IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Lent is a time to remove all distractions and bitterness from one’s life in order to better hear God and those who suffer silently and need help, Pope Francis said. "It is the right time to turn off the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Melissa Moon, Detroit Catholic By Michael Stechschulte DETROIT (CNS) — There’s no such thing as the perfect Catholic family. Days of joy, celebration and happiness can be followed by challenges, heartbreak and, at times, chaos brought on by contemporary hectic lifestyles. At their best, however, Father Stephen Pullis, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Pontifical Academy for Life has invited the leaders of Microsoft and IBM — two of the world’s leading developers of AI software — to sign a charter calling for an ethical framework and guidelines for the field of …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The most important members of the Catholic Church are not the ones who hold lofty titles and high positions but rather those who humbly serve others, Pope Francis said. "Who is the most important person in the church? …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Flavio Lo Scalzo, Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With the biggest two days of celebration and costume parades left, the famous pre-Lenten “Carnevale” of Venice was canceled as were Ash Wednesday services and even funeral Masses throughout the diocese. The Archdiocese of Milan also issued …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Becket Religious Liberty for All By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Supreme Court announced Feb. 24 that in its next term it will examine if the city of Philadelphia can exclude a Catholic social services agency from the city’s foster care program because the agency …

Paris, France, Feb 21, 2020 / 04:01 pm (CNA).- French officials are hopeful that parts of the plaza of Notre-Dame de Paris, as well as the church’s crypt, will be re-opened roughly a year after a fire ravaged the roof and much of the interior of the cathedral. Emmanuel Grégoire, …

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Feb 22, 2020 / 08:30 am (CNA).- The Vatican announced Saturday the approval of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager and computer programmer, who died in 2006. The miracle involved the healing of a Brazilian child suffering from …

By Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Feb 24, 2020 / 03:34 am (CNA).- There is an urgent need for personal conversion, without which the temptations of Satan, and the presence of evil, create a “hell here on earth,” Pope Francis said Monday in his 2020 Lenten message. “Christian joy flows from …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The only acceptable form of extremism for a Christian is an "extremism of love," Pope Francis said, concelebrating Mass with bishops from throughout the Mediterranean basin. "’Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ This is the …