IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By David Agren VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Mercy and mission have a close relationship that calls all Christians to be missionaries who share the joy of the Gospel without trying to force others to believe, Pope Francis said. The joy that comes from conveying God’s love and …

IMAGE: CNS photo/David Maung By David Agren CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (CNS) — Esteban Alanis, 23, once ran with a local gang known as “Los Parqueros,” which would accost people for their cash and cellphones in a working-class neighborhood of southeast Ciudad Juarez. He called the crimes “easy money,” while gang …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Russian Orthodox officials said the planned meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow is not a signal that decades of tension have been resolved, but emphasizes the need to work together on behalf of persecuted Christians in the Middle East. As …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sergei Chirikov, EPA By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After almost three decades of tense Catholic-Russian Orthodox relations, Pope Francis will meet Patriarch Kirill of Moscow Feb. 12 in Cuba on the pope’s way to Mexico. It will be the first-ever meeting of a pope and Moscow …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Simone Orendain By CEBU, Philippines (CNS) — Maria Georgia “Maggie” Cogtas of Cebu told of a childhood without playing, only tough work as a garbage picker at dumpsites, construction sites and on the streets. Cogtas, 21, also told more than 12,000 people at the 51st International Eucharistic Congress …

By VATICAN CITY (CNS) — More than 1,000 “missionaries of mercy” from all over the world will receive a special mandate from Pope Francis to preach and teach about God’s mercy, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella. About 700 of the missionaries who were chosen by Pope Francis will be in Rome …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth By Chaz Muth DRIGGS, Idaho (CNS) — Father Adrian Vazquez bolted out of his rectory in St. Anthony on a cold November morning, brushed a thin layer of snow off of his Subaru Outback, started the engine and raced down the road to make the 50-mile …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Yara Nardi, Reuters By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — Thousands of people waited hours outside a Rome church to glimpse the mortal remains of St. Padre Pio and St. Leopold Mandic, two Capuchins popular as miracle workers and known particularly for the long hours they would spend hearing …

IMAGE: CNS/Katarzyna Artymiak By CEBU, Philippines (CNS) — The Eucharist is supposed to create a new culture, one that is welcoming and only sees the flaws and failures of others as a reminder of one’s own need for God’s mercy, said Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. The Eucharist is the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Junno Arocho Esteves By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Tomorrow’s priests and bishops must be good pastors and not just good scholars, said the secretary of seminaries at the Congregation for Clergy. “The vocation is meant to be lived, not to be argued about, hypothesized over …