IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) — Pope Francis is throwing open the doors to the papal apartment — including the bedroom where popes have slept — in the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo. The palace was for centuries the summer residence of the Roman …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In its ministry to young people, and especially in vocations promotion work, church workers must step out of the sacristy and take seriously the questions and concerns of the young, Pope Francis said. Young people are searching for meaning, and the best response …

IMAGE: Nancy Wiechec By Nancy Wiechec GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (CNS) — Mary Morris was lured to the Chapel of the Sacred Heart inside of the national park by a small wooden road sign. “I didn’t know the chapel was here,” the Hampshire, Illinois, resident told Catholic News Service …

IMAGE: CNS/Nancy Wiechec By Nancy Wiechec MOOSE, Wyo. (CNS) — Shirley Craighead knows a thing or two about grizzly bears. She and the bears live in the same place. “I live here and love it!” Craighead emphatically told Catholic News Service in her home in Moose, just shy of the …

IMAGE: CNS/Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ recent insistence on “walking ecumenism,” the notion that Christians will draw closer to each other as they work together to help the poor, should resonate well with Lutherans and Catholics in Sweden. “Swedes are known to be people of …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth By Chaz Muth GATLINBURG, Tenn. (CNS) — When Huntsville, Alabama, resident Patrick Eads prepared to take his family on a trip to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park last August, he made sure to pack necessary vacation items, which included the address to the nearest Catholic …

IMAGE: CNS/Oscar Durand By Oscar Durand ISTANBUL (CNS) — Yako Hanna, 36, always keeps an eye on his phone waiting for a call that would change his life. “Anytime it rings, you think it is the U.N., so you have to be careful. Even if you go to the bathroom, …

IMAGE: NS photo/Lucy Nicholson, Reuters By WASHINGTON (CNS) — Emails released by WikiLeaks and allegedly hacked from the server of a top aide to Hillary Clinton have ignited a fierce exchange over the tone and content of the messages. Those weighing in include the president of the U.S. bishops’ conference …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jon Nazca, Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While donation campaigns and charitable contributions for the needy are important, true Christian charity involves a more personal touch, Pope Francis said. Coming face to face with the poor may pose a challenge and tempt people to …

IMAGE: CNS/Nancy Wiechec By Nancy Wiechec YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (CNS) — Jesuit Father Rick Malloy very much enjoys summers in Yellowstone National Park. “I’m a fanatical fisherman,” he admitted. “And a good one, too.” But exceptional fishing is not the main thing that brings him to Wyoming summer after …