World News
Forgotten Catholics: French author speaks on single people, celibacy
Single people are the forgotten members of the Catholic Church, said a Catholic journalist who has developed expertise on this issue over the past 20 years.
Mass and lunch: Pope to lead celebration of World Day of the Poor
Pope Francis will celebrate the Catholic Church's first World Day of the Poor Nov. 19 by celebrating a morning Mass with people in need and those who assist them. After Mass, he will offer lunch to 500 people in the Vatican audience hall.
Peace, dialogue held hostage by nuclear weapons threat, pope says
At a Nov. 10 Vatican conference on disarmament, Pope Francis decried the "mentality of fear" that fosters war, and encouraged nations to build "a world free of deadly instruments of aggression."
Pope recognizes martyrdom of sister killed in Somalia in 2006
Consolata Sister Leonella Sgorbati and her bodyguard were gunned down as they left a children's hospital where she worked in Mogadishu. Pope Francis also recognized a U.S.-born mother and widow who died in 1957.
Pope puts John Paul I on path to sainthood, declares him ‘venerable’
It marks the first major step on the path to sainthood for the pope who died in 1978 at the age of 65, shocking the world and a church that had just mourned the death of Blessed Paul VI.
Pope John Paul I’s speeches showed warmth, sense of history
During his brief pontificate in 1978, Pope John Paul I delivered 19 speeches -- many of which included folksy stories and examples from his own life.
Stop taking smartphone snapshots during Mass, pope says
The Mass is not a show, but a beautiful, transformative encounter with the true loving presence of Christ, Pope Francis said.
Amid political crisis, Kenyan bishop plan national dialogue forum
Kenyan Catholic bishops have announced plans to convene a national dialogue forum in the face of a political crisis, which they say has left the country's ordinary people on the brink of despair.
Vietnamese diocese begins rebuilding church ruined in ’67 U.S. air raid
Bishop Joseph Vu Van Thien of Hai Phong celebrated a special Mass Nov. 6 to begin the construction of the new church at the Hai Duong Martyrs Shrine, about 35 miles southeast of Hanoi.
Pope bans cigarette sales at the Vatican
"The reason is very simple: The Holy See cannot contribute to an activity that clearly damages the health of people," Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman, said in a Nov. 9 statement.