By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service HAVANA — Pope Francis began his visit to Cuba praying for greater freedom for the island’s people and calling on U.S. and Cuban politicians to continue moving toward fully normal and neighborly relations. Meeting President Raul Castro and speaking before a small crowd at …

Editor’s Note: The pope’s U.S. visit, his historic speech to Congress and his appearance at the Conference on Families in Philadelphia will be covered Sept. 22-29 by Sister Eileen Connelly OSU, news editor of The Catholic Telegraph, and Menachem Wecker, a Washington-based freelance journalist who reports on religion topics. By …

By Elise Harris CNA/EWTN News On the eve of his arrival to Cuba Pope Francis sent a video message to the small island nation, expressing his desire to be a witness of God’s mercy in the country, and to encourage locals to do the same. “I want to be among …

By John Stegeman Catholic News Service CINCINNATI (CNS) — When Pope Francis becomes the first pope to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress Sept. 24, many will be watching on television or online. In downtown Cincinnati, residents, workers and tourists will be able to watch on a 30.5-by-42.5-foot …

Staff Report Every game counts in Ohio for teams hoping to make the playoffs, but the real battles begin in conference play. The GCL Co-Ed division starts conference play tonight and four of the league’s undefeated teams will face each other. Here are the standings through week three with week four’s opponents listed. For …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Arriving in the United States from Cuba, Pope Francis “will enter as a migrant” as millions of people have done before him, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state. The cardinal, who will accompany the pope on his Sept. 19-27 visits to Cuba, …

Staff Report When Pope Francis lands in America next week, he will be just the fourth pontiff to visit the nation. All eyes of the world will follow Pope Francis from Rome, to Cuba, and finally to the US of A where he has a loaded schedule. With that in mind, …

By Patricia L. Guilfoyle Catholic News Service CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A broad digital media project to coincide with Pope Francis’ visit this fall to the United States aims to recruit and interact with young people, particularly those who do not think of themselves as religious. These “nones,” as researchers have …

By Walt Schaefer For The Catholic Telegraph LaSalle High School students have discovered hair and drugs don’t mix. The archdiocesan high school of 685 students — the only school operated by the Christian Brothers in Cincinnati — has adopted the most stringent drug testing policy in the area. Only four …

By Elise Harris CNA/EWTN News The Vatican announced Sept. 15 that Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr. of Springfield-Cape Girardeau has been selected as the new head of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese. Announced in a Sept. 15 communique from the Vatican, Bishop Johnston’s nomination falls just five months after the diocese’s …