<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Top Catholic News | AmericanCatholic.org</title><link>http://www.americancatholic.org/news/default.aspx</link><description>AmericanCatholic.org presents top news from the Catholic Church throughout the world as it faces critical global issues on such subjects as: respect life, war and peace, bioethics, ecology, immigration, interfaith relations, capital punishment, economic justice, gay rights, sexual abuse, creationism and other religious concerns.</description><ttl>60</ttl><item><title><![CDATA[Haitians Cross Dominican Border to Escape Dire Poverty ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1879]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1879]]></guid><description><![CDATA[OUANAMINTHE, Haiti (CNS)—During the afternoons before market
days, strangers begin showing up in town. Twice a week, like clockwork.]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dominican Town Unites to End Exploitation of Children ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1880]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1880]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BOCA CHICA, Dominican Republic (CNS)—Sixteen-year-old Doralin
Pulio Valerio knows she could easily be working on the beach, but she
also knows prostitution would not be the kind of work she or her
parents could brag about.]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Boy Shines Shoes to Keep From Falling Victim to Child Traffickers ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1881]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1881]]></guid><description><![CDATA[SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic (CNS)—His towel whips silently
around the back and over the top of a customer's shoe in a smooth,
seamless motion with a bit of a flare. Around and back, around and
back.]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Students Learn How to Keep Peace in a World of Two Cultures]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1882]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1882]]></guid><description><![CDATA[MAO, Dominican Republic (CNS)—Yolanda Noesi knows the path to
peace is getting along with the people who cross her path in life.]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Study: Social Trends, Seminary Character Among Abuse Causes]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1895]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1895]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS)—An ongoing study of the causes and contexts of
sexual abuse by priests delves into a broad assortment of factors,
including societal trends, treatment approaches over the decades, the
character of seminaries in different generations and even comparisons
of when abusive behavior began in relation to ordination.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[D.C. Same-Sex Marriage Bill Could Limit Church Agencies ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1896]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1896]]></guid><description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON (CNS)—Recent news reports have mistakenly claimed that
the Archdiocese of Washington and its social service arm, Catholic
Charities, are threatening to stop providing social services if the
District of Columbia City Council's proposed same-sex marriage bill
passes, said Auxiliary Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Washington.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Spring Break Trip Led to a Career Seeking Justice in Fields ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1899]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1899]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS)—When Brigitte Gynther took a spring break trip to
Florida while a student at the University of Notre Dame, little did she
imagine it would put her on a career track, working for farmworkers'
rights.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Jesuit: Joy an Essential Element for Good Spiritual Health]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1900]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1900]]></guid><description><![CDATA[MARYKNOLL, N.Y. (CNS)—Joy is an essential element of good spiritual
health and humor is a tool for evangelization, humility, welcoming and
healing, according to Jesuit Father James Martin.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bishops Vote Yes on Two-Year Set of Priorities and Plans ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1891]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1891]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops Nov. 17 approved two items
regarding their priorities and plans for the next two years during
their fall general meeting in Baltimore.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bishops OK Document Criticizing Some Reproductive Technologies ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1892]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1892]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS)—Although the Catholic Church shares the pain of
married couples facing infertility problems, some reproductive
technologies "are not morally legitimate ways to solve those problems,"
the U.S. bishops say in a new document.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bishops Approve New Directives on Withdrawal of Food, Water ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1893]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1893]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS)—The U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved a revision to the
directives that guide Catholic health care facilities, clarifying that
patients with chronic conditions who are not imminently dying should
receive food and water by "medically assisted" means if they cannot
take them normally.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bishops OK Marriage Pastoral with Many Changes, Some Opposition ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1894]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1894]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS)—Despite the concern voiced by some bishops about the
document's pastoral tone and content, the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops approved a pastoral letter on marriage Nov. 17.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Priests Told Ministry to Married, Engaged Couples Crucial to Church ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1884]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1884]]></guid><description><![CDATA[COLUMBUS (CNS)—Priests from across Ohio were told at a statewide
convocation that their work with married and engaged couples is crucial
in creating a "marriage-building church" in an era when the secular
culture seems to place a low priority on the stability of marriage and
family life.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Professor: Effort to Keep Abortion Legal Costs Women, Society]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1887]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1887]]></guid><description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON (CNS)—One professor speaking at a Georgetown University
Law Center symposium on abortion suggested that society in general and
women in particular bear the costs of an ongoing quest to enshrine a
right to an abortion under the law.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[USCCB Efforts on Health Care Reform Seen as Lesson for Future ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1888]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1888]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS)—The successful effort by leaders and staff members
of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to press lawmakers to keep
abortion out of health care reform legislation in the House of
Representatives provides an example for the future, according to the
chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human
Development.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[No CCHD Funds Go to Groups That Oppose Church Teaching ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1889]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1889]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS)—Members of the U.S. bishops' subcommittee overseeing the Catholic
Campaign for Human Development reassured their fellow bishops and
donors that "no group that opposes Catholic social or moral teaching is
eligible for funding" from their domestic anti-poverty campaign.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pope emphasizes inspirational power of medieval cathedrals and art ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1890]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1890]]></guid><description><![CDATA[VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Recalling the great European cathedrals of the
Middle Ages, Pope Benedict XVI said that the contemplation of art and
beauty offers a special way to commune with God.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Vatican Hopes U.S. Will Lift Cuba Embargo, Archbishop Says]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1874]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1874]]></guid><description><![CDATA[VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The Vatican consistently has criticized the U.S.
embargo against Cuba and hopes the Obama administration will lift the
restrictions, recognizing the fact that they cause untold suffering for
the Cuban people, a Vatican official said]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pope: Luxury, Waste Unacceptable When Hunger Is on the Rise]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1875]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1875]]></guid><description><![CDATA[ROME (CNS)—Opulence and waste are unacceptable especially when
hunger—the cruelest form of poverty—continues to rise, Pope
Benedict XVI told world leaders at a summit on food security.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bishops Remember San Salvador Jesuits on Anniversary]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1876]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1876]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS)—The U.S. bishops added their collective voice to
those of others in honoring the memory of the six Salvadoran Jesuit
priests, their housekeeper and her daughter, all of whom were
assassinated 20 years ago by a Salvadoran death squad.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cardinal Discusses Role of Priests, Need for Unity Within Church ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1883]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1883]]></guid><description><![CDATA[BALTIMORE (CNS)—Reflecting on what the church would be like without
the sacrament of holy orders, Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George of
Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called
on his fellow bishops to reflect on their relationships with their
priests and help them grow in holiness and unite with them around
Jesus.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Migrants in Detention Have Right to Spiritual Care, Speakers Say ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1868]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1868]]></guid><description><![CDATA[VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Migrants and refugees in prisons and detention
centers have the same right to spiritual assistance as any other
person, a U.S. bishop told a Vatican meeting.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Masses Worldwide to Recall Sheen's Life, Promote Sainthood ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1870]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1870]]></guid><description><![CDATA[PATERSON, N.J. (CNS)—A worldwide celebration of Masses Dec. 9 will
commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of famed author, lecturer
and television evangelizer Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, as well as
promote his cause for canonization.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Nuncio: Duty of UN Is to Ensure Religious Freedom for All ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1871]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1871]]></guid><description><![CDATA[UNITED NATIONS (CNS)—The United Nations has a significant role to
play in helping nations "fully ensure, at all levels, the
implementation of the right to religious freedom" for all people, the
U.N. nuncio said.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Married priests? For the Vatican, still an exception to the rule ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1873]]></link><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1873]]></guid><description><![CDATA[VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The question of priestly celibacy is one that
keeps bubbling to the surface at the Vatican, most often in the
theoretical discussions of synods of bishops but more concretely in a
new papal document on Anglicans coming into the Catholic Church.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate><author><![CDATA[webdev@AmericanCatholic.org (American Catholic)]]></author></item></channel></rss>