World News
With Romero, the church gains a model Salvadorans have long venerated
His name is one in a sea of more than 70,000 innocent Salvadoran brothers and sisters, children, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles violently killed during 12 years of conflict, and he lost his life simply by living like the unprotected masses.
Young people want credibility, someone to walk with them, bishops say
Even in far-off Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, a bishop said a young person asked him what the church is doing to prevent clerical sexual abuse.
Do not judge church by acts of individuals, synod observer says
The faults of one person cannot be blamed on the entire Catholic Church, Percival Holt, a 25-year-old observer at the Synod of Bishops, told reporters.
What is God saying with rise of secularization? Jesuit superior asks
The Catholic Church must find a way to look at secularization as an opportunity to find new ways to proclaim the Gospel, the Jesuit superior general told the Synod of Bishops.
Honesty, gratitude to God are basis of credibility, cardinal tells synod
Unless they recognize themselves as sinners rescued by Jesus, adults cannot be effective in helping young people find the path to faith and doing God's will, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago told the Synod of Bishops.
Some married men would answer a call to priesthood, bishop says
Speaking to the Synod of Bishops on behalf of Belgium's bishops' conference, a bishop said he was sure some young married men would become priests if they were asked.
U.K. court rules for bakers refusing to make cake with gay marriage slogan
In a unanimous ruling, five judges overturned a series of decisions by the lower courts to conclude that "nobody should be forced to have or express a political opinion in which he does not believe."
Who are the Chinese bishops received back into ecclesial communion?
Three bishops out of eight given papal recognition in September were appointed by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association between 2010 and 2012; all those were quickly and publicly excommunicated.
Meeting the challenge: Bishops say synod can make a difference
At a Synod of Bishops where "cultural shift," "epochal change" and "massive challenge" are almost buzz phrases, Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg said, "I'm very optimistic."
Catholic, grass-roots groups work with survivors after Haitian quake
As Haitian authorities confirmed the toll from the Oct. 6 earthquake at 17 dead and 333 injured, Caritas and other grass-roots organizations working with the victims highlighted the critical humanitarian situation facing survivors, who now lack shelter.