By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In the face of difficulty, it’s natural to hope just to get by, but being Christian means patiently enduring trials and overcoming oppression with love, Pope Francis said at a Mass that included special prayers for China. During the Mass …

By Seth Gonzales Catholic News Service GRAPEVINE, Texas (CNS) — The Boy Scouts of America‘s National Council voted late May 23 to allow openly gay youths admittance as members into the 103-year-old organization, effective Jan. 1, 2014. In a statement, the organization said the decision to review the organization’s ban …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The head of the Vatican office promoting new evangelization said that while he does not like the terms “Francis effect” or “Francis bump,” it is true that “Pope Francis has touched the hearts and minds of many people.” Archbishop Rino …

By Adam and Margaret Shaw Catholic News Service  NEW YORK (CNS) — In the words of Catholic novelist J.R.R. Tolkien, there may be only “one ring to rule them all.” But there is certainly more than one videogame adaptation out there of director Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” …

By Catholic News Service  BOSTON (CNS) — The first name released of someone killed in the April 15 explosions at the Boston Marathon was that of 8-year-old Martin Richard, whose picture in newspapers showed him grinning broadly, apparently at his first Communion. Two bombs that exploded near the end of …

By Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON (CNS) — An April 5 decision by a New York federal judge to lift age limits on purchases of over-the-counter emergency contraceptives should be “appealed and overturned,” according to an official of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops. “No public health consideration justifies the unregulated …

By Joseph Austin Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The University of Dallas, an independent Catholic university, has a “flavor that you can’t get certainly at secular institutions,” president Thomas Keefe told Catholic News Service. “We are very clear in our specific mission distinctiveness” to promote the Catholic identity of …

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Authorities announced that at least 24 “penitents” are expected to be nailed on the cross on Good Friday, an annual ritual meant to atone for sins and give thanks to God for blessings. But the country’s Catholic bishops warned the faithful against resorting to extreme forms …

By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The legal question of the constitutionality of California’s law banning same-sex marriage may take a back seat to consideration of whether the time is “ripe” for a national-level ruling, suggested the Supreme Court justices’ questioning in the first of two major …

CLICK FOR THE LATEST NEWS ON POPE FRANCIS. By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has decided not to move into the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace, but to live in a suite in the Vatican guesthouse where he has been since the beginning of …