World News
God’s love is source of salvation, dignity, hope, pope says at Mass
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God's love is the source of salvation, true dignity and hope, Pope Francis said in a brief homily at his morning Mass. "It's beautiful to believe in love. This is the truth, the truth of our lives," he said at Mass April 10 in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican guesthouse where he has been living since his election in March.
Being Christian means acting, loving like Christ, pope says at audience
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A Christian isn’t a person who simply follows some commandments, but is a person who tries to think like Christ, “act like him, love like him,” Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience. (See the text of the pope’s address.) More than 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for […]
Canada’s bishops issue ‘call to action’ on environment
OTTAWA, Ontario (CNS) -- The Canadian Catholic bishops' justice and peace commission is encouraging reflection and action on recent church teaching on the environment. "Having an overarching vision of God's purpose in creation and the rightful place of human beings in creation allows us to see the interconnectedness between different moral questions," said Bishop Donald Bolen of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, a member of the commission.
Bishops offer prayers after death of Britain’s Margaret Thatcher
LIVERPOOL, England (CNS) -- The Catholic bishops of England and Wales offered prayers for the soul of Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister who died at age 87 following a stroke. Baroness Thatcher, who led Britain from 1979 to 1990, died "peacefully" the morning of April 8, according to her family.
Through pope’s embrace, 8-year-old Rhode Island boy touches the world
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNS) -- By Easter Monday, it would be the shot seen around the world. But a day earlier, Christiana Gondreau could not have imagined that a chance encounter she and her 8-year-old son, Dominic, had with Pope Francis in the middle of St. Peter's Square following his first Easter Mass would touch the hearts of so many around the globe.
Pope says women’s love makes them privileged witnesses of Christ
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Women have a privileged role in the church because of their ability to pass on the faith through love, Pope Francis said.
Safeguarding creation expected to be major theme at WYD in Rio
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When hundreds of thousands of young Catholics gather with Pope Francis in Rio de Janeiro in the summer, reflections on safeguarding the environment will be part of the program.
On World Autism Day, remember love and affection, archbishop says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While the medical world makes technological advancements, it must not forget the power of love and affection in helping those with autism and their families, said Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski. “Faced with the problems and difficulties that these children and their parents encounter, the church proposes, with humility, an approach of service […]
Pope Francis tours excavated area near St. Peter’s tomb
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis became the first pope to tour the excavated necropolis where St. Peter is buried, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman. With explanations from the two directors of the necropolis, the pope walked down the central path between the mostly second-century burial chambers April 1, then went up a slight incline toward the tomb of Peter, which is directly under the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica.
Choice of Vatican secretary of state seen as key to curia reform
As Pope Francis moves beyond words and gestures to the stage of substantive actions, no decision he makes will be of greater consequence for reform of the church's bureaucracy than his choice of a secretary of state, the Vatican's highest official, who oversees both the internal affairs of the Holy See and its relations with 180 other states.