Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives to celebrate Mass at the Air Defense Stadium in Cairo April 29. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

True faith means loving others to the extreme, pope tells Egypt’s Catholics

Posted by - May 7, 2017

CAIRO (CNS) — The only kind of fanaticism that is acceptable to God is being fanatical about loving and helping others, Pope Francis said on his final day in Egypt. “True faith,” he told Catholics, “makes us more charitable, more merciful, more honest and more humane. It moves our hearts to love everyone without counting

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Pope Francis listens to a question from Vera Shcherbakova of the Itar-Tass news agency while talking with journalists aboard his flight from Cairo to Rome April 29. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope: U.S., North Korea need diplomatic solution to escalating tensions

Posted by - May 7, 2017

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM CAIRO (CNS) — A diplomatic solution must be found to the escalating tension between North Korea and the United States, Pope Francis told journalists. “The path (to take) is the path of negotiation, the path of a diplomatic solution,” he said when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to

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Church needs missionaries, not ‘clericalized’ laity, pope says

Posted by - May 7, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church needs laypeople with a missionary spirit, which means Catholics do not have to try to force members into a vocation that is the Holy Spirit’s to give, Pope Francis said. The temptation to impose a vocation on laypeople as some kind of validation of their service in the

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Cardinal Dolan slams DNC pledge to support only pro-abortion candidates

Posted by - May 7, 2017

WASHINGTON (CNS) — New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan described the recent pledge from the Democratic National Committee’s chair to support only pro-abortion candidates “disturbing” and “intolerant.” The cardinal, who is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged members of the Democratic party to “challenge their leadership to recant

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Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives to lead his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 26. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Why be afraid when God is always showing the way, pope says at audience

Posted by - April 29, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians always have hope, no matter how bleak, bad or uncertain the journey, because they know God is always by their side, Pope Francis said. In fact, “even crossing parts of the world (that are) wounded, where things are not going well, we are among those who, even there, continue to

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A child waves a Mexican flag as Pope Francis leads the "Regina Coeli" in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 23, Divine Mercy Sunday. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters)

Mercy opens the door to understanding the mystery of God, pope says

Posted by - April 29, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Mercy is a true form of knowledge that allows men and women to understand the mystery of God’s love for humanity, Pope Francis said. Having experienced forgiveness, Christians have a duty to forgive others, giving a “visible sign” of God’s mercy, which “carries within it the peace of heart and the

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Pope Francis celebrates his morning Mass April 24 in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

Humility needed to avoid preaching watered-down Gospel, pope says

Posted by - April 29, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The only way to give an authentic witness of Christ’s death and resurrection is by sharing the Gospel with humility, Pope Francis said. Christians who preach must resist the temptation of power, pride and worldliness, which can lead to “preaching a watered-down Gospel without strength, a Gospel without Christ crucified and

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Pope Francis celebrates his morning Mass April 24 in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

Faith leads to freedom, not compromise, pope says at morning Mass

Posted by - April 29, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christian faith is belief in the concrete work of God and leads to concrete witness and action by believers, Pope Francis said. The Christian creed details concrete events because “the Word was made flesh, it was not made an idea,” the pope said April 24 during his morning Mass in the

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Pope Francis leads a prayer service at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew in Rome April 22, 2017. The service was in memory of Christians killed for their faith in the 20th and 21st centuries. (CNS photo/Maurizio Brambatti, pool)

Pope pays tribute to modern martyrs, calls for witnesses of God’s love

Posted by - April 29, 2017

ROME (CNS) — The Christian church today needs believers who witness each day to the power of God’s love, but it also needs the heroic witness of those who stand up to hatred even when it means giving up their lives, Pope Francis said. At Rome’s Basilica of St. Bartholomew, a shrine to modern martyrs,

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Sister Carol Sansone, a member of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who is principal at St. Joseph School in Imperial, Mo., speaks with another attendee April 18 at the National Catholic Educational Association's Convention & Expo at the America's Center in St. Louis. (CNS photo/Lisa Johnston, St. Louis Review)

Catholic educators get new ideas at annual NCEA convention

Posted by - April 29, 2017

ST. LOUIS (CNS) — More than 8,000 Catholic educators attended the April 18-20 National Catholic Educational Association Convention in St. Louis this year and many of them picked up ideas during the gathering to use in their own schools. Sister Judith Abique, a Sister of St. Paul of Chartres, plans to integrate Theology of the

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