News
Shorter annulment process isn’t about shortcuts, cardinals say
The reforms to the annulment process introduced by Pope Francis serve only to avoid delays in cases where marriages are clearly not valid, two synod fathers said.
Haitian bishops urge citizens to vote, but warn of false promises
"In politics, there is no messiah," they warned in an Oct. 15 message. "Do not believe the electoralist promises of some."
Discourage mixed marriages, women accepting abuse, some say at synod
Observers told the Synod of Bishops on the family to discourage Christian women from marrying Muslim men, urge priests not to tell women to return to abusive husbands, share the truth of church teaching about marriage, and embrace single mothers who are alienated from the church.
God’s love is overabundant, limitless, pope says
God is neither petty nor still; he goes out in search of people out of love, Pope Francis said at early morning Mass in the chapel of his residence.
Greece’s Caritas aids refugees with food, clothing, human warmth
Thousands of people fleeing Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan pass through the makeshift transit center daily at Idomeni, a Greek village -- population 120 -- on the border with Macedonia.
Louisiana religious leaders urge court to spare life of death-row inmate
The religious leaders who signed the brief "have a substantial interest in ensuring that Louisiana courts are fair and juries are not wrongfully persuaded to impose the death penalty by a prosecutor's personal interpretation of the Bible," the brief said.
Archbishop Chaput: In Philadelphia and in synod, support for Francis is obvious
In an Oct. 19 interview from Rome, Archbishop Charles Chaput said that despite an implied assertion published over the weekend, none of the bishops at the Synod of Bishops is an “opponent” of Pope Francis.
Poll shows more Americans like Pope Francis after September visit
A new survey finds among practicing Catholics, 90 percent now say they view the pope favorably, up from 83 percent in August. Among all Americans, the pope's numbers jumped to 74 percent from 58 percent.
Aid workers assess areas hit by typhoon as Philippines gets more rain
Typhoon Koppu made landfall Oct. 18 packing 108 mile-per-hour winds and pounding rains that caused chest-high flooding in some areas. Catholic Relief Services is aiding residents, 70,000 of whom were in evacuation centers.
New pastoral approach does not change doctrine, Australian archbishop says
A member of the Synod of Bishops said the ministry toward families in irregular unions must begin with bishops listening to them. A couple in a second union that is "enduring and stable and loving" is not the same "as a couple skulking off to a hotel room for a wicked weekend."