Catholic

Italian priest denies Communion to excommunicated Archbishop Milingo ROME (CNS) -- At the start of a visit to Italy, excommunicated Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo was denied Communion when he attended a Mass at a local parish church near Naples. The former Zambian archbishop and his wife, Maria Sung, attended an early evening Mass at a local church in Pompeii Jan. 10, one day after his arrival in Italy from South Korea. When the archbishop approached the celebrant -- Father Francesco Soprano -- he refused the Eucharist to the archbishop, who then reportedly blessed the celebrant and lightly touched his head, according to Italian media reports. Archbishop Milingo, who was married in a Unification church ceremony in 2001, was excommunicated by the Vatican in 2006 for illicitly ordaining married men. While he is excommunicated, the archbishop cannot receive the Eucharist or any sacrament of the church. The 77-year-old former archbishop of Lusaka was to be in Italy Jan. 9-27 to promote a new book, meet with supporters of his U.S.-based Married Priests Now! movement, and attend to various medical visits.

12 Steps to Avoid Purgatory

Rejection of the Pope is inconceivable for us

Dale Fushek ANTI-ABUSE ACTIVISTS: In this March 2006 photo, activists David Clohessy, left, and Tom Doyle are seen at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Tempe before talks on the Catholic Church and sexual abuse of children by clergy. Tribune

Plight of Iraqi refugees shapes nuns' visit to Middle East WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A family of six Iraqis lives in a unheated, single room in Beirut, Lebanon -- the adults unable to work legally, the teenager with diabetes unable to get medical care or attend school. The family -- an engineer, his wife and three children, and the wife's brother -- fled violence in their homeland two years after they received threats and their home was fired upon. Once out of the country, they quickly burned through their savings. For Mercy Sister Anne Curtis, the refugee family helped define what she described as abhorrent conditions for the millions of Iraqis who have fled their homeland, most taking up residence in Lebanon or Syria. She was one of a group of eight U.S. women religious from different communities who spent more than a week with Catholic Relief Services in mid-January looking into the problems and aid opportunities for Iraqi refugees in Syria and Lebanon. CRS is the U.S. bishops' overseas relief and development agency. "I'm still sorting out my impressions," Sister Curtis told Catholic News Service in a phone interview a few days after the delegation returned to the U.S. Jan. 20. During her first few days in the Middle East, she said she felt "an overwhelming sense of sorrow and shame about a U.S. war and the consequences; such massive human suffering."

Local members of the clergyand other mourners bid farewell to the Rev. Daniel J. Kennedyat his funeral yesterdayat St. Joseph Church in Needham.

Location: China Arrested: July 2007 Days Imprisoned: document.write(Math.round(iDiff));203 Print Fact Sheet In July 2007, 42-year-old Li Mei and nine house church leaders were arrested, when they were discovered having a Sunday worship service. They were charged with singing Christian hymns to villagers, showing the JESUS film in a nursing home and praying for healing for a disabled elderly man. The nine were sentenced to re-education through labor for 12 to 18 months. Li Mei served part of her one-year sentence in a hospital with both hands chained to her bed. Repeated beatings and torture caused her to require a hysterectomy. She is currently serving the remainder of her sentence at home under house arrest.

KLA criminals with heads of Serb victims in their hands

Holy Rosary, Most Precious Blood hold closing Masses

Jesus fell three times under the weight of my sins on His cross.May I be "resigned to the will of my God, and carry my cross cheerfully in company with Jesus, until my last breath. "Words partially taken from THROUGH THE CROSS TO VICTORY (The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)

Chinese pilgrimage to Saint Joseph Shrine on Mount Pin Yin begins