News/International

That hoary old folk hymn said "they'll know we are Christians by our love." But how will they know we are Catholics? In modern secular society, Catholics fit right in. There are few visible signs they wear. Crucifixes are just as likely to be a fashion accessory as a statement of faith. But scratch a Catholic and you'll find a surprising amount of religious tradition.

That hoary old folk hymn said "they'll know we are Christians by our love." But how will they know we are Catholics? In modern secular society, Catholics fit right in. There are few visible signs they wear. Crucifixes are just as likely to be a fashion accessory as a statement of faith. But scratch a Catholic and you'll find a surprising amount of religious tradition.

James Joyce once described the Roman Catholic Church as "Here comes everybody!" In the United States, his description rings true. American Catholics are a diverse and somewhat unruly bunch and attempts to paint them into categorical corners usually founder on the facts. Pope Benedict XVI will no doubt find this out for himself during his visit April 15-20.

James Joyce once described the Roman Catholic Church as "Here comes everybody!" In the United States, his description rings true. American Catholics are a diverse and somewhat unruly bunch and attempts to paint them into categorical corners usually founder on the facts. Pope Benedict XVI will no doubt find this out for himself during his visit April 15-20.

{mosimage}TORONTO - A Workers’ Rights Consortium (WRC) investigation says that a company that makes socks for the largest school uniform supplier in Ontario is in violation of its anti-sweatshop policies.

Workers at the Lianglong Socks Ltd. factory in Zhuji City, China, are sleeping in unheated dormitories and working unpaid overtime in a factory deemed dirty, unhealthy and unsafe, according to the WRC. For a lot of Catholic school students across Ontario, that’s an issue.

{mosimage}PALO RALO, Honduras - Nine years ago, Rodolfo Arteaga was sitting on a gold mine — literally. In fact, so was his village of Palo Ralo, in the central Siria Valley of Honduras.

But Arteaga said his and his family’s lives have not improved and he wishes he could turn back the clock.

Americans have come a long way from being a people who couldn't bring themselves to electing a Catholic president. Today, a few days before Pope Benedict's arrival on his first visit to the United States, a new poll suggests that, by and large, Americans are reasonably well-disposed toward the German pontiff.

Americans have come a long way from being a people who couldn't bring themselves to electing a Catholic president. Today, a few days before Pope Benedict's arrival on his first visit to the United States, a new poll suggests that, by and large, Americans are reasonably well-disposed toward the German pontiff.

Papal trips don't just happen. They are the sum of a million details, signed, sealed and delivered by an army of church workers. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States is a case in point. My friend John Thavis, Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service, offers an interesting glimpse behind the scenes in one of his Rome audio reports.

Papal trips don't just happen. They are the sum of a million details, signed, sealed and delivered by an army of church workers. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States is a case in point. My friend John Thavis, Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service, offers an interesting glimpse behind the scenes in one of his Rome audio reports.