IMAGE: CNS/Bloomsbury By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While retired Pope Benedict XVI said organization and governance are not his strong suits, he also said, “I am unable to see myself as a failure.” In a book-length interview with the German author Peter Seewald, Pope Benedict said that when …

By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — It’s becoming increasingly difficult for Chicagoan Mary Jennett to see and hear daily about the hardship and persecution Christians face, especially in the Middle East. So Jennett decided to do something about it by attending a Sept. 7-9 convention in Washington organized by In …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paramount By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Honoring Star Trek’s 50th anniversary, the Vatican newspaper said the overwhelmingly popular series gave the world a model of peace, tolerance and cooperation at a time of global tensions. The show — whose first episode aired Sept. 8, 1966 — …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Though generally renown for Gregorian chant, curating libraries and offering quiet retreats, some Benedictine monks also brew beer, run farms or play electric guitar, like Abbot Primate Nokter Wolf. Ending his third and final term as leader of the confederation …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Dan Meloy, The Michigan Catholic By Dan Meloy DETROIT (CNS) — In a city with the second-highest murder rate and highest violent crime rate in the country, peace can often feel like a hopeless cause in Detroit. But on a warm August night, with thunderstorms looming, at the …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God did not send his son into the world to cast off the wicked but to offer them a path to conversion through mercy and love, Pope Francis said. Those who object to Jesus’ mercy toward sinners often create …

IMAGE: CNS photo.Paul Jeffrey By Paul Jeffrey MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — As the body count rises in the Philippines’ war on drugs, a Catholic priest is trying to create a space where healing takes precedence over killing. On Sept. 1, 20 drug users surrendered to police under the watchful eye …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Joe Woolhead By Beth Griffin MAMARONECK, N.Y. (CNS) — Fifteen years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks decimated the twin towers in lower Manhattan, the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center rises out of the ground, a palpable symbol of triumph and optimism. The tallest skyscraper in the Western …

IMAGE: CNS photo/John Riley, EPA By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The last three months of the Year of Mercy include jubilee celebrations for the imprisoned and for homeless people. Releasing a schedule of liturgical celebrations over which Pope Francis will preside, the Vatican included Holy Year Masses …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Love for those society considers “useless” or even a bother led St. Teresa of Kolkata to a courageous defense of the unborn, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Like prophets and saints before her, Mother Teresa would not “kneel down before anyone …