By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Men and women who carry the heavy burden of life’s troubles can find relief in Christ, who does not take away the load, but carries it as well, Pope Francis said. “He waits for us, he always waits for us, not to …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Bishops should look at ways to help verify and guarantee the validity and worthiness of the bread and wine used for the celebration of the Eucharist, the Vatican said in a recent document. Because bread and wine for the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Laura Dodson ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — Theirs was a monumental responsibility: shepherding lay leaders, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, religious, deacons, musicians, event staff and a legion of volunteers at the historic “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America” July 1-4 in Orlando. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Leonardo Munoz, EPA By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will beatify a priest and a bishop martyred in Colombia when he visits the country in September, a Vatican spokesman said. In an email to Catholic News Service July 7, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke confirmed …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Abir Abdullah, EPA By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — World leaders attending the Group of 20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, must reflect on the repercussions their decisions may have on the entire global community and not just their own countries, Pope Francis said. While it is …

By Greg Erlandson WASHINGTON (CNS) — The first century of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has concluded with its organization of an unprecedented and powerful gathering of Catholics in Orlando, Florida. With the somewhat ungainly title of “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America,” it …

By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — Many of the Catholic leaders attending the July 1-4 gathering in Orlando, Florida, have been to enough retreats or conferences over the years to know that the real challenge comes when they try to put what they heard into practice. Inspired and a little …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Clemens Bilan, EPA By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — Agencies of the U.S. and European Catholic bishops have called for all nations to develop a plan to eliminate nuclear weapons from their military arsenals. A joint declaration released July 6 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Museums By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — What do the Sistine Chapel, a used car with 186,000 miles on the odometer and a statue of Our Lady of Lujan made out of metal from an abandoned factory have in common? Besides being found in the Vatican …

IMAGE: CNS/John Thavis By VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who spent 22 years as director of the Vatican press office, died July 5 at age 80. No details were available immediately, but his death was announced in a tweet by the current director of the Vatican press office, Greg …