IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Being a priest is not a job or fulfilling an employment contract but is a gift from God that should be contemplated and treasured as such, Pope Francis said. Those who turn ordained ministry into an occupation "lose the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Daniel Sone By Tom Dermody PEORIA, Ill. (CNS) — Acknowledging evidence that "for several generations" the Catholic Church has not sufficiently taught its core truths, Bishop Daniel R. Jenky has called for all ministries of the Diocese of Peoria to be "intentionally centered" on the Real Presence in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church will endure, despite the frailty and sins of its members, because it is God’s project, Pope Francis said. Continuing his series of audience talks about the Acts of the Apostles and the early Christian community Sept. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Randy Sager, ABC photo archives By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cokie Roberts, a broadcast journalist and political commentator who spoke publicly about her Catholic faith and her admiration for the Sacred Heart sisters who taught her, died Sept. 17 due to complications from breast cancer. She was …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A delegation of U.S. bishops and laypeople came to Rome to share with Pope Francis and Vatican officials the joyful experiences and valuable recommendations that came out of last year’s Fifth National Encuentro. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By SYDNEY (CNS) — Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of child sexual abuse offenses, has lodged an application with Australia’s High Court to appeal his guilty verdict. The application to the country’s highest court is Cardinal Pell’s last avenue of …

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said giving fragments of St. Peter’s bones to the head of the church founded by Peter’s brother, St. Andrew, was meant to be a reminder and encouragement of the journey toward Christian unity. In a letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Pope Francis …

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will finally fulfill his desire to be a missionary to Japan when he visits the country, as well as Thailand, Nov. 20-26, the Vatican announced. Pope Francis will leave Rome Nov. 19, arriving in Thailand for a visit Nov. 20-23, said Matteo Bruni, director …

MIAMI (CNS) — A second Florida-to-Bahamas round-trip humanitarian cruise was set to sail the weekend of Sept. 14, weather-permitting, carrying supplies, transport specialty personnel, power generators and volunteers. The previous week, the Grand Bahama cruise ship arrived at its home port in West Palm Beach with some 1,100 Bahamian storm …

IMAGE: CNS illustration/Emily Thompson By Brian Fraga The Catholic Church in the United States has spent a staggering amount of money — close to $4 billion in the past 20 years — to investigate, adjudicate and prevent clergy sex abuse, and to compensate victims for the harm they’ve suffered. And …