VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Hear confession every time someone asks, Pope Francis said, and don’t ever put limited hours on the sacrament of reconciliation. “Please, let there never be those signs that say, ‘Confessions: Mondays and Wednesdays from this time to that time,’” he told hundreds of confessors and other participants attending an annual course
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The confessional is a place where one can go to humbly seek forgiveness; it is not a dry cleaners where one goes to remove the occasional stain, Pope Francis said. While forgiveness is “God’s great work of mercy,” Christians can take for granted the power of the sacrament of reconciliation and
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christian hope is built on patiently enduring everything life brings and knowing how to see God’s presence and love everywhere, Pope Francis said. God “never tires of loving us” as he “takes care of us, dressing our wounds with the caress of his goodness and his mercy, meaning, he consoles us
NEW YORK (CNS) — Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York urged President Donald Trump to follow through on a recent call for legislation that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth nationwide. Writing in a column for The Wall Street Journal March 9, Cardinal Dolan said he hoped that the president would “push Congress to
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People need to listen more if they want there to be peace in the world, Pope Francis said. Open “ears are missing, there’s a lack of people who know how to listen,” which is essential before there can be dialogue, he said during an audience March 11 with volunteers for a
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Conversion doesn’t come from the wave of a magic wand, but from learning to do good through concrete actions every day, Pope Francis said. While even “the saintliest person sins seven times a day,” conversion happens through humility and trying to become “better than the day before,” the pope said March
ROME (CNS) — Witches don’t really exist, so they can do no harm, Pope Francis told a young girl, but gossip, sin and evil exist and they hurt people every day. “What frightens me?” the pope asked, repeating the question posed by Sara, one of the children at the Rome parish of St. Magdalene of
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Employers who make business deals that threaten people’s livelihood commit a sin that robs men, women and their families of their dignity, Pope Francis said. “Whoever — because of economic maneuvering and business dealings that are not all clear — closes factories and businesses and takes work away from men and
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians should care about reading God’s messages in the Bible as much as they care about checking messages on their cellphones, Pope Francis said. As Christ did in the desert when tempted by Satan, men and women can defend themselves from temptation with the word of God if they “read it
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Humility is needed in order to recognize the voice of God in others, especially those who are perceived to be weak or subject to prejudice, a Franciscan friar told Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia during their Lenten retreat. God not only speaks through Jesus, but also speaks to
