Panetta: 'Strong possibility' Israel will strike Iran's nuclear installations in spring

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta fears that there is a "strong possibility" that Israel will strike Iran's nuclear installations this spring. According to the Washington Post, when Panetta was asked about the possibility, "I'm not going to comment on that. David Ignatius can write what ...

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation Backs Down to Planned Parenthood Bullying

By Deacon Keith Fournier • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

I have long contended there is a connection between abortion on demand and the increase of bullying. Planned Parenthood has proven this point. Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation has backed down in the face of Planned Parenthood bullying. We have lost the sense of the dignity of every human ...

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Brazil strengthens ties with Cuba with presidential visit

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

Brazil's first female president, Dilma Rousseff\' touched down in Haiti after visiting Cuba in an effort to strengthen ties with the two beleaguered Caribbean nations. Rousseff is committed to investing her nations with both nations and deepen political ties. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic ...

Social activists in Guatemala march against 'femicides'

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

The Central American nation of Guatemala has been one of the hardest hit by a wave of "femicides" - murders committed against women for the sole reason that they are female. Guatemala is second only to Mexico in terms of murders committed against women. Right-wing retired general Otto Pérez ...

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Pope Benedict XVI Calls Christians to Prayer as the 'Yes' Which Sets Us Free

By Deacon Keith Fournier • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

Pope Benedict XVI continued his astounding catechesis on prayer to the pilgrims assembled for his weekly General Audience. He invited them - and he invites all of us - to learn from the example of the Lord Jesus Christ and his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Christ's "yes" to the ...

Greek debt at the top of the list at eurozone crisis meeting

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/31/2012

Greek's precarious financial future and substantial debt are sure to be at the top of this week's eurozone crisis meeting. European leaders have gathered in Brussels, the Belgian capital and de facto capital of the European Union for a fresh round of talks. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - This ...

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United Nations asks Syrian president to step down

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

Western and Arab nations have gathered at the United Nations in New York City to push for a tough resolution on Syria, calling for President Bashar al-Assad to step down and hand power over to his deputy. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The resolution stresses that there will be no foreign ...

Death toll rises in Syrian city of Homs

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/29/2012

Armed forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad barraged residential buildings with machine-gun fire and killed at least 30 people in the besieged city of Homs. Activists say that heavy gunfire erupted last week. Homs has seen some of the heaviest violence of the 10-month-old uprising ...

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Notorious Cambodian war criminal sentenced to life in prison

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

Cambodia's war crimes court has rejected the appeal of one of the Khmer Rouge's most notorious war criminals. Kaing Guek Eav, commonly known by his alias of Duch ran a torture prison during the reign of Pol Pot. Eav was instead sentenced to life in prison. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - ...

China unlikely to join embargo against Iranian oil

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/2/2012

According to various analysts, China is highly unlikely to join the West in an oil embargo penalizing Iran for its nuclear program. China has practiced a non-interfering foreign policy for the last 30 years, i.e. denouncing sanctions on one hand yet working to protect its national interests ...

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Zimbabwe officials to investigate typhoid outbreak

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

Health officials in the African nation of Zimbabwe have called for an overhaul of the national water and sanitation systems. There has been an unprecedented outbreak of typhoid in that country that has affected more than 1,500 people. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Zimbabwe Health ...

Al-Shabab bans Red Cross from stricken sections of Somalia

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

Somalia's militant Islamist organization has banned the International Committee of the Red Cross from that African nation's most stricken areas. In a statement, al-Shabab declared that it had "decided to fully terminate the contract" of the RED CROSS, claiming the organization had handed ...

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Senate approves bill that bans insider trading for Congress

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

The Senate has strongly approved a bill this week that reiterates the illegality for members of Congress, their staffs and many executive-branch employees to trade stocks and other securities based on inside information learned on the job. The measure was passed largely to restore voters' ...

Fr Dwight Longenecker on Priests and Politics: Should Religion and Politics Mix?

By Fr Dwight Longenecker • Standing on My Head: Fr. Dwight Longenecker's Blog • 2/3/2012

When the Nazis came to take away the Jews and gypsies and homosexuals was it okay then for the Catholic clergy to speak out or would it have been better for the church to 'stay out of politics'? When the Catholic people, with the encouragement of their clergy rose up to overthrow the corrupt Marcos ...

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New Sony CEO pledges comback

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

When Kazuo Hirai, who at 51 is Sony's youngest chief executive, takes over in April from Howard Stringer, he has some daunting tasks in order to bring the company up to speed. Japan's ailing electronics company has announced that it is heading for a bigger-than-expected $2.9 billion annual ...

Unemployment down for the fifth month in a row

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

While a jobless rate of 8.3 percent is still unacceptably high, there was no arguing that the recent figures are good news for the U.S. economy. Employers substantially stepped up their hiring in January, bringing the unemployment rate down for the fifth month in a row. LOS ANGELES, CA ...

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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Grace Hill Media • 1/31/2012

The Award-winning talents of film director  Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, What's Eating Gilbert Grape) and writer Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) come together to bring us SALMON FISHING IN YEMEN, a touching story starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.  Watch for the upcoming review ...

Movie Review: Film 'Courageous' is a Must-Buy for Christian Families

By Randy Sly • Catholic Online • 1/18/2012

Viewers will once again find themselves laughing, crying, and cheering as they are challenged and inspired by everyday heroes who long to be the kinds of dads that make a lifelong impact on their children. Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a ...

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Book Review: Magi Theology, the Essence of Illusion

By Michael Terheyden • Catholic Online • 1/8/2012

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany as we recall the three Magi who followed the star of Bethlehem bearing gifts in search of Jesus. Like the Magi 2000 years ago, David Russell has found Jesus and bears gifts, which he shares with us in his book, Magi Theology: the essence of ...

Book Review: Man To Man: A Real Priest Speaks To Real Men

By F. K. Bartels • Catholic Online • 1/8/2012

"Real men are constantly challenged by a culture that is sexually out of control. . . . My dear brothers in the Lord, I know that as married men you are challenged every day. I am writing to you in order to encourage you to remain faithful and to be a hero." "If the house is burning, get a hose and ...

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Actresses from 'The Help' Take Top Honors at SAG

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/30/2012

"The Help," a drama about two maids in Mississippi during the civil rights era stood out in 2011 in an American movie market glutted with 3-D and computer generated imagery. "The Help" took top honors at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night, making it a film to watch as the Oscar awards ...

'Game of Your Life': Good Movie, Good Message!

By Randy Sly • Catholic Online • 12/4/2011

Don't' miss "Game of Your Life" on Friday night as Family Movie Night wraps up its second year providing great entertainment that families can enjoy together. Over the past year, FMN has heard from thousands of Family Movie Night fans. Parents have told them that they love to experience the ...

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'Soul Train's' Don Cornelius commits suicide with self-inflicted gunshot wound

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

Don Cornelius, the creator and host of the long-running TV dance show "Soul Train," apparently committed suicide by way of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Cornelius, 75 was discovered at his Sherman Oaks, California home. He had previously complained of "significant health issues." LOS ...

National Choir Appreciation Sunday Set for January 8, 2012

By Randy Sly • Catholic Online • 12/22/2011

There are 32.5 million choir members in churches across America that volunter 8.5 billion hours every year. This event is designed to give this group of Christian servants an opportunity to hear "thank you" from their churches in a very special way. WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Giving ...

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Rome's Exorcist Finding Blessed John Paul II Effective Against Satan

By David Kerr • Catholic News Agency • 5/18/2011

I have asked the demon more than once, 'Why are you so scared of John Paul II and I have had two different responses, both interesting. One, 'because he disrupted my plans.' And, I think that he is referring to the fall of communism in Russia and Eastern Europe. The collapse of communism."Another ...

A Monk Reflects on Divine Mercy and the Sacred Heart of Jesus

By Fr. Gregory Gresko, OSB • Catholic Online • 5/8/2011

In the message of Divine Mercy, Jesus expresses His intimate desire to enter into the temple of our heart, but for Him to be able to enter we first must open the door of our heart to His Divine Love.  May we plunge into the love and mercy that emanate from His Sacred ...

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'Sweathog' Robert Hegyes dies from heart attack

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/27/2012

Long before Bart Simpson, the "sweathogs" on TV's "Welcome Back Kotter" were under-acheivers, and proud of it ma-an. That Seventies TV show focused on a class of likable would-be dropouts in an inner city high school, one of whom actor John Travolta would go on to big screen success. Robert Hegyes, ...

Celebrity chef Paula Deen comes out of the diabetic closet

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/17/2012

Southern celebrity chef Paula Deen has come out of the closet as a type 2 diabetic, after being diagnosed with the condition for three years. Appearing on the Today Show, Deen wished to address rumors concerning her health. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "I was diagnosed three years ago during ...

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Nation's leading breast-cancer charity halts partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation's leading breast-cancer charity has halted its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates. The change will mean a cutoff of hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants. The end of support for the largest abortion provider in the nation has earned the ...

Guest Reflection: In Christian Marriage, True Submission Means True Success

By Dan Shea • Catholic Online • 1/27/2012

Few consider the power of submission; it is a simple, voluntary yielding done out of love for someone or something.  An athlete voluntarily submits to the agony of training and competition.  In his pain, he is united with his fellow competitors as they strive to meet their goals.  ...

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Catholic, Gay, and Feeling Fine, Thanks: Part 1

By Sonja Corbitt • Catholic Online • 11/9/2011

The persecution and bigotry from both sides of the issue proceed, partly, from misunderstanding. Steve Gershom's simultaneous Catholicity and SSA are what is so compelling about his message. Ultimately he beautifully illustrates the tension between the beauty of faith and honest acknowledgment of ...

Kaspar the Friendly Robot helps autistic children

By Catholic Online • Catholic Online • 3/9/2011

At a pre-school for autistic children in Stevenage, north of London, researchers bring in a human-looking, child-sized robot weekly for a supervised session with children, whose autism ranges from mild to severe. Playing with the robot for up to 10 minutes alongside a scientist who controls the ...

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Catholic Social Doctrine: Understanding the Holiness of Leisure

By Andrew M. Greenwell, Esq. • Catholic Online • 2/2/2012

It is in the hopes of recapturing this entire lost world that the Church urges that "Christians, in respect of religious freedom and of the common good of all, should seek to have Sundays and the Church's Holy Days recognized as legal holidays."  But legality alone will not transform our ...

Catholic churches denounce requirement to include birth control in health coverage

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/31/2012

Catholic churches across the nation have denounced a new federal rule that requires faith-based employers to include birth control coupled with other reproductive services in their health care coverage. Several priests took the rare step of reading letters from the pulpit urging ...

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Food co-ops becoming more and more 'a way of life'

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

Food co-ops were once the province of hippie communes or cosmopolitan cities with strong left-wing policies. However, more food co-ops are gaining popularity all over the United States, particularly in the southern states, where people are hoping to expand on what they view as more than ...

Kids develop taste for salt through starchy foods

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/11/2012

A new study has found that kids develop a taste for salt early on if they eat starchy foods that contain sodium. Things like soft breads, cereals and crackers are all loaded with sodium. Many parents have no second thoughts about handing these types of foods to their kids. LOS ANGELES, CA ...

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Making A List? Check It Twice! (4 Men, 4 Lessons)

By Catherine Perry • Catholic Match: Blog • 7/10/2011

In her quest for Mr. Right, a devout single woman from New York encountered four different prospects -- and was surprised by what she discovered. Before my spiritual awakening - one that I can partially thank CatholicMatch for - I'd had a very limited understanding of what prayer was. I'd ...

A Discerner's Prayer: 'God, Send Me 3 Signs'

By Michael Bowes • Catholic Match: Blog • 7/10/2011

Michael Bowes, 30, an avid 360 gamer, found himself praying intensely after visiting the Mercedarians. He asked God for three signs that he had found his spiritual home. During my discernment with the Mercedarians I found a holy spiritual director who helped guide me on my journey. Father Jack ...

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Malaria deaths may be twice as high as previously reported

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

Global deaths attributed to malaria may be almost twice as high as previously estimated. According to a study published in the British medical journal the Lancet, 1.24 million people died from the mosquito-borne disease in 2010 alone. This is in stark contrast to a World Health Organization ...

One million birth control packets recalled

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

The world's biggest drug maker, Pfizer Inc. has recalled one million birth-control packs after it was discovered that the pills were mixed up inside the packages. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Pfizer recalled 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of a generic version of the medicine. ...

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Marble Cathedral: World's most beautiful cave network?

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/29/2012

Chile's Marble Cathedral is an intricate system of water-filled caverns in the General Carrera Lake in Patagonia, which is the second largest freshwater lake in South America. Located in the far southern tip of the country, visitors must fly from Santiago, 800 miles to the next nearest ...

Monasterboice in Ireland features many splendid high crosses

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/19/2012

Monasterboice, or Mainistir Bhuithe is a fascinating monastic site near Drogheda in County Louth. Including a large cemetery, two churches, one of the tallest round towers in Ireland and two of the tallest and best high crosses, Monasterboice is reputed to have been founded by Saint Buithe, ...

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M.I.T. to offer degrees for free online courses

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 12/23/2011

One of the nation's leading providers of higher education, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or M.I.T. is set to announce a series of free online courses, allowing students the opportunity to earn official certificates free of charge. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "There are ...

Belmont Abbey College Sues Federal Government Over Obamacare Mandate

By Becket Fund • The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty • 11/14/2011

"A monk at Belmont Abbey may preach on Sunday that pre-marital sex, contraception, and abortions are immoral, but on Monday, the government would force the same monk to pay for students to receive the very drugs and procedures he denounces," said Hannah Smith, Senior Legal Counsel at the Becket ...

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Pope Benedict XVI at the Helm: The Prophetic Vision of St Don Bosco

By Deacon Keith Fournier • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

The heroic leadership of this Pope may well represent one more fulfillment of the prophetic vision of the Saint whose Feast we celebrate on this day.This vision could well describe what is occurring in our own day. We need to take our place on the Bark of Peter and follow the Pope as ...

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton: Uncompromising Widow, Mother and Catholic

By F. K. Bartels • Catholic Online • 1/4/2012

"If I am right Thy grace impart still in the right to stay. If I am wrong Oh, teach my heart to find the better way" -- the prayer of Elizabeth Ann Seton as she contemplated entry into the fullness of truth found in the Catholic Church: a conversion which would ostracize her from family and ...

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Fate of group of Russian scientists in Ice Lake concerns Americans

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

U.S. colleagues are increasingly concerned about the fate of a group of Russian scientists plumbing the frozen Antarctic. As the days creep by, the fate of the researchers who went in search of a lake buried in ice for tens of millions of years have failed to respond. LOS ANGELES, CA ...

'Supervolcanoes' can be predicted, scientists say

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/2/2012

The cataclysmic eruptions of the world's largest volcanoes - or "super volcanoes" on Earth could be predicted several decades before they occur. According to researchers, the analysis of rock crystals from the Greek island of Santorini suggests eruptions are preceded by a fast build-up of ...

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Benedictine Monks from Oklahoma Become Missionaries to the Irish Church

By Deacon Keith Fournier • Catholic Online • 1/28/2012

Dom Mark Daniel Kirby, and the brothers gathered with him, represent the best of the monastic life.  They are moving their entire community to Ireland, a land which once gave the world monks, missionaries, and martyrs. They are doing so in order to help bring about the healing of ...

Knights of the Holy Eucharist Announce Facebook Page

By Knights of the Holy Eucharist • Knights of Holy Eucharist • 12/21/2011

Young men 18 and older interested in our community are welcome to visit for up to two weeks. This way they can participate in our work and prayer and make a pilgrimage to this Shrine.Knights of the Holy Eucharist Announce Facebook Page HANCEVILLE, AL (Knights of the Holy Eucharist) - The ...

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Facebook announces plans for stock market explosion

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 2/3/2012

Facebook, the world's largest social networking site has announced plans for a stock market flotation. The Web site said it would seek to raise $5 billion, or about half the amount many analysts expected. The initial public offering or IPO is still expected to be the biggest sale of shares ...

Decades-old photographic plates reveal new stars

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/31/2012

A new analysis of the 500,000 plates made by the Harvard College Observatory from the 1880s through the 1980s, covering the whole sky offers astronomers an unprecedented look at how stars change over long periods. The century's worth of astronomical photographic plates have revealed a slew of new ...

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First things First, Tim Tebow is Still the Most Valuable Player

By Christopher Stefanick • Catholic Online • 2/1/2012

According to one poll, 43 percent of football fans said that divine intervention played a role in Tebow's victories. While I'm not sure if God makes a habit out of intervening in how straight and far a ball flies when it's shot from a quarterback's arm, I have no doubt that he intervenes when it ...

Coach embroiled in sex abuse scandal dies from cancer

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM) • Catholic Online • 1/22/2012

Tragically, his life did not end on an up note. Joe Paterno, the most successful coach in major college football history career came to an end last November after he became embroiled in a major sex abuse scandal. Paterno has now passed away from complications due to his lung cancer ...

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The Armor of Love: Octave of Christmas, the Feast of St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr

By Deacon Keith Fournier • Catholic Online • 12/27/2011

On this Feast of St Stephen the Deacon and Martyr of the Church, let us continue our clebration of the Octave of Christmas by reflecting on this soldier of Jesus Christ whose life was so conformed to the Lord that he imitated him in his death. Let us also pray for our deacons, that they can ...

Christmas Pointsettias - A Reminder of Redemption

By Randy Sly • Catholic Online • 12/26/2011

We see them everywhere - in flower shops, department stores and grocery stores. The pointsettia came to North America in the early 1800's. Now they are as familiar this time of year as candy canes and carolers. While we pause, during these days in our Christmas celebration, to reflect on the reason ...

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What are YOU doing for Lent?

By Marshall Connolly (Catholic Online) • Catholic Online • 1/24/2012

Lent is almost here prompting the question, "What are you giving up for lent?" This is a tough question for me. I'm a lay person, but working for Catholic Online, I get the question early. I also take the season seriously, so I want to make a thoughtful decision that is both realistic and that ...

Pope's Easter Vigil Homily: We Celebrate the First Day of the New Creation

By Pope Benedict XVI • Catholic Online • 4/25/2011

'The first day of the week was the third day after Jesus' death. It was the day when he showed himself to his disciples as the Risen Lord. In truth, this encounter had something unsettling about it. The world had changed. This man who had died was now living with a life that was no longer ...

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