IMAGE: CNS photo/Giovanni Portelli, courtesy Right To Life NSW By Catherine Sheehan SYDNEY (CNS) — Thousands of pro-life supporters demonstrated in the streets of Sydney, expressing their opposition to a bill in the New South Wales state parliament that would permit abortion until birth for any reason. The demonstration Aug. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Cori Fugere Urban, Vermont Catholic magazine By Cori Fugere Urban BURLINGTON, Vt. (CNS) — The Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Burlington was quiet on a steamy summer day except for the sound of a fan and occasional banter among the veterans who concentrated on the tiny pieces …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Mark Dadswell, Reuters By MELBOURNE, Australia (CNS) — An Australian appeals court upheld the conviction of Cardinal George Pell on five counts of sexually assaulting two choirboys more than two decades ago. A three-judge panel of the Appeals Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria announced its decision …

IMAGE: CNS photo/ By Peter Finney Jr. NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — In topographically challenged New Orleans, where "running water" can be a pejorative depending on whether it is flowing inside or outside the house, a long-promised, 25-acre stormwater management and flood control project called the Mirabeau Water Garden will be …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Katie Rutter By Katie Rutter CAREY, Ohio (CNS) — With its one stoplight and surrounding cornfields, the small Ohio village of Carey seems an unlikely travel destination. Yet, once a year, an estimated 5,000 visitors swell the town population to more than double. For nine days, climaxing on …

IMAGE: CNS photos/courtesy Xaverian Missionaries By Francis Njuguna NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) — The grisly murders of missionary priests and a local priest, a lay volunteer and 40 seminarians in Burundi are the focus of a recently opened investigation into their sainthood cause. Catholic bishops in this central African nation June …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Global Sisters Report, courtesy of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley By Soli Salgado and Dan Stockman SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (CNS) — "Holy chaos" is how Sister Norma Pimentel describes her ministry. As the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley on the U.S.-Mexico border, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Brad Birkholz, for The Compass By Patricia Kasten APPLETON, Wis. (CNS) — Goats tend to get a bad rap in church traditions — with the devil often portrayed with goat horns and hoofs, and Jesus speaking of separating goats from sheep, as told in Matthew 25, verses 32 …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a world where many are often marginalized and discriminated against, the message of Jesus’ love must continue to be proclaimed, a Vatican official wrote on behalf of Pope Francis. In a message sent Aug. 16 to the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Franciscan Friars Conventual By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — Leading five seminarians on an eight-week summer service program largely through Appalachia and South America, Conventual Franciscan Father Michael Lasky saw a new awareness rising in the young men’s minds. It started by talking with visitors to the …