Church News from Headline Bistro

POPE Benedict XVI will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor by holding a huge public mass at Coventry Airport.

Vatican City, Mar 17, 2010 / 09:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A statement was released by the Holy See on Wednesday confirming the formation of a commission to investigate the “phenomenon” of Medjugorje.

As U.S. health care reform moves into the congressional home stretch, it’s as good of a time as any to remember that organized health care in America owes much to Catholic religious orders, and most of those are religious orders of women.

Latino population growth over the past two decades has boosted numbers in the Catholic Church, but a new, in-depth analysis shows Latinos' allegiance to Catholicism is waning as some move toward other Christian denominations or claim no religion at all.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI said today that Friday he will sign his letter to the Catholics of Ireland on the sex abuse crisis and “send it soon after.”

Munich, Germany, Mar 17, 2010 / 03:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Tourism chaplain for the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising has been immediately suspended from ministry after more allegations that he sexual abused minors.

The Catholic Church is again funding research into the medical use of adult stem cells.

CNA STAFF, Mar 16, 2010 / 11:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The five bishops appointed to the Apostolic Visitation of the Legion of Christ will meet with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone on April 30 to present their final report after eight months of work.

Vatican City, Mar 16, 2010 / 02:40 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In a story written by reporter Marco Bellizzi, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano (LOR) points out that the American Catholic Bishops speak for the Catholic Church when they criticize the current health care bill.

The founder of a well-known gang-intervention program has written his memoir, 'Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.'

London, England, Mar 16, 2010 / 11:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a joint press conference on Tuesday, the U.K. Government and the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Scotland, England and Wales welcomed Pope Benedict's upcoming visit, calling it an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen ties between the country and the Holy See. The Sept. 16-19 papal visit, which is the first ever to take place in the U.K., was formally announced by Queen Elizabeth II on March 16.

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In the United States and Canada, membership numbers have gone up for the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Assemblies of God, among others, according to the 2010 edition of a yearbook published by the National Council of Churches.

St. Patrick’s Day in Boston: noise and beer. Green-haired Irish wannabes pack bars and compete for bragging rights as the last “pub crawl” survivor left standing.

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has released one of its leading democracy activists, an ailing Catholic priest who suffered two strokes while in prison, so that he can receive medical treatment, family members said Tuesday.

VICTORIA, British Colombia, MARCH 15, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The leaders of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada sent a petition to the Vatican requesting full communion with the Catholic Church through the implementation of "Anglicanorum Coetibus."

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 15, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is hailing the "abundant fruits" of the initiative launched by his predecessor 25 years ago: an "annual meeting of believing young people," coming together to "discover the beauty of the Church."

Santiago, Chile, Mar 15, 2010 / 12:56 pm (CNA).- Numerous bishops in Chile are reporting on the amount of damage that many of the churches in the country are facing following the February 27 earthquake. Nearly 90 percent of Chile’s churches have been damaged or destroyed, including many historic national monuments.

Washington D.C., Mar 15, 2010 / 06:41 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In a statement Monday, Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that the U.S. bishops are now opposing the current Senate health care bill because the cost “is too high” and “the loss too great” for it to be supported.

PHILADELPHIA — Not everyone will be able to travel to Italy this year when the Shroud of Turin is on public view for the first time in 10 years. But Philadelphia might be a good alternative.

ATLANTIC CITY — By some measures, the success of the Xavier men’s basketball team rests not with a sharpshooting guard or a ball-hawking forward. Rather, it rests largely with a 5-foot-4, white-haired 77-year-old nun not afraid to rap on dormitory doors or to call players before dawn to ask about missed classes or late assignments.