IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Jacob Comello WASHINGTON (CNS) — Lent is a penitent season — a time for sincere reflection on one’s mistakes and a time to make amends for one’s life before the joy of the Easter season. And some say that the Catholic bishops need to be …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Nativity School on James Island By Theresa Stratford JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (CNS) — When Nativity School was approached with the idea of integrating a child with Down syndrome into a regular classroom setting, officials’ first reaction was "sure, let’s figure this out and make it work," said …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Nick Bramhill DUBLIN (CNS) — Alcohol, smoking and chocolates are some of the most well-known vices that people traditionally give up during Lent. But now Massgoers in Ireland are being urged to make what might be an even harder sacrifice throughout the penitential six-week period …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Erik Anderson, Reuters By MELBOURNE, Australia (CNS) — Cardinal George Pell, 77, was sentenced to six years in prison March 13, just over two weeks after a Melbourne court allowed the publication of news that he had been found guilty of sexually abusing two boys. Cardinal Pell, who …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Andreea Campeanu, Reuters By SILVER SPRING, Md. (CNS) — Officials with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network criticized the federal Department of Homeland Security for its March 8 decision granting an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status for South Sudan because it does not include recent arrivals from the …

IMAGE: CNS By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The preparation, blessing and distribution of oils are central to the Catholic Church’s sacraments and rites — and are among some of the church’s most ancient traditions and rituals witnessed during Holy Week. The oils include the oil of the sick, used in the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Chicago Catholic By Michelle Martin CHICAGO (CNS) — When Lauren Teruel Ridloff stepped through the door at Children of Peace School, she said she felt like nothing had changed. "It was a little overwhelming," said Ridloff, 40, who was last in the school — then known …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media via Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Francis asked 50-year-old Benedictine Abbot Bernardo Gianni to lead his Lenten retreat, the abbot said he told the pope he felt "very inadequate." "The pope responded to me that that was a great precondition for …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tiksa Negeri, Reuters By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — Four Catholic Relief Service staff members on their way to a training session in Nairobi, Kenya, were among the passengers aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed moments after takeoff in the east African nation. The accident March 10 …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis welcomed top officials of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Vatican the day before the officials inaugurated their first temple in the city of Rome. The Vatican included the pope’s meeting with Russell …