IMAGE: CNS photo/handout via EPA By Jonathan Luxmoore OXFORD, England (CNS) — Church leaders in Central African Republic said the pope’s Nov. 29-30 visit will go ahead, despite warnings that international peacekeepers may be unable to ensure his safety. “We’re full of hope the Holy Father’s presence will bring great …

IMAGE: CNS photo/larry Smith, EPA By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Barack Obama may have denied the permit for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to carry tar sands oil from Alberta in western Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, but Nebraskans Susan and Jim Dunavan aren’t so sure …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Laypeople are not second-class members at the service of the church hierarchy, but are disciples of Christ called to “enliven every environment, every activity and every human relationship according to the Gospel,” Pope Francis said. The pope sent a message Nov. 10 …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Cathol By Michelle Martin CHICAGO (CNS) — The execution-style murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee was not what God wanted to happen, Father Michael Pfleger said at Tyshawn’s funeral Nov. 10. “This is the face of the reality of evil,” Father Pfleger said. “This is evil right …

IMAGE: Nancy Wiechec By Nancy Wiechec KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) — Guide Ewa Basiura grasped a heavy iron cuff chained to the side of St. Mary’s Basilica. “Any idea what this was used for?” she asked her American tour group. No one ventured an answer. This is where wayward Catholics were …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Ali Abbas, EPA By Simon Caldwell MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — The patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church has called upon Iraq’s president to veto a law that will force some Christian children to convert to Islam. The Assyrian International News Agency reported that Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako of …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples strongly denied accusations of cronyism in renting out properties in Rome. The congregation released a statement Nov. 11 after several news reports claimed that Vatican-owned apartments were rented far below market value and that several …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Lisa Johnston, St. Louis Review By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A family that chooses to watch TV or play with their smartphones rather than talk at the dinner table is “hardly a family,” Pope Francis said. “When children at the dinner table are glued to …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz FLORENCE, Italy (CNS) — If God and his word are to help people, Christians have to be in touch with what is really happening in people’s lives, Pope Francis said during an afternoon Mass. God became human to live among people, to hear their …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz FLORENCE, Italy (CNS) — Meeting workers and addressing a major gathering of the Catholic Church in Italy, Pope Francis demanded an end to economic exploitation, to clerics “obsessed” with power, to apathy among youth and to a cold, fearful church that forgets Christ is …