IMAGE: CNS photo/Ettore Ferrari, EPA By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Families need to open their doors to God and his love or they will harbor an individualism that endangers peace and joy, Pope Francis said on the feast of the Holy Family. Recognizing and encouraging the importance of …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christmas is a reminder that through the birth of Christ, hope and peace are possible and that only through his grace can humanity find peaceful solutions to the world’s most difficult problems, Pope Francis said. “Only God’s mercy can …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Dan Meloy, The Michigan Catholic By Dan Meloy HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (CNS) — Holiday traditions and rituals are a vital part of each family’s Christmas celebration. When celebrating the birth of Jesus, many Catholic families have their own customs passed down for centuries through the generations, and this is …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis was selected to be the 2016 recipient of Germany’s Charlemagne Prize for his commitment in promoting European unity. The announcement was made Dec. 23 in Aachen, Germany by the prize’s executive committee. Citing his address to the …

IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Take care of your marriage and aging parents, play with your kids, and always make peace at the end of the day, Pope Francis told Vatican employees and their families. Try to live out the Year of Mercy every day …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Oscar Durand By Oscar Durand IRBIL, Iraq (CNS) — Habiba Daud remembers Christmas in Qaraqosh as beautiful. The festivities would start days before with the preparation of traditional food and desserts. Families celebrated around a large Christmas tree. On Christmas her family and friends gathered to enjoy the …

NEW YORK — With “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (Disney) (PG-13), the most popular series in film history resurfaces after a 10-year hiatus. This is the seventh installment in the franchise as well as the first feature in a planned third trilogy. Like its predecessors, it’s essentially a family-friendly piece of entertainment, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec By Nancy Wiechec NOGALES, Mexico (CNS) — Kenia Salas, about to play the role of Mary in a Christmastime commemoration popular across Mexico, said she imagines Mary as a woman of strength. “I think she was worried about her baby,” Salas, 17, said before participating in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Alberto Pizzoli, pool via Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — If Pope Francis sees the church as a field hospital after battle, then his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia often looks like the triage tent, with him holding the charts. Instead of a typical …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Joshua Roberts, Reuters By Angela Cave NEW YORK (CNS) — There are still unanswered questions about the legal implications of June’s Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling, but analysts agree religious institutions face big challenges in the months and years to come. The landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges …