Vatican City, Sep 19, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- On Tuesday Pope Francis issued a new motu proprio changing the legal status of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, making it a theological institute charged with studying marriage and the family from a scientific perspective.
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Brussels, Belgium, Sep 17, 2017 Church Pop.- Br. René Stockman says it clearly: the path to euthanasia is not viable for a Catholic hospital. After a board of trustees decision to allow euthanasia in Belgian hospitals sponsored by the Brothers of Charity, the community’s general superior spoke with CNA about the issues at stake, and the possibility that the Brothers of Charity might discontinue sponsoring hospitals if things do not change.
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Vatican City, Sep 18, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- In a letter to Japanese bishops, Pope Francis urges his brother prelates to use the example of their country's martyrs as an inspiration to continue their mission of evangelization amid modern-day challenges.
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Vatican City, Sep 18, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- Nearly four years after the Pope established his Council of Cardinal advisers to help him in the task of reforming the Roman Curia, one member of the group said their work is wrapping up, and that it could take only a few more meetings to finish what they set out to do.
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MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- A senior Philippine priest taken hostage by Islamic State-inspired militants in the southern city of Marawi has been freed after almost four months of captivity. Father Teresito Soganub, vicar general of the Prelature of Marawi, told a news conference in Manila that he was doing as well as could be expected following his ordeal, reported ucanews.com.
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Washington D.C., Sep 15, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- What happens when Vatican City State diplomats commit crimes? The recent recall of a Vatican diplomat from the U.S. Nunciature in Washington, following suspicions of child pornography possession brings together both the workings of the criminal justice system at the Vatican and international diplomatic law.
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GUATEMALA CITY (CNS) -- The Guatemalan bishops' conference has condemned the country's congress for gutting campaign finance laws at a time when accusations of corruption and electoral irregularities are implicating the president and others in the political class.
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LONDON (CNS) -- Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster described the attempted bombing of a rush hour Tube train in London as "yet another cowardly attack" and said he was praying for the 22 people being treated for burns and other injuries.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Mary was a courageous woman who stood by Jesus even when the crowds turned against him and even though she knew he would face a tragic death, Pope Francis said. "At the very end, she is there, standing, looking at her son" on the cross. "Maybe she heard comments: 'Look, there is the mother of one of the three delinquents.' But she remains. Silent. She is the mother, she does not deny her son," the pope said Sept. 15 in his homily during a morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis talks about the need for a "healthy decentralization" in the Catholic Church, but how that should look and work has been a topic of debate since the Second Vatican Council.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A member of the Vatican diplomatic corps serving in Washington has been recalled to the Vatican where he is involved in a criminal investigation involving child pornography, the Vatican said.
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Sydney, Australia, Sep 14, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- At the start of a voter survey being conducted on same-sex marriage in Australia, the country’s bishops have called for a month of prayer and fasting for the strengthening of marriage and the family.
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THRISSUR, India (CNS) -- The secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi "to intervene to stop hatred" in the eastern state of Jharkhand. Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas charged in a letter to Modi that "spiraling hatred" was being perpetuated by Raghubar Das, chief minister of Jharkhand and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is known for pursuing a Hindu nationalist legislative agenda.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A bishop cannot truly discern God's will by lording over his flock; rather he must listen to and participate in the lives of those entrusted to his care, Pope Francis told some 120 new bishops.
Read moreOXFORD, England (CNS) -- Belgium's Brothers of Charity Group, which runs 15 centers for psychiatric patients, has rejected a Vatican order to stop offering euthanasia. In a Sept. 12 statement, the organization said it had not been given a chance to explain its "vision statement and argumentation."
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- One day after his release from captivity, Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil met with Pope Francis. According to the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, the pope welcomed Father Uzhunnalil at his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Sept. 13.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Colombia's long and arduous path toward reconciliation and a lasting peace after nearly half a century of war is a sign of hope for all Christians, Pope Francis said. Speaking to pilgrims Sept. 13 at his weekly general audience, the pope said the motto of his visit Sept. 6-10 -- "Demos el primer paso" ("Let's take the first step") -- referred to the process of reconciliation that, while difficult, is "underway with the help of God."
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has named Italian Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli to be the new Vatican nuncio to Israel and apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine. The 64-year-old Vatican diplomat succeeds Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, who retired in August at the age of 75. He had served in the Holy Land for five years.
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Aboard the papal plane, Sep 11, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- In his conversation with journalists on the return flight from Cartagena to Rome on Monday, Pope Francis touched on a variety of topics, notably the US government's decision to end DACA and the crisis in Venezuela.
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KNOCK, Ireland (CNS) -- Catherine Wiley, 71-year-old grandmother of 10, believes the role of grandparents has never been more crucial than today. "Today we are faced with considerations that our parents and grandparents could never ever have imagined," Wiley told more than 5,000 grandparents at the national shrine in Knock.
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COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (CNS) -- Bangladesh is bracing for a massive humanitarian crisis because of a lack of food, sanitation, medicines and even basic housing following the exodus of as many as 350,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, fleeing violence in which at least 1,000 were killed in just two weeks.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Italian cardinal who oversaw the Vatican-led reform and reorganization of the Legionaries of Christ died in Rome just several days before his 82nd birthday. Cardinal Velasio De Paolis died of cancer Sept. 9 at the age of 81.
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Vatican City, Sep 10, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis is fine after a mishap on the popemobile in Colombia, when he slipped and hit himself trying to reach a child, prompting a wave of concern on social media.
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CARTAGENA, Colombia (CNS) -- Pope Francis said he had no magic words or special recipes for Colombians seeking peace, but rather he wanted to listen to them, learn from them and travel a bit of the road with them.
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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM COLOMBIA (CNS) -- Politicians who call themselves pro-life must be pro-family and not enact policies that divide families and rob young people of a future, Pope Francis said.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' international Council of Cardinals -- the so-called C9 -- is nearly done with its work of advising the pope on a major reform of the Vatican bureaucracy, the secretary of the council said.
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CARTAGENA, Colombia (CNS) -- Pope Francis capped a five-day trip to Colombia with a call for culture change in a country attempting to pursue a path of peace and reconciliation after decades of armed conflict and centuries of social exclusion.
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MEDELLIN, Colombia (CNS) -- In a city many think of as being synonymous with new directions for the Catholic Church, Pope Francis told Colombian Catholics faith is not measured by how well they follow rules, but by the depth of their prayer life and the degree to which it pushes them to share the Gospel.
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MEDELLIN, Colombia (CNS) -- In changes to the Code of Canon Law regarding translations of the Mass and other liturgical texts, Pope Francis highlighted respect for the responsibility of national and regional bishops' conferences.
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VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia (CNS) -- Here is the Catholic News Service translation of Pope Francis' remarks in Spanish at the end of Mass Sept. 8 in Villavicencio: At this moment, I want to show my spiritual closeness to all those who are suffering the consequences of the earthquake that struck Mexico yesterday, leading to many deaths and great material damage. My prayer is for those who have lost their lives and for their families.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Francis sat down with an expert in media and communication for a yearlong series of interviews, those discussions offered some fascinating insight into the pope's philosophy of communication and suggested guidelines for the media.
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CARTAGENA, Colombia (CNS) -- Church leaders prayed for Mexicans and Guatemalans affected by the magnitude 8.1 earthquake that struck the Pacific Coast. At the end of Mass in Villavicencio, Colombia, Sept. 8, Pope Francis prayed "for all the people who are suffering because of the earthquake last night in Mexico."
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VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia (CNS) -- In a raw, honest prayer service where victims and perpetrators of violence stood under the gaze of a bomb-damaged crucifix, Pope Francis urged Colombians to summon the courage to make peace.
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BOGOTA, Colombia (CNS) -- Consolidating peace in Colombia will mean overcoming "the darkness" of inequality and a lack of respect for human life, Pope Francis said. "Here, as in other places, there is a thick darkness which threatens and destroys life," the pope said in his homily at a late-afternoon Mass Sept. 7 in Bogota's Simon Bolivar Park.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Quoting celebrated Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Pope Francis told the country's bishops he knows "it is easier to begin a war than to end one" and that, to succeed, Colombia needs bishops who are pastors, not politicians.
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNS) -- Hurricane Irma cut a deadly path through the Caribbean, leveling entire islands as it moved toward Florida Sept. 7, while Haiti prepared for a potential disaster. Whipping winds of up to 185 mph, dropping a foot or more of rain and causing potentially life-threatening storm surges, Irma posed a particularly grave risk to disaster-prone Haiti's northern coast, said Beth Carroll, emergency response coordinator in Haiti for Catholic Relief Services.
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BOGOTA, Colombia (CNS) -- As Colombia strives to build a lasting peace, the country's elders need the encouragement and insistence of young people, who believe with all their hearts that forgiveness is possible and grudges don't have to last for decades, Pope Francis said.
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BOGOTA, Colombia (CNS) -- Pope Francis urged Colombians to put aside prejudice and pursue peace through social inclusion, fighting inequality and paying attention to the plight of the country's most marginalized populations, such as campesinos, Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples.
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BOGOTA, Colombia (CNS) -- Pope Francis arrived in Colombia Sept. 6 for a five-day visit to promote reconciliation in a deeply Catholic country scarred and reticent to offer forgiveness after decades of war.
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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO COLOMBIA (CNS) -- Flying to Colombia, with a flight plan changed to avoid Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean Sea, Pope Francis told reporters that Colombia and its neighbor, Venezuela, were in his prayers.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Italian Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, retired archbishop of Bologna and founder of the Pope John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, died Sept. 6 at the age of 79.
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MANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- More than half of the people in Britain say they no longer belong to a religion, said data released Sept. 5 by NatCen Social Research. Fifty-three percent of nearly 3,000 adults interviewed for the British Social Attitudes survey said they had "no religion," NatCen reported.
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Vatican City, Sep 4, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- On Monday Pope Francis told youth to steer clear of modern society's narcissistic tendencies, which he referred to as a vain “illness.” He said they should instead concentrate on helping others and on developing a healthy ability to laugh at oneself.
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Vatican City, Sep 3, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- Pope Francis' upcoming visit to the South American country of Colombia Sept. 6-11 isn't a political statement a Vatican official said, but about the renewal of the Catholic faith of Colombians in order that violence may be combatted at its root.
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Hong Kong, China, Sep 3, 2017 CNA.- The challenges endured by Catholics in China are complex, said Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung of Hong Kong, but there are reasons to be hopeful about the future of the Church in China.
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Bacolod, Philippines, Sep 2, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- The grave of Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Bala of Bafia, whom the Cameroonian bishops’ conference claims was murdered, was found desecrated with traces of blood on Monday, prompting the temporary closing of the cathedral where his body rests.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Today's narcissistic culture leads to sad souls who worry more about keeping up appearances than caring for others, Pope Francis said. Speaking to young people of the Shalom community, Pope Francis warned them of the sadness caused by narcissism, when "you live worried about putting makeup on your soul, about looking better than you are, about contemplating whether you're more beautiful than others."
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- By virtue of its very definition, marriage can only be between a man and a woman, Pope Francis said in a new book-length interview. "We cannot change it. This is the nature of things," not just in the church, but in human history, he said in a series of interviews with Dominique Wolton, a 70-year-old French sociologist and expert in media and political communication.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- English Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, a longtime leader in Catholic-Anglican relations and former archbishop of Westminster, died Sept. 1 at the age of 85. Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster issued a statement saying his predecessor "died peacefully this afternoon, surrounded by his family and friends." Cardinal Murphy O'Connor had been hospitalized in mid-August.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will help Colombians celebrate the official end of the country's 52-year civil war by urging the country to cultivate true peace, said Archbishop Jose Octavio Ruiz Arenas, a Colombian who serves as secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Environmental destruction is a sign of a "morally decaying scenario" in which too many people ignore or deny that, from the beginning, "God intended humanity to cooperate in the preservation and protection of the natural environment," said the leaders of the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
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Barcelona, Spain (CNA) -- From Spain's revered Sagrada Familia basilica to Germany and even the Vatican, churches across Europe are taking measures to increase security following several acts of terrorism in recent weeks.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis praised the increasingly friendly and fruitful relations between the Catholic Church and Jewish leaders as he also wished the world's Jewish communities a happy Rosh Hashanah a few weeks early.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholic social teaching has developed over the past century as new problems -- human, social, economic and environmental -- come clearer into focus and call out for a faith-based response.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Like other great women in the Catholic Church's past, St. Rose of Lima dedicated her life to marginalized people and gained eternal life through prayer and penance, Pope Francis said.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis offered his prayers for the people of Texas and Louisiana struggling to cope with the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey and he praised all those engaged in rescuing and caring for the thousands of people forced out of their homes.
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Mosul, Iraq, Aug 30, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- Following the liberation of Mosul, Iraq, from the hands of the Islamic State, Christians are cautiously returning to the city. And as they return, so does the Mass.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God wants people to live with hope and joy -- not bitterness -- and to dream with him of a better world, Pope Francis said. "Please, make sure we do not pay attention to disappointed and unhappy people; let us not listen to those who cynically plead not to cultivate hope in life," he said Aug. 30 during his weekly general audience.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has named a 54-year-old Arizona-born Jesuit to be the new head of the church's Apostolic Administration of Kyrgyzstan. Jesuit Father Anthony J. Corcoran, who was born in Tucson, has been serving as superior of the Jesuits' Russia region since 2009 and has been working in Russia for the past 20 years.
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Birmingham, England, Aug 29, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- Missing for more than 1,500 years, the earliest known Latin commentary on the Gospels has been rediscovered at the Cologne Cathedral Library and was published in English this week.
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Caracas, Venezuela, Aug 28, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- Unidentified persons attacked the headquarters of the Venezuelan bishops' conference on Friday, stealing several items. The bishops' conference reported in two tweets Aug. 25 that “the headquarters of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference were the victim of the mob this morning.”
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholic politicians should be guided by the church's moral and social teachings when crafting legislation, Pope Francis said. Meeting with participants in the annual meeting of the International Catholic Legislators Network Aug. 27, the pope said that church teaching can contribute to a more humane and just society, but only if the church is allowed a voice in answering "the great questions of society in our time."
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican obviously is concerned about terrorist threats, "especially for the senseless hatred" it represents, and will continue to remain vigilant, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A day after appealing for an end the violent persecution of the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority in Myanmar, the Vatican announced Pope Francis will visit the country in late November.
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Marawi, Philippines, Aug 25, 2017 CNA/EWTN News.- A new video has been released showing ISIS militants in the Philippines threatening to come to Rome as they desecrate a Catholic church. Filmed in the Philippine city of Marawi, the video shows militants shooting and setting fires within a church, as they destroy a crucifix and statues of Mary and St. Joseph.
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Here are some quotes on racism, from Pope Francis and from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. They are not listed in any particular order. "Strengthening our relationship of belonging to the Lord Jesus, the Spirit enables us to enter into a new experience of fraternity. By means of our universal brother -- Jesus -- we can relate to one another in a new way; no longer as orphans, but rather as children of the same good and merciful Father. And this changes everything! We can see each other as brothers and sisters whose differences can only increase our joy and wonder at sharing in this unique fatherhood and brotherhood." May 15, 2016. (Homily, Pentecost)
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WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A Polish archbishop who inspected Bosnia-Herzegovina's Medjugorje shrine for the pope predicted the Vatican will soon recognize its Marian apparitions. "The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has passed all documentation to the Secretariat of State -- everything suggests the apparitions will be accepted before the year ends," said Archbishop Henryk Hoser.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Although he said planning a papal trip to Russia was not on the agenda, the Vatican secretary of state said his visit to Moscow was designed to build on the meeting Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill had in Cuba in 2016.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Secret negotiations between Heinrich Himmler -- the "architect" of the Holocaust -- and a Swiss Catholic politician, hired by a Jewish woman and helped by an Italian papal nuncio, may have contributed to ending the mass extermination of the Jewish people, according to a Canadian researcher.
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