Pope Francis baptizes one of 28 babies in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican Jan. 8. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano, handout)

Guard the faith, make it grow, pope tells parents at baptism

Posted by - January 12, 2017

 By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Parents are charged with guarding the faith given to their children at baptism and helping them become true witnesses by example rather than just rules, Pope Francis said. By asking the church for faith for their children through the sacrament of baptism, Christian parents

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Pope Francis speaks during his general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Jan. 11. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Success, well-being at any cost will deceive, disappoint, pope says

Posted by - January 12, 2017

By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Watch out for the tempting promises and easy rewards of false gods and idols because they always lead to confusion, disappointment and even death, Pope Francis said. “We are tempted to seek even fleeting comfort, which seems to fill the emptiness of solitude and ease

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Pope: Jesus amazed because he was humble, helpful, not a hypocrite

Posted by - January 12, 2017

 By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Jesus astonished people with the way he taught and interacted with others because he wasn’t aloof, domineering or hypocritical, Pope Francis said in a homily. “Jesus wasn’t allergic to people. Touching lepers, the sick did not disgust him,” whereas the Pharisees — who strolled around

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Pope Francis kisses a figurine of the baby Jesus as the start of a Mass marking the feast of the Epiphany in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 6. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Magi’s journey reflects people’s longing for God, pope says on Epiphany

Posted by - January 12, 2017

 By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Magi had the courage to set out on a journey in the hope of finding something new, unlike Herod who was full of himself and unwilling to change his ways, Pope Francis said. The Wise Men who set out from the East in

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Pope: Vocations require prayers, open doors, big hearts, busy hands

Posted by - January 12, 2017

By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While God is the one calling people to a vocation, clergy and religious have to cooperate by being inspirational role models, keeping their doors open and giving restless young people constructive things to do, Pope Francis said. Praying for vocations and holding meetings to discuss

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Pope Francis poses in the Sistine Chapel with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See at the end of an audience for the traditional exchange of new year's greetings at the Vatican Jan. 9. The pope said that religions are "called to promote peace" and appealed to "all religious authorities to join in reaffirming unequivocally that one can never kill in God's name." (CNS photo/Alberto Pizzoli, pool)

Pope to diplomats: Break bad habits of war, injustice

Posted by - January 12, 2017

 By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — At the start of a new year, Pope Francis laid out a laundry list of suggested resolutions for religious and political leaders for making a joint commitment toward building peace. No conflict exists that is “a habit impossible to break,” the pope said, but he

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Maternity leave: Why the pope wants the church to be a loving mother

Posted by - January 12, 2017

 By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Mother’s Day came early this year at the Vatican. A number of feast days over the Advent and Christmas seasons gave Pope Francis a fresh opportunity to pay homage to the world’s mothers and insist further on how and why he wants the entire church

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A Missionaries of Charity nun stands in the doorway as men enter a center run by the order for an evening meal at the Vatican Jan. 7. The Vatican undertook several initiatives to offer more help to the homeless in the midst of unusually cold weather. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope asks for warm hearts to help homeless deal with the cold

Posted by - January 12, 2017

 By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Looking out over St. Peter’s Square where icicles hung from usually bubbling fountains, Pope Francis prayed for the homeless. The freeze in Rome, subzero temperatures in large parts of Europe and heavy snowfalls in many areas in early January forced the closure of roads and

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Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is pictured in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in this Nov. 19, 2014, file photo. Cardinal Muller said the Catholic Church is "very far" from a situation in which Pope Francis is in need of "fraternal correction." He made his comment in an interview about the pope's apostolic exhortation, "Amoris Laetitia," with Italian news channel TGCom24. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Doctrinal chief dismisses idea of ‘fraternal correction’ of pope

Posted by - January 12, 2017

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church is “very far” from a situation in which the pope is in need of “fraternal correction” because he has not put the faith and church teaching in danger, said Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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People walk toward Matamoros, Mexico, from Brownsville, Texas, May 4, 2016. Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston and Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles called attention in a Jan. 6 statement to the hardships and contributions of immigrants to American society as the U.S. church prepared to observe National Migration Week. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)

Bishops mention immigration policy, heritage in National Migration Week statement

Posted by - January 12, 2017

 By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Urging Americans to look at their families for stories of immigration, the president and vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called attention to the hardships and contributions of immigrants to American society as the U.S. church prepared to observe National Migration Week. Cardinal Daniel N.

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