Pope Francis touches a boy's chin as he greets the disabled during his general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Jan. 25. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Never underestimate the courage and wisdom of women, pope says

Posted by - January 27, 2017

By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The humble counsel of courageous women should never be disregarded but rather embraced as advice full of God’s divine wisdom, Pope Francis said. Women like the biblical heroine Judith are an example of trusting God amid sufferings and difficulties when it is easy to

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Young women and men pray during a Holy Hour for vocations Jan. 20 at St. Patrick Church in Bay Shore, N.Y. The service, which invited teenagers and young adults to pray for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, was sponsored by the vocations office of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic)

Catholic schools plant seeds for vocations by example

Posted by - January 27, 2017

By Carol Zimmermann, Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Although priests and women religious say a variety of reasons led them to pursue their vocation, one thing many of them have in common is that they went to a Catholic school. Attending Catholic school certainly isn’t a magic bullet that leads to a vocation, but

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There are “Too many null and inconsistent marriages

Posted by - January 27, 2017

A ‘New Catechumenate’ Is Necessary For Spouses” Speaking to the Roman Rota, Francis Calls for Appropriate Preparation of Couples Before and After Marriage. Then He Says: “Great Courage Is Necessary to Get Married in the Time in Which We Live” By SALVATORE CERNUZIO, Zenit.org THE POPE proposes an antidote to the problem of the “multiplication

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A statue of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists, stands outside of St. Francis de Sales Seminary in St. Francis, Wis. The feast of St. Francis de Sales is celebrated Jan. 24. (CNS photo/Sam Lucero , The Compass)

Reject prejudice, leave space for hope in communications, pope says

Posted by - January 27, 2017

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — At a time when the media seem to feed a “vicious cycle of anxiety” and a “spiral of fear,” Christians should respond with honest stories that identify problems and evil, but also inspire real solutions, Pope Francis said. “Every new tragedy that occurs in the

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U.S. President Donald Trump greets Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington during an interfaith prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington Jan. 21, the day after Trump's swearing-in as the country's 45th president. (CNS photo/Kevin Lamarque, Reuters)

Religious leaders offer prayers for the country and for the new president

Posted by - January 27, 2017

By Richard Szczepanowski, Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — One day after President Donald J. Trump took the oath of office as the 45th president of the United States, leaders of different faith communities — including Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl — gathered to offer prayers for the new administration and for the country. The

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‘We must wait and see,’ pope says of President Trump

Posted by - January 27, 2017

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As President Donald Trump was being sworn in, Pope Francis told an interviewer it would be “reckless” to pass judgment on the new president before he had a chance to do anything. “We must wait and see,” the pope told two reporters from the Spanish

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Students from Panama pose for a photo as Pope Francis leads the Angelus Jan. 22 in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters)

Pope: Conversion means changing your way of thinking, not just living

Posted by - January 27, 2017

By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — True conversion means Christians must not only change their way of living, but also transform their way of thinking in order to respond to Christ’s call to proclaim the Gospel, Pope Francis said. “It is a transformation of thought. It is not about changing

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Pope Francis arrives to celebrate a Mass marking the closing of the Dominican order's 800th anniversary celebrations at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome Jan. 21. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Lead people to certainty of Gospel, pope asks Dominicans

Posted by - January 27, 2017

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service ROME (CNS) — In an age that often seems to be a “carnival of worldly curiosity,” Christians are called to lead people to the solid ground of the Gospel like St. Dominic did, Pope Francis said. “We are moving in a so-called ‘liquid society,’ which is without fixed points,

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God’s forgiveness is call to sin no more, pope says

Posted by - January 27, 2017

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God forgives and forgets the faults of repentant sinners, unless they keep reminding him of their errors by pretending they have no need to change, Pope Francis said. The new covenant in Jesus Christ, the new relationship God wants to establish with each person, is

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U.S. President Donald Trump places his hand on the Bible as he takes the oath of office administered by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts Jan. 20. At Trump's side are his wife, Melania, and children Barron, Donald and Ivanka during his swearing-in as the country's 45th president at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

‘We will be protected by God,’ Trump declares in inaugural address

Posted by - January 27, 2017

By Mark Pattison, Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Donald J. Trump told the nation in his inaugural address that it need not fear in the days ahead. “There should not be fear,” Trump said Jan. 20. “We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men

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