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Cardinal-designate Joseph W. Tobin, after being named to the College of Cardinals in October, was appointed by Pope Francis to Newark, New Jersey Nov. 7.

Pope Francis gives New Jersey its first cardinal – and ups the ante on church reform

Pope Francis had already delivered the Catholic Church’s version of an October surprise when he included Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin in the batch of new cardinals he announced last month — promising a red hat to the leader of a relatively small Midwestern diocese of 230,000 Catholics that had never before had a cardinal, nor would ever expect one.

Women religious are critical to the fight against trafficking because they work directly with people in need, said Ivonne van de Kar, the coordinator of the Foundation of Religious Against Trafficking of Women in the Netherlands.

Religious women critical in fight against trafficking, says advocate

VATICAN CITY – Women religious are often the first people to discover problems emerging in society because they work directly with so many people in need, an anti-trafficking advocate said.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Rome's Prima Porta cemetery Nov. 2, the feast of All Souls. On Nov. 4, the Pope remembered the seven cardinals and 136 bishops who have died since October 25, 2015.

Chinese bishops who served prison, labour camp times remembered among deceased cardinals, bishops

VATICAN CITY – Praying for cardinals and bishops who died in the past year, Pope Francis urged people to remember the priestly witness they gave.

Father Burke Masters, Chicago Cubs' chaplain, takes part in a practice with players during spring training in March 2016 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. Cubs Manager Joe Maddon invited Father Masters to practice with the team.

Cubs chaplain cares for ‘spiritual needs’ of players

CHICAGO – When Fr. Burke Masters accepted God’s call to become a priest, he thought he was giving up baseball forever.

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Malmo, Sweden, to Rome Nov. 1. The Pope said that the Church's teaching to never ordain women is likely to last forever.

Catholic Church never likely to ordain women, Pope says

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM SWEDEN – The Catholic Church insistence that it cannot ordain women to the priesthood and episcopacy is a teaching likely to last forever, Pope Francis said.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, right, speaks as the Rev. Martin Junge, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, looks on during a news conference at the Vatican Oct. 26. During Pope Francis’ trip to Sweden, the cardinal was asked about the possibility of Catholics and Lutherans receiving Communion together.

Vatican cardinal explains limits of eucharistic sharing

MALMO, Sweden – The Catholic Church continues to insist that sharing the sacrament of Communion will be a sign that Christian churches have reconciled fully with one another, although in some pastoral situations, guests may be invited to the Eucharist, said Cardinal Kurt Koch.

Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec, pictured at the Vatican in 2014, was named to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, along with a number of others, Oct. 28.

Pope names Lacroix a new member of worship congregation, among others

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis renewed the membership of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments by naming new members, including Canadian Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec and Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, New Jersey.

A statue of Martin Luther is seen onstage as Pope Francis arrives for an audience with a pilgrimage of Catholics and Lutherans from Germany in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican Oct. 13. The pope will visit Sweden Oct. 31-Nov. 1 for commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Ecumenical papal trip: Touching the Christian heart of secular Sweden

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis' recent insistence on "walking ecumenism," the notion that Christians will draw closer to each other as they work together to help the poor, should resonate well with Lutherans and Catholics in Sweden.

Martin Luther, a German monk and key figure in the Protestant Reformation, is depicted in this painting at a church in Helsingor, Denmark. Pope Francis will visit Sweden Oct. 31-Nov. 1 for commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Sorrow and joy: Marking the Reformation with honesty about the past

VATICAN CITY – As Catholics and Lutherans prepare to mark the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation, Pope Francis said they should feel "pain for the division that still exists among us, but also joy for the brotherhood we have already rediscovered."

The Rev. Martin Junge, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, speaks at a Vatican news conference Oct. 26. Rev. Junge says the Pope celebrating Mass with Swedish Catholics the day after Reformation anniversary events shows that the churches are not yet united.

Ecumenical papal trip also will show pain of division, Lutheran says

VATICAN CITY – The extension of Pope Francis' trip to Sweden by one day to accommodate a papal Mass for the nations' Catholics does not detract from the ecumenical power of the trip, but actually highlights the need for Christian unity, said the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation.

Pope Francis said during during his general audience in St. Peter's Square Oct. 26 that closing doors to migrants and refugees is not the answer.

Walls aren't answer to people fleeing war, climate change, Pope says

VATICAN CITY – Closing doors to immigrants and refugees is not the answer – in fact, it only helps encourage the crime of human trafficking, Pope Francis said.

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