needs of migrants and refugees and a Synod of Bishops dedicated to young people all are on the 2018 calendar for Pope Francis. His activities and the passions that drive them are familiar by now. In fact, March […]

Vatican renews call for negotiated solution on Jerusalem

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By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Following days of violence and backlash after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Vatican appealed for “wisdom and prudence” to prevail. The Holy See “reiterates its own conviction that only a negotiated solution between Israelis and Palestinians […]

Pope meets generals after brief welcome by children in Myanmar

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service YANGON, Myanmar — Greeted by two dozen children wearing traditional attire and by the nation’s bishops, Pope Francis arrived in Myanmar Nov. 27 for a four-day visit. The arrival ceremony at the Yangon airport was brief and led by an envoy of the president, because the formal welcome was […]

Pope Francis continues papal pleas for disarmament

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — More than two years before the first atomic bomb was dropped, Pope Pius XII warned of the “catastrophic” consequences that could come from using the discovery of nuclear fission to create weapons. Addressing the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in February 1943, Pope Pius noted that scientists […]