IMAGE: REUTERS By Doreen Abi Raad BEIRUT (CNS) — Suicide bombers attacked a predominantly Christian village in northeast Lebanon twice in one day, and residents called on the government to support them, saying Islamic State fighters were holed up on the outskirts of town. Two separate sets of four suicide …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Toby Melville, Reuters By Jonathan Luxmoore OXFORD, England (CNS) — European Catholic leaders expressed concern that the decision by United Kingdom voters to leave the European Union threatened unity across the continent, but they also cautioned the EU bloc to rethink its values and priorities. The concerns arose …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden YEREVAN, Armenia (CNS) — Applying the common faith they professed publicly earlier in the day, Pope Francis and Armenian Apostolic Catholicos Karekin II urged common action on behalf of persecuted Christians, welcome for refugees and defense of the family. The pope and the Oriental …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VAGHARSHAPAT, Armenia (CNS) — Recognizing that the church of Christ is one and that Christian divisions are a “scandal” to the world, Pope Francis and Armenian Apostolic Catholicos Karekin II offered their faithful the example of praying and working together. Approaching the end of …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden GYUMRI, Armenia (CNS) — Acts of love and kindness must be a Christian’s “calling card,” the characteristic that identifies them more than anything, Pope Francis told Catholics in northern Armenia. Traveling June 25 to Gyumri, a city with a significant Catholic population and one …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden YEREVAN, Armenia (CNS) — In silence and in prayer while a mournful hymn was sung, Pope Francis formally paid tribute to the estimated 1.5 million Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks in 1915-18. Visiting the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, a monument to the martyrs, Pope Francis wrote …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jeff Bruno, The Monitor By Patrick T. Brown TRENTON, N.J. (CNS) — “What’s the point of working so hard in school if you’re going to end up cutting grass?” Those words stick with Jose Aguilar two decades later. He was sitting in a New Jersey classroom, a teenager …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters By Cindy Wooden YEREVAN, Armenia (CNS) — A solid, sorrow-tested Christian faith gives believers the strength to overcome even the most horrific adversity, forgive one’s enemies and live in peace, Pope Francis said. Arriving in Armenia June 24, Pope Francis went straight to the twin …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ARMENIA (CNS) — Commenting on the peace agreement reached in Colombia, Pope Francis hailed the end of “more than 50 years of war and guerilla warfare and so much bloodshed.” Pope Francis told reporters flying with him to Armenia …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — As Orlando, Florida, and the nation moves on from the shock of the June 12 nightclub attack, many are finding that there is no set path to find solace. But in the midst of collective mourning over the worst …