VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Synod of Bishops increasingly should be a structure for listening to the Catholic faithful, demonstrating a local bishop’s concern for the entire church and a means of expressing all the bishops’ unity with the pope, Pope Francis said. Replacing Blessed Paul VI’s 1965 document that established the Synod of Bishops
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In its effort to defend life at all stages, the Pontifical Academy for Life is relying on young scientists and professionals to reach across the aisle and bridge the gap between science and faith. In his address to the academy June 25, Pope Francis called for “a global vision of bioethics”
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Turning an archaeological discovery into an appealing, informative site for tourists takes more than just digging interesting remains and ruins out of the dirt. That’s why experts from the Vatican Museums and the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology turned to a string of outside professionals to help spiff up a site
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Only true love for God and neighbor can destroy the chains of greed, lust, anger and envy that enslave humankind, Pope Francis said. “True love is true freedom: It detaches from possession, rebuilds relationships, it knows how to welcome and value the neighbor, it transforms every struggle into a joyous gift
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church needs bishops who promote unity, “not soloists singing their own tune or captains fighting personal battles,” Pope Francis told new bishops from the church’s mission territories. “And, dear brothers, flee from clericalism, an anomalous way of understanding the church’s authority, one common in many communities where sexual abuse
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Forming a community of women from different backgrounds and uniting them in prayer, in care for the earth and in hospitality to others is a powerful witness of Gospel values, Pope Francis told a group of Benedictine sisters. “Today there are many people in the world who seek to reflect in
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Without respectfully collaborating with teachers and schools, parents will risk being on their own when it comes to educating their children and be at a greater disadvantage for facing the challenges emerging from today’s culture, mass media and technology, Pope Francis said. Speaking to hundreds of parents, the pope told them
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christian conversion does not entail accusing others, but is shamefully recognizing and sincerely repenting one’s own sins, Pope Francis said. “A sign that a person, that a Christian does not know how to blame oneself is when they are used to accusing others, to badmouth others, to stick their noses in
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People, especially the young, need to live with passion — the passion to persevere and not see life as a burden, Pope Francis said. “When I read news about young people committing suicide — and there are many,” the pope said he asks himself, “What happened here?” “I can say at
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People need to make peace with their lives and anything they are running from, rather than lose themselves to escapism and playful distraction, Pope Francis said. There is an “industry of distraction” in full force today, which paints the ideal world as being “a big playground where everybody has fun” and
