In a series of three Rites of Election, 609 Catechumens and Candidates were welcomed into closer relationships with the Church in the Diocese of Tucson last month. With Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas as the principal celebrant, two of the liturgies were held at St. Augustine Cathedral in Tucson, while the third was held at St. Read More
By ALAN VALENCIA First and foremost, I thank God for the gift of my vocation. I have enjoyed my journey of discernment, the ups and downs, the consolations and desolations, the doubts and the hopes, the good times and the not so good times. My discernment journey is unique and genuine just like each and Read More
By RUTH LILJENQUIST Nearly every day, Tricia Quiroz, program director for St. Nicholas Adoption Center, receives the file of another child in need of a loving and stable adoptive home—a child living in foster care whose relationship with his or her parents has been severed because of abuse or neglect. Many such children are adopted Read More
ROME (CNS) — Recounting their rural Bavarian childhood and subsequent lifelong friendship, the elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI offers a privileged look at the personal side of the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics. “My Brother, the Pope,” published by Ignatius Press, is based on interviews with Msgr. Georg Ratzinger by German writer Michael Read More
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The contraceptive mandate in the new health reform law is constitutional but the religious exemption to it represents an unconstitutional intrusion by government into decisions about religion, according to the former chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education. Speaking March 15 at The Catholic University of America on “Religious Liberty, Read More
The popcorn being sold at baseball games in Tucson is being “prayerfully popped” by the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, which, they say, makes the treat “sinfully delicious.” The Sisters, housed at the Benedictine Monastery, developed their gourmet popcorn business in concert with the University of Arizona’s Eller School of Business last year, and now Read More
Gov. Jan Brewer has signed into law SB 1047 that will essentially double the amount people can contribute in the Arizona school tax credit program. The law expands the tuition tax credit limits of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for married couples to $1,000 and $2,000, respectively. The new donations are targeted toward students switching Read More
By ALICE WEEKLEY Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas listened attentively recently as a single mother explained how she spent five and a half years as a veterinary technician trying to raise her two children on $8.50 an hour. “I was barely getting by—living from paycheck to paycheck,” she told him. And then, with a grin: “Now Read More
Tucsonans invited to KBI evening out The Kino Border Initiative is inviting prospective members to “Step Up!” and attend a gathering in Tucson on Saturday, April 21, that will include music, art, light dinner fare and cocktails. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Pueblo Grill, 60 N. Alvernon Way. Tickets are Read More
The people served by Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in South Tucson and its five missions are planning a really big celebration this fall. And so is the Diocese of Tucson. On Oct. 21, Pope Benedict XVI will canonize Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Rome, and with that the parish will add the word “Saint” to its Read More