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High in the Andes, Peruvians mark
Christ's appearance to shepherd boy
At the end of an all-night procession, several thousand
pilgrims in colorful garb gathered on a hilltop in this remote corner
of the Andes, waiting for dawn. As the sky brightened behind an
eastern mountain peak and light swept along the ridge, a tall young
man sounded a long, plaintive note on a conch horn.
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At
end of jubilee year, figure of St. Paul stands in clearer focus
After 12 months of special liturgies, conferences, Bible
reflections, indulgences, concerts and pilgrimages, the Year of
St. Paul has left the Apostle a more clearly defined figure on the
Catholic landscape.
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Pew study finds high retention rate among Catholics
A Pew Forum poll on Americans and their religious affiliation
finds Catholics have one of the highest retention rates, 68
percent, among Christian churches when it comes to carrying
the Catholic faith into adulthood. A determining factor in
whether or not one remains Catholic as an adult is whether
or not the individual attended Mass as a child and teenager.
The study also found that the key reason people leave their
church, Protestant or Catholic, is that “they just gradually
drifted away from the faith.”
The study, Faith in Flux: Changes in the Religious Affiliation
in the U.S., was made public by the Pew Forum on Religion
and Public Life on April 27. Pew found that only 2 percent-3
percent of those polled cited sexual abuse of children as
a reason for leaving when asked in an open-ended question
why they left. When people were asked to choose why they left
from a list of possible reasons, the number jumped from 21
percent for Catholics who became Protestant and 27 percent
for former Catholics who are now unaffiliated with any church.
Other reasons for leaving the church, such as disagreement
on doctrinal matters, figured much higher.
“The report highlights the importance of Mass attendance
among children and teenagers,” said Archbishop Donald
W. Wuerl of Washington, past chairman of the bishops’
Committee on Catechesis and next chairman of the Committee
on Doctrine. “Adolescence is a critical time in religious
development and, as the poll shows, what happens in the teen
years has a long-lasting affect. We have to help young people
and their parents appreciate the importance of going to weekly
Mass so teenagers know Jesus is there for them now and always.“
Archbishop Wuerl said the poll showed the resilience of the
Catholic faith, even in the face of something as horrific
as the sexual abuse crisis. “Catholics can separate
the sins and human failings of individuals from the substance
of the faith,” he said. “Sexual abuse of a child
is a terrible sin and crime but most Catholic people, because
of good personal experience with their priests in their parishes,
recognize sex abuse by clergy as the aberration it is. They
also look to the church’s 2,000-year history, which
has seen the faith flourish despite some painful times.”earch
that everyone, at every stage of human development, can live
with."

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Taliban targets Christians in Pakistan
Anti-Christian violence in Karachi left 15 people wounded
and resulted in the houses of 15 Christian families being
set on fire, putting Christians on alert as the Taliban
increases its influence in Pakistan.
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New survey by Pew forum on religion and public
life on why Catholics leave the church
The survey shows that most adults who left the church
did so by age 24.
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Pope approves heroic virtues for 10 on path
to canonization
Included on the list is Sister Dulce Lopes Pontes, known
in Brazil as the “good angel,” who died in
1992.
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New United States priests mirror America
The ordination class of 2009, men from dioceses nationwide,
shows that the call to serve God is heard at all ages
– respondents include attorneys, financiers, teachers
and farmers.
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Pope asks Bolivian officials to discover why
cardinal was attacked
Pope Benedict XVI has called on Bolivian officials to
shed light on the attack against the president of the
Bolivian Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Julio Terrazas
Sandoval.
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Notre Dame donors protest President Obama’s
presence at commencement by withholding funds
A press release from ReplaceJenkins.com said the Web site
has received more than 900 pledges from alumni and donors
promising to withhold future donations.
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Holy Father meets with Prince Charles
The pope held an audience with Prince Charles and discussed
“human promotion and development of peoples, environmental
protection and the importance of inter-cultural and inter-religious
dialogue for furthering peace and justice in the world.”
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Vietnamese government continues targeting Catholics
State media have “fiercely attacked” two Redemptorist
priests, accusing them of critically damaging national
unity and blocking the national construction and development
process.
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Russian Orthodox Church asks anti-discrimination
conference to consider Christianophobia
The deputy head of the Moscow Russian Orthodox Church,
has asked the conference to introduce to the list of threats
the notion of Christianophobia, in addition to anti-Semitism
and anti-Islam.
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Ninth Mexican state thwarts future attempts to
legalize abortion
The legislature of the state of Quintana Roo has approved
a law protecting human life and guaranteeing the rights
of the unborn, from conception to natural death.
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