By Dennis Sadowski  Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis’ address to the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 25 will mark the fifth papal speech delivered directly to representatives of the world’s governments. His address will come almost 50 years to the day — Oct. 4, 1965 — when Blessed …

By Tom Tracy Catholic News Service MIAMI — More than 180 South Florida Catholics planned to travel to Havana once again for a historic papal visit to Cuba. The trip is the third Miami archdiocesan pilgrimage to Cuba for the three papal visits to the island nation, beginning with St. John …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ 10th foreign trip will be the longest of his pontificate and, with stops in Cuba, three U.S. cities and the United Nations, it also will be a “very complex trip,” the papal spokesman said. Briefing reporters about the trip, Jesuit …

Updated Sept. 14: Pope’s speech scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Staff Report When Pope Francis becomes the first pope to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress, Cincinnatians will have a chance to witness the speech in a unique way. The 10 a.m. speech Sept. 24 will be shown live …

CNA/EWTN News Just 357 priest working to evangelize 11.2 million people, along with 2,000 faithful who offer their homes where there are no church buildings – these are among the aspects that Pope Francis will encounter when he visits Cuba later this month. Pope Francis will be in Cuba Sept. …

Staff Report Later this month Pope Francis will visit the United States for the first time in his pontificate. Papal visits to the U.S. aren’t new, but they’re always newsworthy and Pope Francis will make history by addressing a joint session of congress. Popes have visited many major U.S. cities, …

By John Stegeman The Catholic Telegraph With the issuing of two documents Tuesday morning, Pope Francis announced several changes in the church’s procedure for issuing declarations of nullity pertaining to marriages. No official English translation of the motu proprios has been made available at this time, but various Vatican correspondents …

Staff Report The Archdiocese of Cincinnati sent a letter to local media Wednesday to help clear up confusion in the wake of Pope Francis Sept. 1 letter announcing an expansion of faculties for priests to absolve the sin of abortion. Calling some of the coverage, “misleading and confusing,” the Archdiocese …

Catholic News Service MCALLEN, Texas — At Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, members of the community, most of them volunteers at a respite center for immigrants at Sacred Heart parish hall, were invited to a special event by ABC News, but were not informed in advance of just how special that event …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — In an extraordinary gesture for the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has extended to priests worldwide the authority to absolve women for the sin of abortion and has decreed the full validity during the year of the sacrament of confession celebrated by …