IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Francis established the Year of Mercy, a full slate of Jubilee events were slotted into his already packed calendar for 2016. A typical “business as usual” year for a pope is already full with meetings, liturgies and foreign …

IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — To follow a path toward Christ, one must follow the good path of forgiveness, peace and solidarity, and avoid following the evil path of vengeance, war and selfishness, Pope Francis told hundreds of Italian children. The members of Catholic …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Georgetown University By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — Even though he wasn’t on the program, Vice President Joe Biden stole the show at a Georgetown University program promoting peace in wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. Laila Brothers, a Georgetown freshman, had just given …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth By Chaz Muth NEW YORK (CNS) — Frank Chambers was looking for a peaceful moment as he strolled through the noisy holiday exhibits at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library on a recent December afternoon. “I love the antique trains that are running through the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Debbie Hill By Judith Sudilovsky BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) — Though the Christmas tree was lit in Nativity Square in the traditional ceremony, and some traditional pre-Christmas parades have taken place, the Christmas spirit this year in Bethlehem has been dampened by the political situation which, since October, …

By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — Even though he wasn’t on the program, Vice President Joe Biden stole the show at a Georgetown University program promoting peace in wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. Laila Brothers, a Georgetown freshman, had just given a moving reflection about …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pilgrims must beware of people who seek to use the Jubilee Year to profit off of them since salvation is a gift that cannot be bought, Pope Francis said. “Be careful! Beware of someone who is sly or sneaky …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — European experts on preventing financial crimes praised the Vatican for significant steps in establishing laws and procedures in line with international protocols, but called for “real results” in cracking down on infractions and prosecuting offenses. Moneyval — the Council of Europe’s Committee of …

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis has appointed Father James P. Powers, a priest of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, and currently its administrator, to be bishop of the diocese. The appointment was announced Dec. 15 in Washington by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the U.S. A native of …

IMAGE: CNS By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Creationism vs. evolution, scientific method vs. ethics, science vs. faith, the church’s censure and rehabilitation of Galileo Galilei. For centuries, there have been countless confusion and arguments pitting science against faith as if they were two opposing forces. In the …