CNA/EWTN News Pope Francis took the opportunity during an address to families in the Philippines to praise Blessed Pope Paul VI’s encyclical opposing contraception and affirming Church teaching on sexuality and human life. The Pope spoke Friday to families gathered at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila during his …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Commenting on recent killings by Islamist terrorists at a Paris newspaper, Pope Francis condemned killing in the name of God, but said freedom of expression should be limited by respect for religion and that …

CNA/EWTN News Pope Francis on Wednesday appointed Monsignor Joseph Hanefeldt, a priest of the Omaha archdiocese and a Nebraska native, as the eighth Bishop of Grand Island, which serves Catholics in central and western Nebraska.

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  ANTIPOLO, Philippines — Domingueto and Olimpia Ranola are proud of their daughter, Maricel, the only one of their nine children to go to college and one of the few young people from San Isidoro Labrador Parish chosen to attend Pope Francis’ Jan. 18 meeting …

Catholic News Service ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Dominican Sister Donna Markham has been chosen to succeed Father Larry Snyder as the new president of Catholic Charities USA. The announcement was made Jan. 12 at Catholic Charities headquarters in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington.

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — A panel of theologians advising the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints‘ Causes voted unanimously to recognize the late Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero as a martyr, according to the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference.

By Kevin J. Jones & Andrea Gagliarducci CNA/EWTN News  Pope Francis has voiced his “strongest condemnation” of the “horrible attack” on a French satirical newspaper that published insulting cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed, and he urged opposition to all hatred and violence. “Whatever may be the motivation, homicidal violence is …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — Five cardinals dedicated a new wing of the U.S. seminary in Rome, its first major addition in more than 60 years. Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who as secretary of state is considered the highest Vatican official under the pope, led …

By Alan Holdren & Andrea Gagliarducci CNA/EWTN News  VATICAN CITY — Although it’s still not official, the Vatican’s Secretary of State confirmed today that Pope Francis will most likely visit Washington D.C. and New York during his visit to the United States. “I think the Pope will go to United Nations, …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — Underscoring the geographical diversity of his selections, Pope Francis named 15 cardinal electors “from 14 nations of every continent, showing the inseparable link between the church of Rome and the particular churches present in the world.”