IMAGE: CNS photo/Ezra Acayan, Reuters By Ryan Harms VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Amid continuing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, Catholics in the Philippines have been asked not to kiss or touch the cross when they venerate it on Good Friday, April 10. Instead, they should "genuflect or make …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Georgina Goodwin for Catholic Relief Services By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — When it comes to the three pillars of Lent, almsgiving is a little bit like the middle child, not always getting the attention that prayer and fasting do. The word hardly rolls off the tongue and …

Beijing, China, Feb 17, 2020 / 05:50 pm (CNA).- While the coronavirus outbreak continues, Catholics have sought to provide aid and pastoral care to those threatened by its spread. In mainland China, the death toll of coronavirus has reached 1,771, and more than 70,600 have been infected in the country. …

Philadelphia, Pa., Feb 17, 2020 / 04:45 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Charles Chaput has been a diocesan bishop for 31 years. For most of that time, his people have known where to find him on Sunday afternoon or evening: hearing confessions and offering Mass in his cathedral. Chaput celebrated this weekend …

Washington D.C., Feb 18, 2020 / 02:41 pm (CNA).- American bishops and leaders of Catholic aid agencies have praised Vatican and U.S. responses to the coronavirus outbreak, and encouraged the faithful to stay informed about the disease. “As communities and public health officials respond to the outbreak of novel coronavirus …

Philadelphia, Pa., Feb 18, 2020 / 04:48 pm (CNA).- The hope of Christ is far more profound than hope as the world defines it, Archbishop Nelson Perez said during his homily at his installation Mass as Archbishop of Philadelphia on Tuesday. “Hope is the confident expectation of what God has …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Michael Roytek, courte By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — Boy Scout councils and units sponsored by Catholic parishes and other entities will not be affected by the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed by the Boy Scouts of America, said the chairman of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In January, when Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, published a book supporting mandatory priestly celibacy — a book, which included an essay by retired Pope Benedict XVI — it was "painful," …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Those who are meek are patient, gentle and merciful, drawing people together and salvaging relationships, Pope Francis said. Meekness entails tenaciously holding onto one’s trust in and relationship with God and protectively guarding his gifts of peace, mercy and fraternity, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Knights of Columbus By LEAWOOD, Kan. (CNS) — Virgil C. Dechant, the longest-serving supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, holding the office from 1977 to 2000, died in his sleep Feb. 15 in his hometown of Leawood. He was 89. "God has called home a good man …