Crux Now

From a communications point of view, 'Amoris Laetitia' is a shipwreck

Good communicators not only deal with facts, they also deal with appearances. They predict confusing or negative perceptions and navigate around them. This hasn't been the case with 'Amoris Laetitia,' the document by Pope Francis on marriage and the family. The debate over a footnote means the rest of the positive and affirming message on Christian love and the sacrament of matrimony has been lost in the controversy.

Hunger strikers in D.C. want sanctuary churches in every American diocese

Hunger strikers at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., including an 87-year-old nun, are asking that the Archdiocese of Washington and every other Catholic diocese in America open at least one parish church as a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants facing the risk of deportation or other legal challenges.

U.S. bishops establish committee to tackle racism

A new anti-racism committee at the U.S. bishops' conference will be chaired by Bishop George V. Murry, SJ of Youngstown, Ohio, and anticipates releasing a new pastoral letter on racism in 2018. The new committee comes on the heels of the conclusion of a previous task force, “Peace in Our Communities,” in response to a series of race-related police shootings.

Cross-burning victims to priest who was once a member of KKK: Apology is not enough
- Associated Press
- August 23, 2017
The couple who was terrorized 40 years ago by a member of the Ku Klux Klan who later became a Catholic priest is calling for him to give the authorities any information he might have on other white supremacists who participated in his crimes. Father William Aitcheson said his actions at the time were “despicable.”
Read more
Russia's Putin says he values 'trusting and constructive dialogue' with Vatican
- Inés San Martín
- August 23, 2017
Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s visit marks the first of the Vatican’s Secretary of State to Russia in 19 years. The last to do so was Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who was in Moscow in 1999 to consecrate its Catholic cathedral. During a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Parolin said the diplomacy between the two countries “compromises various levels and covers the political spectrum and also various cultural initiatives that we pursue.”
Read more
Central African priests use Facebook to express outrage, appeal for help
- Catholic News Service
- August 23, 2017
Aid organizations have reported worsening violence throughout 2017 in the Central African Republic, one of the world’s poorest countries. Violence is mainly between armed remnants of Seleka, a Muslim-dominated rebel movement that briefly seized power in 2013, and a mainly Christian militia, Anti-Balaka.
Read more
Iraqi Christians still need America's help, former congressman says
- Catholic News Agency
- August 23, 2017
After a visit to Iraq, a former U.S. Congressman says the Senate should pass the Iraq and Syria Genocide Accountability Act, which authorizes and directs the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide funds for humanitarian aid to religious and ethnic minorities affected by war crimes and genocide. He also called for a fresh assessment of the situation in Iraq and for an international coalition to secure the Nineveh Plains, possibly including a U.S. base or a joint-training base.
Read more
Child removed from earthquake rubble in Italy: 'My first thought was God'
- Inés San Martín
- August 23, 2017
As Italy prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of an earthquake in the central part of the country that left 300 people dead, another temblor struck the resort island of Ischia. One entire family was pulled from the rubble by rescue workers, including an 11-year-old boy determined to live who’s now being called the country’s “hero child.”
Read more
Maduro calls on Francis to help 'prevent Trump from sending troops' to Venezuela
- Inés San Martín
- August 23, 2017
Embattled authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro has asked Pope Francis to “help us prevent Trump from sending troops” to Venezuela. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Maduro also criticized the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who’s currently in Russia, where he’s discussed the Venezuelan crisis with Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister.
Read more
Francis: Facing tragedies like Barcelona and Congo, Christians look to God to console us
- Claire Giangravè
- August 23, 2017
When we turn on the TV we see tragedies that push us to lose hope, such as the deaths in Barcelona and the Democratic Republic of Congo or the plight of children and refugees, but Christian hope rests in looking toward Heaven, where our Father will wipe away our tears and bring us into the fold, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience.
Read more
Troubled Nigerian diocese urged to 'put grievances aside,' accept bishop
- Inés San Martín
- August 23, 2017
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, is urging priests in his country’s Ahaira diocese to accept a bishop appointed by Benedict XVI and confirmed by Francis, even though he comes from outside the diocese’s majority ethnic and linguistic group. While some priests say they’re ready to comply with whatever the pope decides, that doesn’t mean the underlying grievances are resolved.
Read more

Explaining papal calm on security, plus a note on the convert debate

August 20, 2017

In the wake of the latest spike in violence across Europe, the Vatican says it’s not taking extra security precautions, in part because safeguards were already “very strong.” Popes often feel a greater degree of calm about their safety than other public figures, because, let’s face it, from their point of view, they’ve got the ultimate safety net.

Troubled Nigerian diocese urged to ‘put grievances aside,’ accept bishop

August 23, 2017

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, is urging priests in his country’s Ahaira diocese to accept a bishop appointed by Benedict XVI and confirmed by Francis, even though he comes from outside the diocese’s majority ethnic and linguistic group. While some priests say they’re ready to comply with whatever the pope decides, that doesn’t mean the underlying grievances are resolved.