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People of faith must advocate for religious liberty, says House speaker
People of faith have the responsibility to "advocate for their faith" not only through good works but also through through prayer, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.
Study of women deacons won’t be first, but might answer questions
When Pope Francis pledged May 12 to form a commission to study the possibility of women serving as deacons today, church experts began weighing in on a topic that a 2002 advisory panel failed to resolve.
World leaders urged to act to counter terrorist ‘narratives, ideologies’
"Religious leaders and people of faith must be at the forefront in delegitimizing the manipulation of faith and distortion of sacred texts as a justification for violence," Archbishop Bernardito Auza said.
In new interview, pope riffs on religious freedom, abuse crisis
Governments must respect people's conscientious objection to secular laws, Pope Francis told a French Catholic newspaper. And he again called for zero tolerance of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Mission must come before maintaining institutions, pope says
Opening the Italian bishops' conference annual assembly in the Vatican May 16, the pope focused on the bishops' main agenda item: "the renewal of clergy."
Armenians say ‘whole population’ set to welcome Pope Francis in June
Many Armenians say Pope Francis will be widely welcomed when he visits the country in June, thanks in part to a remark he made about genocide more than a year ago.
Obama directive on transgender access to facilities ‘deeply disturbing’
"The guidance contradicts a basic understanding of human formation so well expressed by Pope Francis: that 'the young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created.'"
Group plans to end 11-year presence in closed Massachusetts church
A representative of the Friends of Frances X. Cabrini, the organization that has occupied the church, said members would meet May 29 to "finalize their transition."
Pharmaceutical firm hailed for ban on supplying drugs for executions
"The medical community's mission is to save lives; Pfizer's actions ... are consistent with that mission."
Pope gets media’s attention as he rebrands church, papacy, says priest
"We have a pope who is concerned about the environment, about mercy, compassion and love, and a deep passion, care and concern for the poor and for displaced peoples of this earth," he added.