World News
For vocations, one must go out, listen, call, pope says
Young people are searching for meaning, and the best response is to go out to where they are, stop and listen to them and then call them to follow Jesus, the pope said Oct. 21.
Jesuit church no longer open for talks on South African university crisis
The "safe and neutral space" of Holy Trinity Church in Johannesburg "has been violated by those who declared God's house to be exclusively theirs," Father David Rowan, regional superior of the Jesuits in South Africa, said in an Oct. 20 statement.
Sorrow and joy: Marking the Reformation with honesty about the past
As Catholics and Lutherans prepare to mark the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation, Pope Francis said they should feel "pain for the division that still exists among us, but also joy for the brotherhood we have already rediscovered."
Ecumenical papal trip: Touching the Christian heart of secular Sweden
Pope Francis' recent insistence on "walking ecumenism," the notion that Christians will draw closer to each other as they work together to help the poor, should resonate well with Lutherans and Catholics in Sweden.
Vatican raffle to benefit earthquake victims in central Italy
Along with the Christmas-tree lighting ceremony and the unveiling of the Nativity creche, Pope Francis' raffle to benefit those in need is becoming an annual holiday tradition at the Vatican.
Heavy damage makes assessment tough after Haima slams Philippines
UPDATED -Typhoon Haima barreled into northern Cagayan and Isabella provinces, ripping the roofs off homes and flattening crops.
Catechism not enough to know Christ; need prayer, too, pope says
Prayer, silent adoration and recognizing one's sinfulness also are needed to grasp the mystery of Christ and the immensity of his love, the pope said in his homily during Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae Oct. 20.
Religious called to be prophets of communion, pope says
Religious orders must harness the only power the matters: the power to communicate concretely the love and mercy of God, Pope Francis told members of the Augustinian Recollects.
In Turkey, Iraqi Christians waiting for resettlement live in limbo
Thousands of Iraqi Christians are in Turkey waiting for an answer to their resettlement applications to Western countries. They are waiting for an appointment or a visa, a document that will allow them to restart their lives in a new country. And not knowing when that will happen is leading them to live a life in limbo.
True Christian charity is more than just making donations, pope says
"Poverty in the abstract does not challenge us. It may make us think, it may make us complain, but when you see poverty in the flesh of a man, a woman or a child; this (certainly) challenges us!" he said.