GENEVA (CNS) -- Not only God, but today's broken, divided world is begging for unity among Christians, Pope Francis said on an ecumenical pilgrimage to Geneva. "Our differences must not be excuses," he said, because as Christ's disciples, Christians can still pray together, evangelize and serve others.
Read more
Vatican City, Jun 21, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- Pope Francis landed in Geneva Thursday for a day-trip aimed at bolstering ecumenical relations, saying off the bat that division among Christians is borne from worldliness, and Christ must be prioritized over any differences that might get in the way of unity.
Read more
Vatican City, Jun 20, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- In an interview with Reuters, Pope Francis said more space has to be created for women to take on leading roles in the Roman Curia, but that priestly ordination is not an option.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Ten Commandments given by God are meant to protect his children from self-destruction; they are not harsh rules meant to enslave and oppress, Pope Francis said. Since the days of Adam and Eve, the devil has sought to deceive people into believing that the rules set forth by God are "the imposition of a despot who prohibits and forces" rather than a loving father "who is taking care of his children," the pope said June 20 at his general audience in St. Peter's Square.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- No periphery is far enough away to escape a pope's purview. Not even outer space. From Pope Gregory XIII's observational tower built in the Vatican Gardens in the 16th century so celestial studies could aid the reform of the calendar to Pope Leo XIII, who officially re-founded the Vatican Observatory in the late 19th century, popes have kept their eyes fixed on the heavens.
Read more
London, England, Jun 19, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- A relic discovered last year by a U.K. waste management company found a home Tuesday in London's Westminster Cathedral. “Choosing an appropriate resting place was very important to us,” said Enviro Waste Owner James Rubin in a statement on the company's website. “Therefore, we think Westminster Cathedral is the best and safest place for the bone due to its importance to the church and to ensure that it won’t get lost again!”
Read more
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A study by the Pew Research Center found that young adults worldwide are generally less religious than older adults by a variety of measures. The study, which drew upon previous surveys by Pew, concluded that this was true regardless of the predominant religion in the country, its level of economic development, or its level of religiosity. It defined young people as those under 40 years of age and older people as those 40 or older.
Read more
CUCUTA, Colombia (CNS) -- The director of Caritas Colombia has called for dialogue between the country's new president-elect and former leftist guerrillas to prevent the return of guerrilla warfare.
Read more
Vatican City, Jun 19, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- According to the official working document for the upcoming synod of bishops on youth, the major questions for young people ahead of the October discussion surround issues of sexuality and gender, the role of women and the desire for a Church that knows how to listen.
Read more
Canberra, Australia, Jun 18, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- As Australian states and territories pass and consider laws requiring priests to break the seal of confession to report cases of child sex abuse, Catholic priests are saying they would go to jail rather than violate the seal.
Read more
LEON, Nicaragua (CNS) -- For older residents of Leon's Sutiaba neighborhood, the country's recent protests bring back vivid memories of the insurrection of 1979 that toppled the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.
Read moreMANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- Nearly 500 British priests have signed a statement in support of the papal encyclical that forbade married couples from using contraception. They said the prophetic warnings contained within "Humane Vitae," (Of Human Life) published by Blessed Pope Paul VI July 25 1968, have proved to be accurate.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- All dictatorships begin the same way: media outlets are put in the hands of "unscrupulous" people who spread lies and weaken democracy, Pope Francis said. Typical standards, norms and laws in regard to communications are first eliminated, the pope said in his homily June 18 during morning Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The brother of Chilean Father Fernando Karadima called on his brother to ask forgiveness for the hurt inflicted on those he sexually abused. "I would ask him to be humble. Fernando, ask for forgiveness. Not in silence to God or in your prayers. Do it publicly, that people hear that you ask forgiveness for the harm you have done to victims and to everyone," Oscar Karadima said in an interview with Chilean newspaper La Tercera, published June 17.
Read more
Vatican City, Jun 16, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- In a speech to a family association Saturday, Pope Francis again stressed that God's vision of the family is between a man and a woman, and compared the abortion of children who are sick or disabled to a Nazi mentality.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the help of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a 15th-century copy of a letter Christopher Columbus sent to his royal patrons describing the riches of the New World has been returned to its rightful owner -- the Vatican.
Read more
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Argentina's bishops expressed disappointment with the approval of an initiative that moves the South American country closer to legalizing abortion. But the bishops also pledged to review their social ministries to better attend to youth and women.
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will review a finalized draft of the apostolic constitution that would govern the Roman Curia, the Vatican spokesman said. The document, provisionally titled "Praedicate Evangelium" ("Preach the Gospel"), was reviewed by the international Council of Cardinals, and the draft will be "given to the Holy Father for the considerations he deems opportune, useful and necessary," said Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office, June 13.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Arriving on his second visit to Chile, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta said his mission to the country is a sign of Pope Francis' closeness to the local church following devastating reports of sexual abuse and cover-ups by members of the clergy.
Read more
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (CNS) -- Katherine Babcock was in college studying toward an arts degree when she found out she was pregnant. The child's father, her best friend of 10 years, could not cope with the news.
Read moreMAYNOOTH, Ireland (CNS) -- The issue of LGBT families has dogged the ninth World Meeting of Families since it was revealed that an image of a gay couple was edited for a preparatory booklet, and Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O'Connell's comments on gay families were deleted from a video.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' brief visit to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families Aug. 25-26 will include a quick trip to the Marian shrine at Knock and a special meeting with homeless families.
Read moreROME (CNS) -- Spain has announced it will let a ship holding 629 migrants and refugees, who were rescued from the Mediterranean, dock on its shores, after Italy and Malta refused to accept the vessel.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis told Italian schoolchildren that he grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, "the most beautiful city in the world," and that besides playing soccer, he loved to fly kites as a child.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The world needs a new kind of leadership that believes in building up the whole human family and protecting the environment, Pope Francis told a group of energy and oil executives and global investors.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Leading thousands of people in prayer, Pope Francis said he hoped the upcoming summit between the United States and North Korea would lead to lasting peace. After praying the Angelus with an estimated 20,000 people in St. Peter's Square June 10, the pope said he wanted to convey "a special thought to the beloved Korean people," and he asked the crowd to pray the "Hail Mary" so that "Our Lady, Queen of Korea, may accompany these talks."
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After an in-depth Vatican-led investigation into clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of 61-year-old Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, Chile, and two other Chilean bishops June 11.
Read more
Canberra, Australia, Jun 9, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- A new law in Australia will require Catholic priests in Canberra to break the seal of confession to report child abusers, drawing adamant opposition from Church officials.
Read more
Munich, Germany, Jun 8, 2018 CNA.- Several German bishops have reacted with surprise, consternation and criticism to theVatican’s rejection of a proposal to allow Protestants married to Catholics to receive the Eucharist in certain circumstances. One prominent cardinal has said he is "furious" with how the Communion debate is playing out.
Read more
Kyiv, Ukraine, Jun 8, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- As a Ukrainian clinic claims success in creating babies with three parents’ DNA, critics are raising medical and ethical objections to the largely experimental fertility method.
Read more
Rome, Italy, Jun 7, 2018 CNA.- For the first time in its 245-year history, a lay professor has been appointed rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, also known as the “Pope’s university.”
Read more
Vatican City, Jun 7, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- Pope Francis has sent a birthday greeting to Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, widely considered the father of liberation theology, thanking him for his service to the Church and his dedication to the poor.
Read moreWARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- Catholic leaders in central Europe vowed to uphold church teachings on marriage after Europe's highest court ruled same-sex married couples should have residence rights in all countries.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- If Pope Francis ever plans an apostolic trip to space, he's all set after receiving a custom-made blue flight suit with patches of the Argentine flag, his papal coat of arms and a pair of angel wings with his crew name, Jorge M. Bergoglio.
Read more
SANTIAGO, Chile (CNS) -- Like other Catholics, Teresa Correa, a mother of four and a member of the parish in the Chilean capital's upscale Las Condes neighborhood, has lost some of her confidence in the Catholic Church.
Read moreSYDNEY (CNS) -- Laws requiring Catholic priests to break the seal of confession in some cases passed the Australian Capital Territory's Legislative Assembly in Canberra June 7. The purpose of the Ombudsman Amendment Bill 2018 was to expand the Reportable Conduct Scheme governing allegations of child abuse and misconduct to include religious organizations.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said that when he was on the Greek island of Lesbos, "while enchanted by the scenery of the blue sky and sea, I was struck by the thought that such a beautiful sea had become a tomb for men, women and children who had for the most part sought only to escape inhumane conditions in their own homelands."
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis wished a happy 90th birthday to the "father of liberation theology" and thanked him for his contributions to the Catholic Church and his love for the poor. As Dominican Father Gustavo Gutierrez prepared to celebrate his birthday June 8, Pope Francis assured him of his "prayers in this significant moment in your life."
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called for a special Synod of Bishops to focus on the Amazon region not primarily because of the rainforest's key role in the ecological health of the planet, but mostly because he sees pastoral needs there that require special attention.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Peace is a gift that can easily be destroyed through petty gossip and speaking ill of others, Pope Francis said. People who receive and give the sign of peace "should be men and women of peace" and not ruin "the peace made by the Holy Spirit with your tongue," the pope said June 6 during his weekly general audience.
Read more
Edinburgh, Scotland, Jun 5, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- In a pastoral letter for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Archbishop Leo Cushley of St. Andrews & Edinburgh stressed the importance of the Sunday Mass obligation for Catholics.
Read more
DUBLIN (CNS) -- President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland described the treatment of women and children in state-controlled institutions managed by the Catholic Church as a "deep stain on Ireland's past."
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis sent condolences to Guatemala after a horrific volcanic eruption left more than 60 people dead. In a June 5 telegram addressed to Archbishop Nicolas Thevenin, apostolic nuncio of Guatemala, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said the pope was "profoundly grieved upon learning the sad news of the violent eruption of the 'Volcan de Fuego' ('Volcano of Fire')."
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When he was named secretary of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation, Cardinal-designate Luis F. Ladaria Ferrer marveled at being unexpectedly thrust into the limelight. "That was very surprising. I would never have thought of ending up here. And I'm not the only one, seeing that my name was never mentioned in the newspapers," he said in August 2008 in an interview with the Italian Catholic magazine "30 Giorni."
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinal-designate Angelo De Donatis met Pope Francis five years ago when the pope invited himself to the Holy Thursday lunch that another of the cardinals-designate hosts each year.
Read moreNAMUGONGO, Uganda (CNS) -- John Ole, 67, has a smile on his face, knowing he just completed a 300-mile trek on foot with hundreds of Catholic pilgrims to Namugongo from Uganda's northeast district of Arua to celebrate Uganda martyrs day.
Read moreMEXICO CITY (CNS) -- The Jesuits' Central America province has warned that the rector of Jesuit-run University of Central America in Managua, Nicaragua, has received death threats for his participation in a national dialogue convened by the country's Catholic bishops to reach a peaceful end to weeks of unrest and government repression of protesters.
Read more
ROME (CNS) -- The way young people around the world are embracing attitudes of welcome, tolerance and acceptance of differences bodes well for a future where anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies may not have the upper hand, said the new president of the International Catholic Migration Commission.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Once honored by his native Nicaragua as a "father of peace and reconciliation," Cardinal Miguel Obando Bravo, retired archbishop of Managua, died June 3 at the age of 92. Pope Francis praised the late cardinal in a telegram released June 4 for being a "devoted pastor," who spent his life serving God and the church with "generous faith."
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has asked the Catholic bishops' conference of Germany not to publish nationwide guidelines for allowing Protestants married to Catholics to receive Communion at Mass, but to continue having diocesan bishops judge specific situations.
Read more
ROME (CNS) -- As he did with his disciples at Passover, Jesus asks all Christians to prepare a place for him, not in "exclusive, selective places" but rather in uncomfortable places that are "untouched by love, untouched by hope," Pope Francis said.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After meeting with Pope Francis for more than four hours, a Chilean priest who suffered abuse and a priest who ministers to survivors said they felt comforted and hopeful for the church's future in their country.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While Pope Francis was continuing his efforts to heal a church wounded by the scourge of sexual abuse, bishops in Chile face an uphill battle back at home to regain the trust they have lost.
Read more
Vatican City (CNA) -- Pope Francis' fifth consistory marks an important shift within the College of Cardinals: it is the first time in the five years of this pontificate that in a possible future conclave the number of cardinals created by Pope Francis will surpass the number of cardinals created by his predecessors.
Read more
Vatican City, May 30, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- Pope Francis’ announcement of a consistory to create new cardinals will also have consequences for the offices of the Roman Curia. Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State, has been appointed prefect of the Congregation of the Cause of Saints, to replace Cardinal Angelo Amato, who will turn 80 on June 8.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A new Vatican document cautions against the dangers of highly competitive children's sports, political and economic pressures on athletes to win '"at all costs" and the unsportsmanlike or violent behavior of fans.
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a letter to Catholics in Chile, Pope Francis expressed shame for the church's failure to listen and defend survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of the clergy. Released by the Chilean bishops' conference May 31, the letter from the pope said that the time of "revision and purification" in the church was possible through the efforts of abuse survivors "who, against all hope or painted as discredited, did not tire of looking for the truth."
Read more
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Nicaragua's bishops have demanded an end to police and paramilitary attacks on unarmed protesters, who have continued to call for the Central American country's authoritarian president to step aside.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- From the moment of his election, Pope Francis' down-to-earth take on communicating the Gospel has led to countless front-page headlines either praising or criticizing him. But his disarming and sometimes even blunt style also has meant he has become a popular target of "fake news."
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To promote healing after reports of sexual abuse and cover-ups, Pope Francis will send Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta and Father Jordi Bertomeu Farnos back to Chile. Both will visit the Diocese of Osorno "with the aim of advancing the process of reparation and healing of abuse victims," the Vatican said in a statement May 31.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has named as apostolic visitor to Medjugorje the Polish archbishop he had initially sent to the town as his personal envoy to study the pastoral needs of the townspeople and of the thousands of pilgrims who flock to the site of the alleged Marian apparitions.
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Bolivian Cardinal-designate Toribio Ticona Porco denied rumors of having a wife and children in secret and threatened legal action if the reports continued. In a statement released by the Bolivian bishops' conference May 28, Cardinal-designate Ticona said the allegations contained in the "false report" first published in the Spanish "Adelante la Fe" blog "do not correspond to the truth."
Read more
Northampton, England, May 30, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- As an investigation into the life of Catholic apologist G.K. Chesterton nears a close, admirers of the English writer voiced hope that his sainthood cause could soon be opened.
Read more
Rome, Italy, May 29, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- Cardinal Gerhard Müller reflected recently on the rise of gender ideology, saying it flourished in the vacuum left by the collapse of fascism and Soviet communism as a “new religion”.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis asked Catholics to recognize and be thankful for the undeserved gift of the Holy Spirit they received with the sacrament of confirmation. "It is a gift to be cherished with care" and to follow with docility, "letting oneself be molded like wax from the burning love" of the Holy Spirit, the pope said May 30 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis reminded Catholics to support evangelization efforts worldwide through the Pontifical Mission Societies. The pope called for "support for missionaries who evangelize and for support, above all, through prayer so that the Holy Spirit," who is "the principle agent of evangelization," will be present and fruitful.
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinal-designate Giovanni Angelo Becciu is one of the very few new cardinals not completely surprised in late May when Pope Francis announced the names of the 14 churchmen he intended to induct into the College of Cardinals.
Read moreOXFORD, England (CNS) -- Spain's newest cardinal has said his appointment confirms the pope's determination to keep religious orders center stage in the church's life and mission. "The religious have faced a certain incomprehension and relegation -- so pronouncements by Pope Francis, who's never concealed his Jesuit identity, on the harmony of vocations are significant," said Cardinal-designate Aquilino Bocos Merino, a former superior general of the Claretian order.
Read more
Vatican City, May 28, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- Ideologies which do not acknowledge and uphold the dignity of human life must be resisted and the Catholic Church’s teaching on life affirmed, Pope Francis told a group of Catholic doctors Monday.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- That only men can be validly ordained to the priesthood is a truth that is part of the Catholic faith and will not and cannot change, said Cardinal-designate Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Make medicine and health care more humane by protecting the life and dignity of all patients, particularly the weakest and the unborn, Pope Francis told Catholic doctors and medical specialists.
Read moreDUBLIN (CNS) -- An Irish bishop said he hopes Pope Francis' August visit can help bring healing after a divisive referendum that will pave the way for abortion on demand up to 12 weeks' gestation. In a May 25 referendum, voters opted by a margin of 66.4 percent to 33.6 percent to remove the right to life of the unborn from the constitution.
Read more
DUBLIN (CNS) -- Voters in Ireland have opted to remove the right to life of the unborn from the country's constitution, paving the way for abortion on demand up to 12 weeks. Results from the nationwide referendum showed that 66.4 percent of citizens opted to remove the Eighth Amendment from the constitution, while 33.6 percent voted to retain it. Turnout was 64.5 percent.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople called on Christians to work together to build a culture of solidarity in the face of growing economic inequality and a lack of respect for the human dignity of the poor and of migrants.
Read more
Rome, Italy, May 25, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- For the first time in five years, seminarians and student priests from the North American College in Rome will hit the soccer field to battle it out for the winning title in the city’s holiest tournament – the Clericus Cup.
Read more
Vatican City, May 24, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- In a closed-door speech to Italian bishops on Monday, Pope Francis reportedly spoke about the number and quality of seminary candidates, including concerns about their sexual orientation.
Read more
Vatican City, May 23, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- The professor who chaired a Vatican study group on Humanae Vitae stressed that the Bl. Paul VI’s encyclical “needs no updating.” Professor Gilfredo Marengo, of the Pontifical Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, spoke with CNA at the presentation of his latest book, “Chiesa senza storia, storia senza Chiesa” (Church without history, history without the Church), which explores the implications and consequences of Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- It is a contradiction to claim that promoting access to safe abortions is somehow protecting the human rights of women and girls, a Vatican representative said. "In fact, abortion denies the unborn child his or her most basic right -- to life itself," said Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, Vatican observer to U.N. agencies in Geneva.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Implementation of Pope Francis' abbreviated process for declaring the nullity of a marriage got off to a slow start, Vatican statistics showed, but his encouragement for making the annulment process free for petitioners fared better.
Read more
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Marriage is a sacrament not only for the bride and groom, but for the entire Catholic Church, because it proclaims that "love is possible," Pope Francis said.
"It is true there are difficulties, there are problems with the children or with the couple themselves -- arguments, fights," he said May 25 at morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Seven couples celebrating their 25th or 50th wedding anniversaries were among those present at the Mass.
Read more
BUCKFASTLEIGH, England (CNS) -- Holy Communion is exclusively for Catholics in a state of grace and not something to be shared between friends like beer or cake, said a former senior adviser to two popes.
Read more
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) -- An Italian Consolata sister murdered in Somalia in 2006 will be beatified in Piacenza, Italy, May 26. Sister Leonella Sgorbati and her bodyguard were gunned down as they left the children's hospital where she worked in Mogadishu.
Read more
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Nicaragua's bishops have suspended their participation as mediators and witnesses in a national dialogue, citing a "lack of consensus among the parties" on resolving the political crisis engulfing the Central American country.
Read more
KARACHI, Pakistan (CNS) -- Cardinal-designate Joseph Coutts sees himself as a conductor -- not of musicians but of religious leaders from various faiths. He will soon be leading his religious orchestra as a cardinal after being named by Pope Francis May 20 as one of 14 men to be promoted, reported ucanews.com.
Read more
TOKYO (CNS) -- Cardinal-designate Thomas Aquinas Manyo Maeda of Osaka was more surprised than anyone at the news he is to become a cardinal, reported ucanews.com. "People have been emailing and calling one after the other to say they had seen the announcement," the cardinal-designate told ucanews.com after Pope Francis announced his list of new cardinals in Rome May 20.
Read more