IMAGE: CNS/Vatican Media By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Praying for God’s intercession takes courage, dogged persistence and patience, said Pope Francis. “If I want the Lord to listen to what I am asking him, I have to go, and go and go — knock on the door and …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jerri Donohue By Jerri Donohue BRECKSVILLE, Ohio (CNS) — When Sister Anne McCrohan said goodbye to her parents and most of her 10 siblings at a train station in County Kerry, she thought it was forever. At age 18, Sister McCrohan had agreed to go to America to …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jim Davis for the Flor By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — March 14, exactly one month since the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, students from around the country planned to walk out of their schools in protest of the nation’s gun laws for 17 minutes. The time …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope just a few days after telling the College of Cardinals that the Catholic Church faced a clear choice between being a church that “goes out” or a church focused on its internal affairs. …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A native-Spanish speaker who grew up with Italian-speaking relatives in Argentina, Pope Francis has a striking way with words. Bringing a background in literary themes and devices with him to the papacy five years ago, the pope has shown himself …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In his formal documents, many speeches and unscripted morning homilies the past five years, Pope Francis has given the church plenty of “food for thought” on many issues of great importance. Here are a baker’s dozen of quotes from the …

IMAGE: CNS/Vatican Media By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — On the eve of the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ election, retired Pope Benedict XVI defended the continuity of the church’s teaching under his successor and dismissed those who criticize the pope’s theological foundations. In a letter sent to …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Denis Grasska, The Southern Cross By Denis Grasska SAN DIEGO (CNS) — When Cassandra Bissainthe left Haiti for the United States some 17 years ago, it seemed unlikely that she would ever return. Political instability and economic insecurity were rampant in her homeland, and extreme poverty had driven …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Khalil Ashawi, Reuters By Dale Gavlak AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) — Christian activists warn that 1 million Syrian civilians will face certain slaughter in northwestern Afrin, where they allege Turkey and its militant allies have already carried out “war crimes” and “ethnic cleansing.” They have appealed to U.S. President …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A good confessor is a good listener, Pope Francis said. By truly listening to the penitent during confession, “we listen to Jesus himself, poor and humble; by listening to the Holy Spirit, we put ourselves in attentive obedience, becoming listeners of the Word” …