Pope Francis talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by his wife, Melania, left, during a private audience at the Vatican May 24. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope, President Trump speak of hopes for peace

Posted by - May 27, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump spent 30 minutes speaking privately in the library of the Apostolic Palace May 24, and as the president left, he told the pope, “I won’t forget what you said.” The atmosphere at the beginning was formal and a bit stiff. However, the mood lightened

Read More

Faith, love, service are key to bishops’ ministry, pope tells Italians

Posted by - May 27, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Bishops must be models of confident trust in the Lord, constantly reaching out with the good news of the Gospel and avoiding all temptation to despair or to cling to vestiges of worldly power, Pope Francis wrote to the bishops of Italy. The pope opened the annual general assembly of the

Read More
Philippine government soldiers walk past a mosque before their May 25 assault on Maute insurgents, who have taken over large parts of the town of Marawi. Residents started to evacuate Marawi after President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law across the entire Muslim-majority region of Mindanao. (CNS photo/Romeo Ranoco, Reuters)

Gunmen take Catholic hostages; Philippines’ Duterte imposes martial law

Posted by - May 27, 2017

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Gunmen claiming to have links with the Islamic State group threatened to kill hostages, including a Catholic priest, who were taken from the southern Philippine city of Marawi May 23. President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law across the entire Muslim-majority region of Mindanao late May 23, but ucanews.com reported that many,

Read More

About 100 students walk out of Pence’s Notre Dame commencement address

Posted by - May 27, 2017

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) — About 100 graduates of the University of Notre Dame walked out of Vice President Mike Pence’s May 21 commencement address as he began to speak. The walkout was planned in advance by a student activist coalition, We StaND For, to protest the university’s choice of Pence as graduation speaker. It

Read More
Pope Francis greets a participant in the general chapter of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master during an audience at the Vatican May 22. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

Be prophets of joy, not misfortune, pope tells nuns

Posted by - May 27, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Consecrated women are called to be prophets of hope and joy in the world and avoid putting on a superficial joy that withers the soul, Pope Francis said. In order to live out the joy of the Gospel, “it must be a true joy, not a counterfeit joy” that brings about

Read More
Pope Francis accepts a gift as he greets participants in the general chapter of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master during an audience at the Vatican May 22. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

Tackle jobs gap caused by today’s tech revolution, pope tells experts

Posted by - May 27, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The growing gap between those who can find a place in today’s rapidly changing tech-based job market and those who cannot is very serious and worrying, Pope Francis said. The problem must be tackled “out of a sense of justice between generations and responsibility for the future,” he said. The pope

Read More
Children gather around Pope Francis as he speaks during his visit to the parish of San Pier Damiani May 21 at Casal Bernocchi on the outskirts of Rome. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

Pope: Christians without tenderness, respect are serpents who divide

Posted by - May 27, 2017

ROME (CNS) — The sin committed most frequently in Christian parishes and groups is bad-mouthing and backstabbing each other, which not only divides the community, it drives away people who come seeking God, Pope Francis said. “Truly, this pains me to the core. It’s as if we were throwing stones among ourselves, one against the

Read More