By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Envy and jealousy create division and destroy fellowship and brotherhood among people, especially within families and among members of the clergy, Pope Francis said. The biblical story of Cain murdering his brother Abel is a cautionary tale on the consequences of allowing bitterness to
By Catholic News Service CHICAGO (CNS) — The organizers of rallies held across the country Feb. 11 to call for defunding Planned Parenthood said their message to Congress is to redirect taxpayer’s money to facilities that “do a better job meeting the real health care needs of women and families without specializing in abortion.” More
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Without making room for God’s word in their heart, people will never be able to welcome and love all human life, Pope Francis said. “Each life that we encounter is a gift deserving acceptance, respect and love,” the pope said in his message for Lent,
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Marking the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a former slave, Pope Francis urged Christians to help victims of human trafficking and migrants, especially the Rohingya people being chased from Myanmar. For the Catholic Church, St. Bakhita’s feast day, Feb. 8, is a day of prayer
Justus Takayama Ukon, Japanese Feudal Lord Who Gave Up Every Privilege and Accepted Exile to Follow the Gospel ‘Yesterday, in Osaka, Japan, Justo Takayama Ukon, loyal Japanese layman, who was martyred in Manila in 1615 was beatified.’ Pope Francis remembered during his weekly General Audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall this morning, noting: “Rather
By Catholic News Service MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — A Philippine cardinal has urged the faithful of his country to tell their lawmakers that the death penalty does not deter violent crime, could potentially legitimize violence and that life is a gift from God. In a letter addressed to Catholics of the Manila Archdiocese as the
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Book of Genesis makes clear that God gave human beings three great gifts: their identity as children of God, their role as protectors and custodians of creation and the call to love, Pope Francis said. The love and tenderness of God are seen in
By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The freedom that comes from receiving the gift of a joyful Christian life can only come to those who are held captive by God’s love, Pope Francis said. People who are afraid of God’s gift of love, however, seek only the rigid adherence to
By Mark Pattison, Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) – “Spiritual success” is a more accurate measure for the United States than wealth, according to likely billionaire President Donald Trump in remarks Feb. 2 at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. “America is a nation of believers,” Trump said. “In towns across the land, we see
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When religious orders focus on survival rather than on sharing the joy and hope of faith in Jesus, they end up being “professionals of the sacred, but not fathers and mothers,” Pope Francis said. “The temptation of survival turns what the Lord presents as an
