IMAGE: CNS photo/Larry W. Smith, EPA By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — While today’s family farmers worldwide are tested as never before, the church believes they can contribute to a more just ordering of life, said a new document issued Dec. 7. “The circumstances facing the family in farming are …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Even though Pope Francis was planning a “normal” workday for his birthday, well-wishers can help brighten it up with special tweets and emails. Turning 80 Dec. 17, Pope Francis was going to start the day with Mass together with cardinals living in Rome, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/SANA news agency By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to do everything possible to end the war in his country, to protect civilians and to ensure humanitarian agencies can deliver emergency aid to the people. Syria’s SANA news agency reported …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope Francis described Mary as a strong woman who inspires believers to give “flesh to the Gospel” in societies often marked by distrust and blindness. “To look at the Guadalupana is to …

IMAGE: CNS/Jaclyn Lippelmann, Catholic Standard By Kelly Seegers WASHINGTON (CNS) — People on the sidewalks of Washington momentarily stopped their holiday shopping and paused in the cold Dec. 10 to take in the sight of hundreds of pilgrims processing through the streets alongside images of Mary. One procession began at …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Mohamed Hossam, EPA By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis phoned Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria Dec. 12, expressing his prayers and condolences for the previous day’s terrorist attack at the Cairo cathedral that left 25 people dead. “We are united in the blood …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Christmas approached, St. Peter’s Square was filled with balloons, singing and an incredible variety of Baby Jesus figurines — everything from plastic figures that would fit in a walnut shell to those that were larger-than-life sized. For Pope Francis, …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Christmas tree and Nativity scene are symbols of God’s love and hope, reminding us to contemplate the beauty of creation and welcome the marginalized, Pope Francis said. Baby Jesus, whose parents could find no decent shelter and had to …

IMAGE: CNS photo/NASA handout via Reuters By COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNS) — Astronaut legend and decorated World War II pilot John H. Glenn, who served for 24 years in the U.S. Senate and inspired young people to pursue careers in sciences and engineering, died Dec. 8. He was 95. Born in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano, handout By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — In two long interviews with Jesuit publications, director Martin Scorsese described his new film “Silence” as a major stage in his pilgrimage of faith, a pilgrimage that included flunking out of the minor seminary, investigating other religions and recognizing …