VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Bishops must be models of confident trust in the Lord, constantly reaching out with the good news of the Gospel and avoiding all temptation to despair or to cling to vestiges of worldly power, Pope Francis wrote to the bishops of Italy. The pope opened the annual general assembly of the
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Gunmen claiming to have links with the Islamic State group threatened to kill hostages, including a Catholic priest, who were taken from the southern Philippine city of Marawi May 23. President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law across the entire Muslim-majority region of Mindanao late May 23, but ucanews.com reported that many,
NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) — About 100 graduates of the University of Notre Dame walked out of Vice President Mike Pence’s May 21 commencement address as he began to speak. The walkout was planned in advance by a student activist coalition, We StaND For, to protest the university’s choice of Pence as graduation speaker. It
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Consecrated women are called to be prophets of hope and joy in the world and avoid putting on a superficial joy that withers the soul, Pope Francis said. In order to live out the joy of the Gospel, “it must be a true joy, not a counterfeit joy” that brings about
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The growing gap between those who can find a place in today’s rapidly changing tech-based job market and those who cannot is very serious and worrying, Pope Francis said. The problem must be tackled “out of a sense of justice between generations and responsibility for the future,” he said. The pope
ROME (CNS) — The sin committed most frequently in Christian parishes and groups is bad-mouthing and backstabbing each other, which not only divides the community, it drives away people who come seeking God, Pope Francis said. “Truly, this pains me to the core. It’s as if we were throwing stones among ourselves, one against the
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God is right by the side of each person on earth, seeing each individual’s pain and wanting to bring hope and joy, Pope Francis said. “He calls us by name and tells us, ‘Rise up, stop weeping, because I have come to free you,’” the pope said May 17 at his
HONG KONG (CNS) — Every evening, no matter how busy or tired she may be, Yiu reads the Bible at home to her 7-year-old granddaughter. Sometimes, parishioners from Changzhi Diocese in north-central China’s Shanxi province, come and join her, reports ucanews.com. Changzhi Diocese has 80 churches and 37 prayer houses for its 60,000 Catholics. Among
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ meeting with families affected by Huntington’s disease will bring much-needed attention and hope to men, women and children who often are ostracized and even left to die alone and unloved, a U.S.-based neuroscientist said. Especially in poor countries, people suffering from Huntington’s, a neural degenerative disorder, face discrimination and
LEIRIA, Portugal (CNS) — Pope Francis said his two-day pilgrimage to Fatima would be a time of prayer and encounter with Jesus and Mary. The visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima “is a bit special,” he told reporters aboard his flight from Rome May 12. “It is a journey of prayer, an
