By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians must beware of a “polite” persecution that is cloaked in a disguise of “culture, modernity and progress,” Pope Francis said. Those who suffer this kind of persecution are not persecuted “for confessing Christ’s name, but for wanting to have and manifesting …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Peter Ringenberg, Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture By Ann Carey NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) — A standing ovation in a packed Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame greeted the Little Sisters of the Poor who were on campus April 9 to …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Jeffrey By Paul Jeffrey IRBIL, Iraq (CNS) — A delegation of U.S. Catholic leaders visiting northern Iraq was challenged to go home and work for peace in the troubled region. “You have come to listen to your brothers and sisters in Iraq who are suffering. The situation …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Catholic New World By Michelle Martin CHICAGO (CNS) — Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago welcomed the release of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”), saying the document might be surprising to some for its insistence on the need for mercy and …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A heart that clings to the letter of the law is closed to the Holy Spirit and God’s truth, Pope Francis said at morning Mass. Such hardened hearts often were behind the persecution of innocent men and women seeking to follow God’s will, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy of Salesians By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis appealed for the release of all people being held captive in the world’s battle zones, including Salesian Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, who was abducted in Yemen. “I renew my appeal for the liberation of all people kidnapped …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on love and the family invites the church to see the daily struggles of families as an opportunity to encounter people the way Jesus encountered people with mercy throughout his life, Catholic observers said. Because of …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ document on the family reflects an “organic development” of church teaching and doctrine, said Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, theologian and participant in both synods that dealt with the topic. “There are true innovations, but no break” in tradition, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sid Hastings By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ hymn to love and family life is more like a country song than a Disney tune. In “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”), Pope Francis’ postsynodal apostolic exhortation on the family, there is passion and devotion, but …

Pope Francis’ latest writings on the family include a strong affirmation of the need to welcome children even in difficult circumstances. He praises large families and adopted families, rejects abortion as “horrendous,” reflects on the errors of “gender ideology,” and advises pastoral care for people with same-sex attraction. “Each child …