Here are some of the stories you missed if you didn't read Arkansas Catholic's Jan. 23 issue. Some of the stories and columns in Arkansas Catholic appear only in the print and complete digital editions. To read what you're missing, subscribe today.
Mercy is an ‘active virtue’
VATICAN CITY — Arms flailing, the exuberant and perhaps hyperactive Italian actor and comedian Roberto Benigni described Pope Francis as a masterful minister of God’s mercy, which is always active and always on the move.
Catholic leaders support action on gun violence
WASHINGTON — When President Barack Obama unveiled a series of executive orders Jan. 5 intended to make a dent in gun violence in the United States, people reacted. And how.
Pope makes a ‘mercy Friday’ visit
ROME — As part of his personal observance of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis made an unannounced, “private” visit to a retirement home and to a group home for people in a persistent vegetative state, the Vatican said.
Obituaries
Estelle Ellen Tince Lievsay Willems Girard, 97, a member of St. Joseph Church in Paris, died Dec. 9. She is survived by …
List of 10 largest parishes in diocese gets some changes
St. Raphael Church in Springdale continues to be the largest church in the Diocese of Little Rock. One out of every seven Catholics in the state belongs to this parish.
Two bishops want deportation raids to end
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Two U.S. bishops have written to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson seeking an end to deportation raids that rounded up more than 120 Central American immigrants early in the new year.
State of Union highlights key Catholic issues
WASHINGTON — Although President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address Jan. 12 hit a fair amount of key Catholic issues, it did not go into detail on them.
Exorcist: Films should show how God always conquers evil
VATICAN CITY — Movies depicting exorcisms could be an important medium for showing how God always triumphs over evil, but instead, they misrepresent the faith and exaggerate human and satanic powers over God, a leading exorcist wrote in the Vatican newspaper.
Reflection must include struggles, areas to improve
We are in the midst of self-evaluation season at the seminary. At this time each year, each seminarian at St. Meinrad writes a narrative of his previous year as a seminarian. Certain areas of life are asked to be mentioned such as prayer life, ministry work, understanding of obedience, growth in personality and our life of celibacy. (Columns)
Ignoring persecution an ‘unholy silence’
Idaho pastor Saeed Abedini’s story over the past three years is an example of what is happening all over the globe. Christians are persecuted for their faith and are willing to become martyrs. (Editorial)