World News
Cardinal: Pope ‘tells it like it is,’ is clear about church’s message
"This Holy Father has been and will be faithful to the doctrine and teaching of the church," said Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington. "He says it clearly and I guess there are some people who don't like clarity. ... He's not an obfuscator. He tells it like it is, because he wants people to hear it as it truly is."
Blood of Naples’ patron liquefies during pope’s visit to cathedral
After Pope Francis blessed the congregation with the reliquary holding the vial, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples announced, "As a sign that St. Januarius loves the pope, who is Neapolitan like us, the blood is already half liquefied."
Pope preaches hope to unemployed, immigrants, prisoners
Hope is the first act of resistance to evil, Pope Francis told the people of Naples as he pleaded for respect for the dignity of immigrants, jobs for the unemployed and the conversion of the city's notorious mafia families.
Pope Francis erects Diocese of Nogales, Mexico, just south of U.S.
The pope appointed Bishop Jose Leopoldo Gonzalez Gonzalez, 60, to head the new diocese. He had been auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Guadalajara.
Latin American bishops testify in D.C. against extractive industries
U.S. and Canadian bishops joined their Latin American counterparts who came to Washington to testify over the environmental and social ills wrought by extractive industries such as mining and logging.
Text messages from Mary? Do not reply, bishops say
The Catholic bishops of Ivory Coast said the purported emails and texts are not approved by the church, and most are "contrary to the teachings of the church."
Pope accepts cardinal’s decision to renounce duties, rights of office
Pope Francis accepted Scotland Cardinal Keith O'Brien's decision to renounce all "duties and privileges" associated with being a cardinal.
Pope Francis calls death penalty ‘unacceptable,’ urges abolition
Pope Francis met with a three-person delegation of the International Commission Against the Death Penalty March 20, and issued a letter on the occasion urging worldwide abolition.
In Holy Year, pope wants to share experience of mercy he had as teen
Pope Francis has recounted the story several times in the past two years. On one occasion early in his pontificate, he told members of Catholic lay movements about his faith journey, particularly the importance of growing up Catholic and the influence of his grandmother.
Not just pretty pictures: Church art is catechetical storybook of faith
Having so much world-famous art housed in Rome's churches and chapels has risked turning the city's sacred spaces into sightseer circuses.