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Pope Francis exchanges greetings with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople as he arrives for an interfaith peace gathering at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, Sept. 20. The peace gathering marks the 30th anniversary of the first peace encounter in Assisi in 1986.

Religious leaders praise Patriarch Bartholomew as a great ecumenist

ASSISI, Italy – As leaders of dozens of religions gathered in Assisi for dialogue and prayers for peace, they honored Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople as an exemplar of one who is so deeply rooted in his own religious tradition that he can reach out to others without fear.

Pope Francis greets a Muslim woman as he meets refugees at the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece, April 16, 2016.

Best way to fight terrorism is to warmly welcome refugees, Pope says

VATICAN CITY – Offering migrants and refugees truly helpful and loving hospitality is the greatest guarantee against terrorism, Pope Francis said.

Pauline Winogron working on the restoration of a crucifix.

Faithful make new connection with statues, restorers finding

OTTAWA – An Ottawa couple has discovered a calling restoring and re-painting religious statues, as they have found that the veneration of statues is “making a comeback” after falling into disuse in the years after Vatican II.

Pope Francis greets Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of external relations for the Russian Orthodox Church, at the Vatican Sept 15. Between Sept. 15-22 leading Catholic and Orthodox bishops will come together in Italy to discuss key issues that are keeping their churches apart.

Catholics, Orthodox meet to discuss synodality, papal primacy

VATICAN CITY – Leading Catholic and Orthodox bishops were meeting in Italy to continue discussions on the key issue keeping their Churches apart: the role of the bishop of Rome, the pope.

Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Yonan (centre), celebrating the Divine liturgy in 2015.

Changing canon law, Pope brings Latin and Eastern practices closer

VATICAN CITY – In a change to church law, Latin-rite Catholic deacons may not preside at a wedding when one or both of the new spouses are members of an Eastern Catholic church.

A new Vatican ruling said that performing or helping procure an abortion or attempting suicide is an obstacle to ordination as a Catholic priest.

Vatican: Abortion, attempted suicide always obstacles to ordination

VATICAN CITY – The sacredness of human life is so absolute that performing or helping procure an abortion or attempting suicide is an obstacle to ordination as a Catholic priest, even if the man was not Catholic at the time the events occurred, said a new Vatican ruling.

Krysten Winter-Green, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, speaks during an interview in Rome Sept. 12. She said holding leaders accountable for negligence is "critical to the whole picture" of child protection.

Sharing the expertise: Papal advisors on abuse expand reach, influence

VATICAN CITY – Though it has no juridical power, Pope Francis' committee on protecting children has discovered it has consultative punch.

Recent study by a Georgetown University researcher finds that organized religion in the United States is estimated to be worth $1.2 trillion annually to the country's economy.

Study puts dollar value of organized religion in the U.S. at $1.2 trillion

WASHINGTON – Religion is big bucks — worth $1.2 trillion annually to the American economy, according to the first comprehensive study to tabulate such a figure.

Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, seen here in 2015, said the global economy needs to shift from its profit-driven model.

Economic focus must shift from profit to people, cardinal says

VATICAN CITY – The current economic model that places profit over the common good of all human beings must change in order to confront the challenges the world is facing today, a Vatican official said.

Pope Francis arrives to lead his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sept. 7. The Pope thanks a group of Argentine bishops for providing concrete guidelines regarding divorced and remarried couples.

Pope praises bishops' guidelines on helping divorced, remarried couples

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis thanked a group of bishops in Argentina for providing their priests with concrete guidelines for implementing the section of his apostolic exhortation on the family about circumstances in which divorced and civilly remarried couples might eventually be allowed to receive Communion.

Pope Francis greets Giuseppe Chiolo, 16, in St. Peter's Square during a Year of Mercy general audience at the Vatican Sept. 10. The pope administered the sacrament of confirmation to the young man, who is being treated in the oncology ward of a Florence hospital.

Pope gives confirmation sacrament to gravely ill teen

VATICAN CITY – In a brief outdoor ceremony, Pope Francis administered the sacrament of confirmation to 16-year-old Giuseppe Chiolo, who had come to the Vatican by ambulance from Florence.

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