VATICAN CITY – Growing acceptance of euthanasia does not indicate increased compassion, but highlights the rise of a selfish "throwaway culture" that casts aside the sick, the dying and those who do not satisfy the perceived requirements of a healthy life, Pope Francis said. 

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) June 19 (Zechariah 12:10-11; Psalm 63; Galatians 3:26-29; Luke 9:18-24)

Sometimes it takes an act of God to touch and move the human heart so that the tears can flow. Throughout history, up until this very day, people have often meted out countless acts of cruelty, injustice and unkindness towards one another. Leafing through history books, one could get the impression that history is written in blood. The worst part of it is the calloused and numbed consciences that seem unable or unwilling to acknowledge guilt or empathize with the pain of the victims. 

A seminarian I know recently went to a party at a local university campus. The group was a crowd of young, college students and when he was introduced as a seminarian, as someone who was trying to become a priest and who had taken a vow of celibacy, the mention of celibacy evoked some giggles in the room, some banter and a number of jokes about how much he must be missing out on in life. Poor, naïve fellow! 

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has called on Catholics to adopt a “healthy realism” in their approach to their faith, and he decried rigid idealists as heretics.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has upended many traditions during his extraordinary pontificate, to the point that some have wondered whether he is really Catholic.

MONTREAL – As the 100th anniversary approaches of the death of “Good Fr. Frédéric,” Franciscans are rallying to have Pope Francis finally declare Frederic Janssoone a saint.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals studied ways in which the responsibilities of Vatican offices can be simplified and harmonized.

WASHINGTON – When Deacon Joseph Jensen entered Our Lady of Good Counsel Passionist Seminary in Warrenton, Missouri, in the late 1950s, he realized he was the only student in his class who had read the Bible.

VATICAN CITY – Even in the midst of suffering and death, Christians can become witnesses of the Resurrection and the power of God's compassion, Pope Francis said as he proclaimed two new saints. 

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis will set up a panel of legal experts to help him in deciding whether to remove a religious superior or bishop from office for failing to protect minors and vulnerable adults from sex abuse.