ROME (CNS) — The clerical abuse scandal has caused everyone in the Catholic Church “pain and unbearable suffering,” Pope Francis said, but it also is a call to repentance and the renewal of the church. ...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The percentage of Catholics in the world has remained steady, while the number of priests has decreased for the first time in almost a decade, according to Vatican statistics. Meanwhile, the ...
ROME (CNS) — Marked with ashes, Christians set off on a Lenten journey where they strive to leave behind everything that will turn to dust and instead focus on drawing closer to God and God’s ...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Violating religious freedom harms not only the individuals being persecuted, it also damages communities and often opens the door to further violence, a Vatican representative said. Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, the Vatican ...
ROME (CNS) — Lent is a good time to concentrate on fighting the urge to gossip about others and instead trying to correct one’s own faults and defects, Pope Francis said. Reciting the Angelus prayer ...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Declaring that the Catholic Church is unafraid of history, Pope Francis announced that documents in the Vatican Secret Archives relating to the wartime pontificate of Pope Pius XII will be open ...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Lenten season is a reminder for Catholics that overindulgence ruptures communion with God, with others and with creation, Pope Francis said. A failure to live as children of God can ...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Fidelity to Christ is the “secret” to every effective work of Christian charity, so every activity of outreach to the poor and suffering should be supported by prayer, Pope Francis said. ...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The day Australian Cardinal George Pell was jailed in Melbourne after being found guilty of child sexual abuse, the Vatican announced his case would be investigated by the Congregation for the ...
MELBOURNE, Australia (CNS) — An Australian court found Cardinal George Pell guilty on five charges related to the sexual abuse of two 13-year-old boys; sentencing is expected in early March, but the cardinal’s lawyer already ...