IMAGE: CNS photo/Katie Rutter By Katie Rutter FERDINAND, Ind. (CNS) — The sights and sounds of Christmas brightened the massive dome of the Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand as six Sisters of St. Benedict rang out "Silent Night" on hand bells. The gentle chimes of the season soothed the hundreds …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Kacper Pempel, Reuters By Jonathan Luxmoore The Vatican challenged countries gathered for the 24th U.N. Climate Change Conference to focus on the needs of the present and the future as it worked to take swift action. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, addressed the conference, COP24, in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Advent season is a time of preparation for the coming of the prince of peace and not a time of making war with those around you, Pope Francis said. As Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Reuters By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — The revelation in late November that a Chinese researcher had edited genes in human embryos and then implanted them in a woman was "a train wreck of a thing to do," said an ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Giuseppe Lami, EPA By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Leading thousands of pilgrims in prayer, Pope Francis lit a candle in remembrance of the people of Syria, especially innocent children tormented by the country’s eight-year conflict. "May this flame of hope and many flames of hope …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Giuseppe Lami, EPA By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians can turn Christmas into a "pagan" or "mundane" holiday by focusing on the gifts and the tree rather than on the birth of Jesus and his promise to come again, Pope Francis said. Celebrating the beginning of …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Rick Wilking, Reuters By Julie Asher WASHINGTON (CNS) — When he was running for re-election in 1992, President George H.W. Bush told Catholic News Service that he believed that a strong religious faith could provide "an extra shot of strength when you need it." "I don’t believe you …

IMAGE: CNS photo/George Frey By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — A major scientific report by 13 federal agencies that concludes that climate change poses dire economic consequences to the United States and already is affecting the well being of people serves as a warning that demands action to protect the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — It is not easy living with cancer, but there is always some kind of victory that awaits each person on the horizon, Pope Francis told young oncology patients from Poland. "Your journey in life is a bit difficult, dear …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jim Young, Reuters By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — To hear the voices of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist from Michigan in Washington, the best bet was to listen to them sing at the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony on the Ellipse outside the …