News
No youths should feel excluded from pre-synod meeting, cardinal says
As the Catholic Church prepares to welcome youths from around the world to a preparatory meeting for the Synod of Bishops on youth, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri said the church is using every means of communication available to listen to young people from all walks of life.
Fasting during Lent includes sharing, treating others kindly, pope says
Loudly boasting or complaining about fasting during Lent and treating others unkindly is not what God wants, Pope Francis said.
U.S. bishops who’ve seen gun violence up close call for end to ‘madness’
An analysis of online archives, state and federal enrollment figures, and news stories revealed that "more than 150,000 students attending at least 170 primary or secondary schools have experienced a shooting on campus."
Cardinal Cupich decries fatal shootings in Chicago, at Florida school
Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich asked for prayers for Cmdr. Bauer, his family and friends, "as well as all for those who work to maintain the peace and help the suffering here and around the world."
Archbishop: Church’s Christian anthropology is basis for social teachings
The Catholic response to today's widely debated societal issues -- from abortion to immigration to racism -- must be rooted in the church's fundamental teaching about human dignity and the "destiny of the human person," said the archbishop of Indianapolis.
Pope updates resignation norms for bishops, prelates in Roman Curia
Updating the norms and regulations governing the resignation of bishops and of Roman Curia department heads who are not cardinals, Pope Francis said they will continue to hold office until he accepts their resignations.
South African bishops: Zuma’s resignation was long overdue
Jacob Zuma's resignation as president of South Africa is long overdue, the country's bishops said, noting that his scandal-plagued presidency fostered corruption and dereliction of duty at all levels of government.
Islamic State has landed in lawless Somalia, bishop says
The insurgent group -- linked to mass killings, abductions and beheadings in Iraq and Syria, where it is facing defeat -- see Somalia as a suitable base due to its lawlessness, Bishop Giorgio Bertin, apostolic administrator of Mogadishu, Somalia.
Captain of men’s Olympic hockey team played for Catholic schools first
Brian Gionta, captain of the U.S. men's Olympic ice hockey team, competed in the 2006 Winter Games and played on three NHL teams, but his skating roots go back to his Catholic high school and college teams.
Vatican denies report Pope Benedict has degenerative disease
In an interview published Feb. 13 in the German weekly entertainment magazine, Neue Post, Msgr. Ratzinger said Pope Benedict suffered from a nerve disease that was slowly paralyzing him.