IMAGE: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has appointed six men and six women to a commission to study the issue of women deacons, particularly their ministry in the early church. In addition to the 12 members named Aug. 2, the pope tapped …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Dale Gavlak By Dale Gavlak IRBIL, Iraq (CNS) — The upcoming military offensive to root out Islamic State militants from Mosul and surrounding villages will be a “huge challenge,” the United Nations says, as it expects about 1.5 million people to flee the warfare in a short amount …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a world traumatized by war, young people gathered for World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland, gave strong signs of hope and brotherhood, Pope Francis said. World Youth Day was a “prophetic sign for Poland and Europe” …

IMAGE: CNS illustration/Liz Agbey By Christine Bordelon GREAT FALLS, Mont. (CNS) — As U.S. Air Force Maj. Justin Secrest organizes moving boxes in the family garage, his wife, Jennifer, surveys the kitchen to see what she can do without before the movers come in a few weeks to take their …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jacky Naegelen, Reuters By ROUEN, France (CNS) — During the Aug. 2 funeral Mass for Father Jacques Hamel, killed a week earlier by men claiming allegiance to the Islamic State, Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen stressed the need for forgiveness. “As brutal and unfair and horrible as (Father) …

By Junno Arocho Esteves KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) — The memory and pain of the world’s silence during the Shoah should be a call to action for Jews to defend those suffering persecution today, especially Christians, said the chief rabbi of Poland. While Jews have experienced expulsions and holocausts for the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Agencja Gazeta, Jakub Porzycki, via Reuters By Jonathan Luxmoore KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) — Panama, which will host World Youth Day in 2019, is a small country, but the head of its bishops’ conference has no doubts the church will be able to organize the event. “Panama, with its …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann, Catholic Standard By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Aware of the risk of being called naive or being accused of spouting platitudes, Pope Francis called on young people to model for adults the paths of mercy and respect, and then demonstrated what he meant. “Today …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO KRAKOW, POLAND (CNS) — The world, not religion, is waging a war in pieces, Pope Francis said. While it “is not at as organic” as past world wars, “it is organized and it is war,” the pope told …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) — An economy that focuses on the God of money, not human beings, is the foundation of terrorism, Pope Francis said. Speaking to journalists aboard his return flight from Krakow, Poland, July 31, the pope …