VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an increasingly complex world of unprecedented scientific and technological challenges, theologians must communicate what is essential about life and help Christians proclaim God’s merciful, saving grace, Pope Francis told a group of Italian theologians. The theologians’ task requires being “faithful and anchored” to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council
WASHINGTON (CNS) — A priest in the Bronx, New York, tended to grieving families and asked for prayers for them as well as for victims of a Dec. 28 fire, one of the deadliest in New York City and the borough’s history, which left at least 12 dead and many fighting for their lives. Father
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Only when Christ is the focus of the Christmas season do all the colorful lights, carols, special meals and traditions help create a festive and joyous atmosphere, Pope Francis said. “If we take him away, the lights go out and everything become fake, illusory,” he said at his weekly general audience
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Those who recognize the Lord in the baby Jesus in the manger also should recognize his presence in children suffering today because of war, poverty and immigration, Pope Francis said. “Jesus knows well the pain of not being welcomed and how hard it is not to have a place to lay
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christmas calls believers to see God’s presence where he is often perceived as absent, especially in the “unwelcomed visitor, often unrecognizable, who walks through our cities and our neighborhoods, who travels on our buses and knocks on our doors,” Pope Francis said. “Christmas is a time for turning the power of
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CNS) — A majority of Americans — 59 percent — say they prefer the greeting “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays” during this season, according to a new Knights of Columbus-Marist poll. The nearly six in 10 who said they preferred “Merry Christmas” is slightly higher than last year’s 57 percent. This year
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The people who work at the Vatican and in the Roman Curia are supposed to be “sensitive antennas” that faithfully transmit the desires of the pope and receive information from dioceses and Eastern Catholic churches around the world, Pope Francis said. Remembering that the Curia exists exclusively for the service of
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (CNS) — An Arkansas priest-inventor had a hand in creating the candy canes that you know and love this time of year. The history of the candy cane is a little murky. Legend has it that the candy started as plain white sugar sticks, maybe in the 1600s, according to a 2015
NEOPIT, Wis. (CNS) — Not one toy. Bags of flour, boxes of cereal, cans of vegetables, cases of juice, bundles of blankets, bottles of shampoo — they all came off a bus packed with items for the food pantry at St. Anthony Church in Neopit. Boxes filled with toothpaste, tissues and toilet paper were carried
EDMONTON, Alberta (CNS) — When Gina Marini and her family gather for Christmas dinner, they will continue the tradition they started more than two decades ago: leaving an empty chair for the family patriarch, Giuseppe Arlia. “This is a trying time for us,” said Marini, whose father died around Christmas. “This was 20 years ago,
