By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — It’s almost reached the level of cliche in American society: You ask someone why they don’t go to church, and they reply, “Oh, I’m spiritual but not religious.” But what does that mean? A survey conducted jointly by the Public Religion Research Institute and …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — St. Frances Cabrini, the missionary to Italian immigrants in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, “teaches us the path to handling the epochal phenomenon of migration by joining charity and justice,” Pope Francis said. …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Mass is not a show, but a beautiful, transformative encounter with the true loving presence of Christ, Pope Francis said. That is why people need to focus their hearts on God, not focus their smartphones for pictures during Mass, …

By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The nation’s leaders “must engage in a real debate about needed measures to save lives and make our communities safer,” said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ domestic policy committee. Such debate is essential because “violence in our society will not be solved by a single …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis met with Kofi Annan, the former U.N. secretary-general, and former Irish President Mary Robinson to discuss shared concerns about peace, human rights and climate change. “Pope Francis has shown great moral leadership on the crucial issues of our time. His assertion …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When it comes to salvation, God does not seek any form of compensation and offers it freely to those in need of his love, Pope Francis said. A Christian who complains of not receiving a reward for going to Mass every Sunday …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sergio Flores, Reuters By VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Calling the mass shooting in a Texas Baptist church Nov. 5 an “act of senseless violence,” Pope Francis asked the local Catholic archbishop to convey his condolences to the families of the victims and to the injured. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After 7-year-old Rani Hong was stolen from her mother in a small village in India and sold into slavery, her captors kept her in a cage to teach her to submit completely to her “master.” “This is what the industry of human trafficking …

IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholic universities need to study the root causes of forced migration and ways to counter the discrimination and xenophobic reactions it provokes in so many traditionally Christian nations, Pope Francis said. “I would also like to invite Catholic universities to …

By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Catholic Church stands “in unity” with the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and the larger community after a shooting during Sunday services took the lives of at least 25 people and injured several more. A 14-year-old girl, Annabelle Pomeroy, was among the dead. Her father, …