By Natalie Hoefer INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — Holy Cross Father Daniel Groody stood before the U.S. bishops June 14 and held up a chalice. It was not special in appearance, but rather in the story it told. The chalice was handcrafted primarily with wood from a refugee boat that landed upon …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sean Gallagher, The Criterion By John Shaughnessy INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — At a time when an estimated 50 percent of Catholics 30 and younger no longer identify with their religion, the U.S. bishops June 14 discussed the need to reverse that trend and why the consultation process for the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sean Gallagher, The Criterion By INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory said June 14 the U.S. Catholic bishops “can never say that we are sorry enough for the share that we have had in this tragedy of broken fidelity and trust” — the clergy sex abuse …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sean Gallagher, The Criterion By INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the National Review Board, urged the U.S. bishops June 14 during their spring meeting in Indianapolis to continue to keep their commitment to stopping clergy sexual abuse and supporting victims of abuse “at the forefront” of …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Violence and hatred often are signs that a person is unhappy and feels unloved and unwanted, Pope Francis said. In today’s world, people — especially children and youths — often feel that unless “we are strong, attractive …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Shawn Thew, EPA By ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CNS) — U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana was listed in stable condition after being shot by a gunman early June 14 and transported out of a baseball field in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington. He was scheduled to undergo …

By HOUSTON (CNS) — Local law enforcement and local jurisdictions should not be required to enforce federal immigration law, said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Local law enforcement officials “work long hours to protect our communities” and efforts to charge them …

By SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (CNS) — When U.S. immigration agents rounded up and arrested Chaldean Christians in southeast Michigan June 11, it was “a very strange and painful day for our community in America,” said the head of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, based in Southfield. “With …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People cannot sit back and be indifferent or unresponsive to growing poverty in the world as a privileged minority accumulates “ostentatious wealth,” Pope Francis said. “God created the heavens and the earth for all; yet sadly some have erected barriers, walls and fences, …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Institute for the Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, made a profit of 36 million euros (about $40 million) in 2016, according to its annual report. The institute held assets worth 5.7 billion euros at year’s end, which …