News

Army chaplains first line of defense in soldiers’ behavioral health

The Army, like the rest of the military, is not immune from the destabilizing and sometimes crippling psychological traumas that affect civilians.

Christians, Hindus must show world peace is possible, official says

The president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue issues a message to Hindus each year for the feast of Diwali, a three-day religious festival focusing on the victory of truth over lies, light over darkness, life over death and good over evil.

Bible-preaching priest becomes social media star

In weekly one-minute videos, Venezuelan Franciscan Father Luis Antonio Salazar, 34, discusses key passages of the New Testament with the help of electronic music and special effects to 120,000 followers.

With political will, countries can meet needs of refugees, speakers say

The plight of the world's refugees will be solved by politics, not by appeals to conscience or awareness of the tremendous scope of the issue, said speakers at an Oct. 17 New York symposium on migration.

From sidewalk to swamp, wonders of creation abound

Whether it's the forests and waterways of the Amazon or life in the world's far-flung cities, people have "boxed everything into neat categories" and succumbed to a "disconnected view of creation and of humanity," said an observer at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.

Mexican bishops call for peace, conversion amid growing violence

Violence erupted in Culiacan Oct. 17 after Mexican security forces detained Ovidio Guzman Lopez, son of "El Chapo," in mid-afternoon.

Synod groups: Ecology, violence, migration among challenges for church

The 12 small-group reports, published by the Vatican Oct. 18, were the result of reflections in groups organized by language; each group summarized its members' conclusions and offered proposals for the whole synod.

Lebanon’s Catholic patriarchs support protesters seeking economic reforms

Fueled by economic insecurity and deteriorating living conditions, a fifth day of protests Oct. 21 were sparked by government plans to impose new taxes.

At catacombs, synod members pledge simplicity, closeness to the poor

More than a half century after a group of bishops at the Second Vatican Council made a solemn pledge to live a simple lifestyle close to their people, a group of participants from the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon signed a new pact in the Catacombs of Domitilla.

Mission is to make disciples for Christ, not for one’s group, pope says

Every Christian is called to be a missionary, sharing the good news of salvation in Christ and making disciples for him, not for oneself or one's clique of like-minded believers, Pope Francis said.