IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Missionaries are entrusted with bringing hope to poor Christian communities while building bridges with Muslims and protecting human rights, Pope Francis told a group of men and women missionaries. Meeting with members of the Consolata Missionaries at the …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Saying he was moved by reports of tens of thousands of people gathering for a funeral procession for Ukrainian Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, who died May 31, Pope Francis sent a second message of condolence to the cardinal’s successor. Being grateful for Cardinal Husar’s …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Holy Spirit continues to give Christians different gifts and to call them to share those gifts with each other in a community marked by forgiveness and “unity in diversity,” Pope Francis said on Pentecost. “In a way both creative …

By WASHINGTON (CNS) — Members of the U.S. Senate “have a grave obligation” to make sure their health care reform bill respects life, provides access to adequate health care “for all” and is “truly affordable,” the chairmen of four U.S. bishops’ committees said in a letter to senators released June …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Rhina Guidos By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — In his youth, Jesuit Father Patrick J. Conroy pictured himself as a lawyer and a senator, working in the deep recesses of Washington’s U.S. Capitol building. In a way, he’s doing just that but not in the way he imagined. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Life is a long series of hellos and goodbyes, so don’t be afraid to let go of the past; remember old friends, but keep moving and be open to the new, Pope Francis told students as the school …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians and Muslims, believers in one God, have an obligation to safeguard the world God created, said the Vatican’s annual message to Muslims for the end of Ramadan. “Our vocation to be guardians of God’s handiwork is not optional, nor is it tangential …

By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — A leaked draft rule from the Department of Health and Human Services exempting religious groups from the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act was welcomed by church officials and attorneys representing the Little Sisters of the Poor, one of the groups that challenged …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth By Colleen Dulle WESTMINSTER, Md. (CNS) — For Father Mark Bialek, being a priest means enabling his parishioners to evangelize in new ways. “We can’t just sit comfortably anymore in our parishes and our chanceries and in our homes, but we have to actually go to …

IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Young people often are judged too easily, even though with their limitations they are still a much needed and valuable part of the world, Pope Francis said. Do not forget how God often chose the smallest, because proclaiming the Gospel …