By Marlene Quaroni NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (CNS) — Thanks to Father Fritz Bellonce, pastor of Holy Family Church in North Miami, many people in the area around the church had hot meals after Hurricane Irma knocked out power to the community. “The stores and restaurants are closed,” he said. “People …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Those who govern or are in positions of authority are called to be humble and serve the good of the people God entrusts to them rather than the interests of their party or themselves, Pope Francis said. Without prayer, a leader risks …

By Junno Arocho Esteves ROME (CNS) — Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil was sitting in a room in an unknown location — one of several he had been relocated to during his 18-month imprisonment — when he received some unexpected news. “Those who kept me came to where I slept (and …

IMAGE: REUTERS By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic college leaders who have protested the Trump administration’s plan to do away with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, also have heightened their resolve to do more for DACA students and have expressed cautious belief that federal …

IMAGE: CNS photo/James Ramos, Texas Catholic Herald By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington has asked his fellow bishops around the country to take up an emergency collection in their dioceses during weekend Masses Sept. 23-24 to help those recovering from devastation …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A member of the Vatican diplomatic corps serving in Washington has been recalled to the Vatican where he is involved in a criminal investigation involving child pornography, the Vatican said. The Vatican press office said Sept. 15 that it …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Debbie Hill By Judith Sudilovsky JERUSALEM (CNS) — Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, U.S. Army veteran Rocio Villanueva fell onto the stone of the unction where tradition holds that Jesus was laid out after his crucifixion and touched her head to the smoothed surface. Injured during …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Sister Margaret Ann By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — She inspired many when she rolled up the sleeves of her habit to clean up after Hurricane Irma with a chainsaw. After the local police department posted a video Sept. 12 on Twitter of Carmelite Sister Margaret Ann …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Christine Bordelon, The Clarion Herald By Christine Bordelon BEAUMONT, Texas (CNS) — Hope. That’s what 50-plus volunteers from a Louisiana Catholic parish offered to those devastated by Hurricane Harvey as part of a pre-dawn caravan of six 18-wheelers with donated supplies to Texas Sept. 9. “We are so …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Francis personally greeted new bishops from Florida and Texas Sept. 14, he “looked concerned” and asked how the dioceses and their people were after major hurricanes and rainstorms struck, one of the bishops said. Bishop William A. Wack of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, …