WASHINGTON (CNS) — “Nones,” those who profess no religious affiliation, are now the largest subgroup in American society, their numbers having grown in the past decade while the percentage of Catholics in the United States slipped over the past 10 years. In a Pew Research Center “religious landscape” report issued Oct. 17, nones have jumped
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Existing formation programs are not preparing priests and other pastoral workers to be leaders in a church with an Amazonian and indigenous face, according to bishops participating in the synod for the Amazon. “It’s not the same to evangelize in the city as in the Amazon,” Bishop Rafael Cob Garcia of
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Resolving the global crises of world hunger and malnutrition demands a shift away from a distorted approach to food and toward healthier lifestyles and just economic practices, Pope Francis said. “We are, in fact, witnessing how food is ceasing to be a means of subsistence and turning into an avenue of
WASHINGTON (CNS) — After the Washington Nationals won the World Series Oct. 30, the team’s chaplain said the players’ example carried a spiritual message that goes beyond baseball. “Their witness is an inspiration not only to others in baseball but to all of us: ‘Stay in the fight,’ he said, referring to the team’s rallying
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Told that some people think Pope Francis isn’t exactly a fan of the rosary, Jesuit Father Federic Fornos practically shouted, “What?” “Pope Francis says the rosary is the prayer of his heart. He prays it every day,” said the international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, formerly known as the
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Catholics attack other members of the church, they are hurting Christ, Pope Francis said. “Even those who are ideologists, because they want the ‘purity’ of the church, strike at Christ,” he said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 9. Taking a break from the Synod of
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Jesus enjoys unmasking hypocrisy, which is the work of the devil, Pope Francis said. Christians, in fact, must learn to avoid hypocrisy by scrutinizing and acknowledging their own personal faults, failings and sins, he said Oct. 15 during morning Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae. “A Christian who does not know
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The chairmen of three U.S. bishops’ committees have urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to redefine “sex” in civil rights law, arguing this would change the definition of “a fundamental element of humanity that is the basis of the family and would threaten religious liberty.” Redefining “sex” in the law would be
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Saints are people who recognized their need for God’s help, who took risks to discover God’s will and to help others and who nurtured a habit of thanksgiving, Pope Francis said. “The culmination of the journey of faith is to live a life of continual thanksgiving. Let us ask ourselves: Do
UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — Filipino Archbishop Bernardito Auza, head of the Vatican’s permanent observer mission to the United Nations, called for the U.N. to uphold the dignity of women, and also to safeguard the “inherent dignity and inalienable rights” of the human person when dealing with financial issues before the U.N. Archbishop Auza’s addresses were
