IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When an influential Jesuit-run journal criticized U.S. politics in mid-July, it was not the first time it had caused controversy in the United States. Stirring up controversy is nothing new for La Civilta Cattolica, which sees defending the faith as …

By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — Denouncing the “demonization of migrants,” hateful rhetoric, the militarization of the border and a system that divides families, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, called on Catholics to heed the church’s teachings to welcome the migrant. In a July 18 pastoral letter “Sorrow and …

IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Two former top Vatican hospital officials appeared before a Vatican court for a pretrial hearing on allegations of embezzlement. Giuseppe Profiti, who was president of Bambino Gesu hospital from 2008 to 2015, and Massimo Spina, the former …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Susanna Bates, EPA By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — In comments delivered July 17 to the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged the FCC to use “the strongest legal authority available” to “retain open internet regulations.” The current regulations, adopted in 2015 by a …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Ciro Fusco, EPA By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God proposes — not imposes — his Gospel and offer of salvation, putting the responsibility of being open to and moved by his message on the listener, Pope Francis said. Jesus doesn’t draw people to him by conquering …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Lawrence Looi, EPA By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — The House Appropriations Committee voted July 13 in favor of an amendment to repeal the District of Columbia’s assisted suicide law. The day before the vote, New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan sent a letter to members of the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Michael Reynolds, Reuters By Carolyn Mackenzie WASHINGTON (CNS) — Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has initiated the Social Capital Project, a research effort that examines the importance of “associational life,” which includes families, religious congregations and other communities. The project found that civil society has declined in America, and …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Mark Clatterbuck, cour By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — As chapels go, the simple structure on property owned by the Adorers of the Blood of Christ congregation in Columbia, Pennsylvania, is not much. It’s more of an arbor, really: four posts and several cross boards built on property …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Robert Duncan By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — To understand the current situation in Iraq — the evolving and complex conflicts there, and the fear and resilience of its Christians — one has to understand its past, which is often ignored or unknown in the West, said …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Liam Burke courtesy Pr By Sarah Mac Donald LIMERICK, Ireland (CNS) — The Catholic Church is doing whatever it can to strengthen the family, including families often considered nontraditional, said Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, the theologian who reviewed Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the family. “Favoring the …