IMAGE: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — When Pope Francis accepted a proposal at the Vatican May 12 to form a commission to study the possibility of women serving as deacons today, it generated plenty of buzz. The pope’s agreement on the idea — raised by …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Watan Yar, EPA By David Agren MEXICO CITY (CNS) — A Catholic bishop in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero has called for compassion toward the impoverished populations harvesting opium poppies out of necessity, saying such people are not sinners and are neglected by the government. He asked …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Allana Haynes WASHINGTON (CNS) — People of faith have the responsibility to “advocate for their faith,” not only through good works, but on spiritual realms — one being through prayer, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, said May 17. He made the comments at the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Lucy Nicholson, Reuters By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Obama administration’s May 13 directive on transgender access to bathrooms “that treats ‘a student’s gender identity as the student’s sex’ is deeply disturbing,” said the chairmen of two U.S. Catholic bishops’ committees. “The guidance fails to address a number of …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann, Catholic Standard By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Supreme Court May 16 sent the Zubik v. Burwell case, which challenges the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive requirement for employers, back to the lower courts. The justices’ unanimous decision, explained in a nine-page unsigned opinion, was …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Governments work best when they are secular, not confessional, but they must give ample space for people to express their religious beliefs, including by respecting the right of conscientious objection, Pope Francis told the French Catholic newspaper La Croix. While legislatures must “discuss, …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Those who seek only power and greatness, especially within the church, follow a different path than Jesus, who told his disciples to serve and not to be served, Pope Francis said in a morning homily. Preaching May 17 during Mass in his …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Robert M. Longo By Ed Wilkinson BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CNS) — Pope Francis has rebranded the Catholic Church and the papacy, and the media have taken notice. That was the message delivered by Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, who delivered the keynote address May 11 at the Brooklyn Diocese’s observance …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Barbara Johnston, University of Notre Dame By Ann Carey NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) — The University of Notre Dame conferred it prestigious Laetare Medal on Vice President Joe Biden and former House Speaker John Boehner without incident at graduation May 15, but the controversy over the recipients still …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Alessaandro Bianchi, Reuters) By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — True piety and evangelical pity are found together in those who are moved by the pain of others, take action to help them and, therefore, share God’s mercy, Pope Francis said. “We are called to cultivate attitudes of …