World News
Missionary team plants Catholicism in Mongolia, but challenges remain
PERTH, Australia (CNS) -- When Bishop Wenceslao Padilla arrived in Mongolia with two other missionary priests in 1992, there were no Catholics in the Central Asian country. His mission was much like that of the early apostles: to take Catholicism to a land that had not yet encountered it.
Theory of one hominid species is compatible with faith, experts say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A group of scientists has proposed that human beings emerged from one single evolving human species rather than branching from a tree of multiple, early ancestral species. The new hypothesis, while still disputed, fits even better with the Catholic Church's position that humans came from one source, in that they were freely created by God, said two experts in science and faith.
New U.S. envoy to Vatican: Areas of agreement bigger than differences
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Disagreements need not hinder the Vatican and the Obama administration from collaborating on a broad range of peace and justice issues, including the promotion of religious freedom, said Ken Hackett, the new U.S ambassador to the Holy See.
Defense of family must not justify women’s oppression, speakers say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church must defend the traditional family without perpetuating the subjugation of women or forcing them to bear the greatest burden for keeping the family going, said speakers at a Vatican conference. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said a renewed approach to the pastoral care of the family must involve the participation of married men and women.
Marriage isn’t easy, but it’s beautiful, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church must help young people understand that marriage isn't always easy, "but it is so beautiful," Pope Francis said.
Christians, Jews must fight discrimination together, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians and Jews must work together to fight all forms of discrimination and persecution, Pope Francis told a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “Where any minority is persecuted and marginalized because of its religious convictions or ethnicity, the good of the entire society is in danger,” the pope said Oct. […]
French court: No conscience clause for mayors in same-sex marriage
OXFORD, England (CNS) -- French Catholics criticized a Constitutional Court judgment denying local officials the right to opt out of conducting same-sex marriages. "This ruling could have dramatic consequences for religious freedom both here and abroad," said the leader of a French Catholic family group.
Pope says he’s drawn to prisoners because he’s human like they are
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said his care, concern and prayers for those in prison flow from a recognition that he is human like they are, and it's a mystery they fell so far and he did not. "Thinking about this is good for me: When we have the same weakness, why did they fall and I didn't? This is a mystery that makes me pray and draws me to prisoners," the pope said Oct. 23 during a brief audience with about 200 Italian prison chaplains.
Pope authorizes leave of absence for German ‘luxury bishop’
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has authorized a leave of absence for a German bishop at the center of controversy over expenditures for his residence and diocesan center.
Vatican ambassador tells U.N.: ‘Without life, all other rights are meaningless’
UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — In remarks Oct. 18 to a U.N. General Assembly committee focusing on the promotion and protection of children’s rights, the Vatican’s nuncio to the U.N. said, “Without life, all other rights are meaningless.” Archbishop Francis Chullikatt was commenting on a U.N. report on child mortality, which concluded that the U.N.’s goal […]