World News
Climate change action is not about taking jobs away, cardinal says
"The same pope cannot be encouraging us to advise bishops to create jobs for people and create joblessness. It's about the need to look beyond; from what appears to be short-term goals to transform it into long-term visions.
Pope urges kidnappers to release captives, including Salesian in Yemen
Father Uzhunnalil was kidnapped from a home for the aged and disabled run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden. Four Missionaries of Charity and 12 others were murdered in the attack.
Summit looks at role global partnerships must play in ending trafficking
Human trafficking encompasses slavery and includes recruitment and transportation of vulnerable people using force, deception or coercion for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labor or service, servitude or the removal of organs.
‘Witch hunts’ rooted in putting laws above God’s truth, pope says
A heart that clings to the letter of the law is closed to the Holy Spirit and God's truth, Pope Francis said at morning Mass. Such hardened hearts often were behind the persecution of innocent men and women seeking to follow God's wil.
Cardinal Schonborn: Family doc doesn’t change doctrine
Pope Francis' new document on the family is an "organic development" of church teaching with "true innovations, but no break" in tradition, said a participant in recent synods of bishops that dealt with the topic.
Papal document digs into the nitty gritty of family life
In "Amoris Laetitia," Pope Francis writes of the passion and devotion of family life, but also heartache and sweat. Commitment to another person "involves a bold gamble," he wrote. But the payoff is huge.
Spirituality is essential in family life, pope says
Simple gestures such as a kind look or a morning kiss and family prayer can strengthen couples in living out their vocation to marriage, Pope Francis said in "'Amoris Laetitia' (The Joy of Love).
Show mercy to all families, the strong and the struggling, pope urges
"No family drops down from heaven perfectly formed," Pope Francis wrote in his highly anticipated document on the family released today. He urged greater sensitivity in the church for marriages in crisis and for gay people.
Catholics and Methodists can learn from one another, pope says
Pope Francis met Methodist leaders in Rome and applauded the "growing closeness" between the two churches and the desire to "overcome all that stands in the way of our full communion."
Pope to visit Lesbos with Orthodox to highlight plight of refugees
The pope wants to go to Lesbos for the same reasons that drew him to visit the Italian island of Lampedusa: to point to "the reality of refugees and immigrants" and because "he sees an important emergency" unfolding there.