Author Archive
Couples need help forming, following their consciences, pope says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Marriage and family life are blessings for individuals and for society, but both are filled with difficult choices that Catholic couples must be helped to face prayerfully and in the light of their consciences, Pope Francis said. Unfortunately, too …
Global cooperation needed in response to climate change, pope says
By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Global problems associated with climate change demand global cooperation, Pope Francis told a group of heads of state from the Pacific Islands. The planet Earth, when viewed from space, is a world without borders, he said, and “it reminds us of the need …
At home and abroad: Bishops’ conferences show collegiality, solidarity
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The role of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other bishops’ conferences around the world is “catholic” — working together to promote the church’s mission, but also “to support peacebuilding and human development throughout the world,” said Cardinal Pietro …
Pope sends letter to blind Colombian veteran he met
IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy of the Colombian Navy By Manuel Rueda BOGOTA, Colombia (CNS) — Pope Francis sent a handwritten letter to a Colombian soldier who lost his sight during the country’s civil war. The pope met Edwin Restrepo, a retired marine, during his September visit to Colombia. On Nov. 9, …
Mass and lunch: Pope to lead celebration of World Day of the Poor
IMAGE: CNS photo/jason Szenes, EPA By VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will celebrate the Catholic Church’s first World Day of the Poor Nov. 19 by celebrating a morning Mass with people in need and those who assist them. After Mass, he will offer lunch to 500 people in the …
Peace, dialogue held hostage by nuclear weapons threat, pope says
By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The existence of nuclear weapons creates a false sense of security that holds international relations hostage and stifles peaceful coexistence, Pope Francis said. “The threat of their use as well as their very possession is to be firmly condemned,” the pope told …
Tax reform bill called ‘unacceptable,’ some provisions ‘unconscionable’
IMAGE: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 “is unacceptable” as currently written and it “contains many fundamental structural flaws that must be corrected,” said the chairmen of three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In a Nov. 9 …
Texas shooting a reminder to some that churches should be more secure
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Nov. 5 deadly shootings at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, left many people wondering how something so horrific could happen in a place of worship. It also called to mind other shootings or attacks in recent …
Pope recognizes martyrdom of sister killed in Somalia in 2006
IMAGE: CNS photo/Carlo Di Renzo, EPA By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis formally recognized the martyrdom of an Italian Consolata sister murdered in Somalia in 2006 and the martyrdom of a 25-year-old priest in Hungary in 1957. The Vatican announced the pope’s decisions Nov. 9, along with …
Pope puts John Paul I on path to sainthood, declares him ‘venerable’
IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis recognized that Pope John Paul I, who served only 33 days as pope, lived the Christian virtues in a heroic way. The Vatican announced Pope Francis’ decision Nov. 9. It marks the first major step on the …