By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Seeing the elderly only as a burden “is ugly. It’s a sin,” Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience. “We must reawaken our collective sense of gratitude, appreciation and hospitality, helping the elderly know they are a living part of …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When the Bible says, “though your sins be like scarlet” God will make them “white as snow,” it exaggerates, just like God exaggerates in his willingness to forgive people, Pope Francis said. “The Lord forgives generously,” the pope said March …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY  — Drop the innocent look and the habit of judging others, Pope Francis said; recognizing one’s own faults and failings is the first requirement of being a good Christian. In fact, paradoxically, one finds peace and relief in judging one’s own sins, …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Catholics are encouraged to make going to confession a significant part of their lives during Lent, Pope Francis offered some quick tips to help people prepare for the sacrament of penance. After a brief explanation of why people should …

By Laura Ieraci Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — The Lenten journey of conversion requires Christians to rediscover the “deepest truth” about themselves, cast off their masks and take on the courage to live truth, a prominent Carmelite priest told the pope and Vatican officials. In the first days of …

By Laura Ieraci Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — A 10th-century Armenian monk has been named among the doctors of the church. Pope Francis approved the designation for St. Gregory of Narek during a meeting Feb. 21 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. The church …

USCCB WASHINGTON—In the wake of the brutal murders of twenty one Coptic Christians at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Libya, increased support to protect religious minorities and civilians should be combined with adequate humanitarian assistance and other assets, said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic …

  By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY  — The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church invited Pope Francis to visit the war-torn nation, saying it would help bring peace. “It would be a prophetic gesture that would show the power of prayer and Christian solidarity, give us courage …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — The Catholic Church cannot call itself church if it is a “closed caste” where the sick, the wounded and sinners are shunned, Pope Francis told the 20 new cardinals he created. “The way of the church is precisely to leave her …

By Elise Harris CNA/EWTN News  Pope Francis offered his Tuesday morning Mass for the repose of the souls of the 21 Egyptian Christians killed by ISIS militants, praying that man learn to reject his evil temptations, and choose what is good. The Pope Feb. 17 prayed for “our brother Copts, …