Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Top 10 things: His pet parrot, his job as a bouncer and other facts most people don’t know about Peter’s successor

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Pope Francis holds a parrot handed to him by a pilgrim during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Jan. 29. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)   VATICAN CITY When Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran walked onto the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, telling the crowds in Latin: “I announce to you a […]

Avanti!: The new refrain: Go forth. Evangelize. Serve the poor. Be audacious. Do not be afraid. Smile.

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Pope Francis kisses a disabled man after spotting him in the crowd and having his popemobile stop as he rode through St. Peter’s Square March 19 ahead of his inaugural Mass at the Vatican. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano) VATICAN CITY Pope Francis’ most frequent advice and exhortation to Catholics — from laypeople in parishes to bishops […]

Pope Francis, with Benedict present, creates new cardinals

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VATICAN CITY — On a feast day commemorating the authority Jesus gave to St. Peter and his successors — the popes — Pope Francis created 19 new cardinals in the presence of retired Pope Benedict XVI. To the great surprise of most people present, the retired pope entered St. Peter’s Basilica about 15 minutes before […]

Panel: pope’s message validates Catholic Charities’ mission

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The Catholic Charities panel on the message of Pope Francis, from left,  Father Larry Snyder, Archbishop Anthony Apuron, Kathy Brown and Jerry Rauckhorst. (HCH photo | Patrick Downes)   A high-ranking Catholic Charities panel, in a presentation Feb. 20 at the Catholic Charities Hawaii campus in Honolulu, described the charismatic leadership of Pope Francis as […]

No meat, no worries: Fare to share for your Fridays in Lent

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A pinch of persistence and a dash of culinary cleverness are all it takes to create marvelous meatless meals during Lent. Diocesan staff proved just that at the annual Hawaii Catholic Herald Lenten Luncheon, Feb. 19 at St. Stephen Diocesan Center. The event, which began more than a decade ago, continued its tradition of calling […]

Everyone’s able at the table: The Ohana Mass for persons with disabilities

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Congregation members sing in American Sign Language at the diocese’s Ohana Mass for men and women with disabilities, Feb. 16 at Holy Trinity Church in Kuliouou.   Everyone inside Holy Trinity Church, Feb. 16, felt joy and unconditional acceptance. More than 60 people gathered at the Kuliouou parish that day to support their friends and […]

Mary Adamski: With Lent, thoughts of food

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Something about Ash Wednesday brings out the child in us. We’re going to hear the familiar Gospel account of Jesus telling the disciples not to flaunt their praying, almsgiving and fasting to get public attention. But we’re going to hope Father swishes a good dark gob of ashes on our forehead so we can walk […]

Diocese welcomes religious on new and returning assignments

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Hawaii continuously welcomes religious women and men to the islands, either on new or returning assignments. Here are their photos and brief profiles of some of the latest, in alphabetical order. Sister Kristhen Batuigas, OP Teacher, St. John the Baptist School, Kalihi Sister Kristhen was born in Dumalag, Capiz, Philippines, the 10th of 11 children. […]

Opting out of marriage: Why has the number of church weddings dropped 60 percent?

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A Catholic wedding paints a beautiful picture of God’s grace, joining a man and a woman for a lifetime of faithful commitment, an image of the Lord’s unbreakable bond with his bride, the church. Recent statistics have shown, however, that more and more Catholics are opting out of the sacrament. The decline of Catholic weddings […]