IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican released Pope Francis’ liturgical schedule for March and April, including Holy Week and Easter. The pope’s schedule includes a penitential celebration and a consistory for several causes of canonization. However, the schedule does not say where he …

IMAGE: CNS photo/David Gray, Reuters By SYDNEY (CNS) — The Vatican’s prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal George Pell, told a special hearing of Australia’s Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that he was not trying “to defend the indefensible.” Commencing the morning of Feb. …

By SYDNEY (CNS) — The Vatican’s prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal George Pell, told a special hearing of Australia’s Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that he was not trying “to defend the indefensible.” Commencing the morning of Feb. 29 — 10 p.m. Feb. …

IMAGE: CNS/Bob Roller By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — By reflecting on the Passion of Christ, the author of the Way of the Cross meditations for Pope Francis’ Good Friday service said he will focus on the suffering unfolding in the world today and how “the martyrs of the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Robert Duncan By Robert Duncan VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Even in the midst of bombings, Vatican ambassadors stay put, risking their lives while working to end what Pope Francis has termed a “piecemeal” World War III, said the Vatican minister of foreign affairs. “Let’s not be kidding ourselves …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Andrew Gombert, EPA By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — If it’s spring, it must be corporate annual general meeting season. For investors concerned about corporate accountability and transparency, it’s one of the busiest times of the year. The annual general meetings give shareholders the chance to publicly engage …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Erico Waga, EPA By Bronwen Dachs CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) — Malaria and cold nights add to the suffering of the increasing number of Mozambicans arriving at a makeshift camp in Malawi to escape violence at home, said a church worker in Malawi. About half of the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Ettore Ferrari, EPA By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Francis planned the Year of Mercy and the opening of the Holy Door, he did not mean to give the starting signal for a frenzied wave of pilgrims to Rome. More than call to sign …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Georgi Licovski, EPA By WASHINGTON (CNS) — As a mid-March deadline approached for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to make a decision on whether to make a declaration of genocide in the Middle East, the Knights of Columbus, based in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Washington-based group …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jose Cabezas, Reuters By SANTIAGO NONUALCO, El Salvador (CNS) — North Americans and Salvadorans gathered Dec. 2 at the precise spot where four churchwomen were killed 35 years ago to emphasize that their work for the country’s poor remains alive. “It is important for us to remember that …