On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the shooting that wounded former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, CNN hosted a town hall with President Barack Obama on the topic of guns in America. The live audience, at George Mason University, in Virginia, included people whom CNN had flown in: gun owners, gun sellers, survivors of shootings, Read more
The chancellor of Loyola University Chicago has said it would be healthy for Catholic priests to be able to be married. Fr Michael Garanzini, SJ, a former president of the university, said until Pope Francis opened up avenues of discussion, he didn’t expect to see change in this area. Fr Garanzini said the issue is Read more
The former Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, has died after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 78. As head of the United States’ third-largest archdiocese, Cardinal George shepherded the Chicago church through school closings and the priest sexual abuse scandal. He strived to reconcile his support for the clergy with the pain of Read more
The outgoing Archbishop of Chicago says he has sometimes been puzzled as to what Pope Francis’ intentions are in the wake of some papal statements. According to a New York Times report, Cardinal Francis George stated that Francis has “said some wonderful things”. But Cardinal George added: “But he doesn’t put them together all the Read more
Chicago’s new archbishop has elected not to live in the US$14million mansion which housed many of his predecessors. Instead, Archbishop Blaise Cupich will live in the rectory of Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. Archbishop Cupich acknowledged the mansion’s history, but said he wanted to live near the cathedral so he could celebrate Mass there was often Read more
In a meeting room under Holy Name Cathedral, a rapt group of black Roman Catholics listened as Barack Obama, a 25-year-old community organiser, trained them to lobby their fellow delegates to a national congress in Washington on issues like empowering lay leaders and attracting more believers. “He so quickly got us,” said Andrew Lyke, a Read more
Two of the 117 cardinals to elect the new pope, both who live outside Rome are in no rush for the Conclave to be convened. New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George have both expressed a little concern about the bringing the conclave forward. Cardinal George told reporters, Sunday after celebrating Mass, Read more
Former prison chaplain Fr Eugene Klein has been charged with helping a notorious Chicago mobster sneak messages out of jail and trying to recover a valuable Stradivarius violin. The aim was to keep the government from getting it, prosecutors said. Bishop of Wiaona diocese Rev John Quinn has suspended the Rev Eugene Klein from his Read more