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A letter published by the Vatican April 4 says Pope Francis will allow Catholic bishops to appoint priests to assist at SSPX marriages and formally receive the consent of the couples.

Pope approves provisions to recognize marriages of SSPX faithful

VATICAN CITY – Continuing initiatives aimed at a reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X, Pope Francis has made it possible for bishops to ensure the validity of marriages celebrated in the traditionalist communities.

Syrian refugees Ramy and Suhila and their children, Khodus, Rashid and Abdul Mejid, relax in Rome in 2016 after Pope Francis brought them with him from a refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece.

ISIS captive among new Syrian refugees welcomed by Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has taken in three new Syrian families, some members of which were ISIS prisoners before gaining freedom and fleeing the country.

A statue of Our Lady of Fatima is carried through a crowd in 2016 at the Marian shrine of Fatima in central Portugal.

Pope asks evangelization council to oversee Catholic shrines

VATICAN CITY – Highlighting Catholic shrines' potential to strengthen the faith of Catholics and draw people to Christianity, Pope Francis transferred responsibility for coordinating the activity of shrines to the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

Pope Francis speaks April 4 to participants at a Vatican conference marking the 50th anniversary of Blessed Paul VI's encyclical on development, "Populorum Progressio."

Development must focus on dignity, officials say on 'Populorum Progressio' anniversary.

VATICAN CITY – The Catholic Church's commitment to promoting justice, defending human dignity, building peace and promoting development is a response to a Christian vision of the world and its purpose, which ultimately is to reach happiness with God, Vatican officials said at a conference.

Pope John Paul II is pictured with Carmelite Sister Lucia dos Santos, the last of the three Fatima visionaries alive in 1991. Recent popes have had a special affection for Our Lady of Fatima, but no pope's connection can match that of now St. John Paul II.

It's no secret the last three popes share close bond to Fatima

VATICAN CITY – Recent popes have had a special affection for Our Lady of Fatima, but no pope's connection can match that of St. John Paul II.

U.S. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is pictured during a seminar on safeguarding children at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome March 23.

Acknowledgement, respect is the least the Church can do, say abuse survivors

VATICAN CITY – Acknowledging correspondence and treating victims with respect is the very least church officials can offer, said survivors of clergy sex abuse.

Children in Les Cayes, Haiti, open presents March 22 that they received through the Box of Joy program of Cross Catholic Outreach, a Florida based relief and development agency.

Cross Catholic's gift boxes bring joy to children in Haiti

LES CAYES, Haiti – Teenager Syndia Joseph said she had never received a gift in her life.

During the recent restoration project of Jesus' tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, scientists determined that the holy site is at risk of collapsing due to its unstable foundation.

Scientists: Recently restored Jesus' tomb faces major risk of collapse

JERUSALEM – Having just undergone an extensive restoration, the site of Jesus' tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is at risk for significant structural failure if nothing is done to reinforce its foundations, scientists have said.

Pope Francis greets Norbertine Father Bernard Ardura, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, March 31 at the Vatican. The pope met with scholars taking part in a Vatican-sponsored congress on the Lutheran Reformation as part of the 500th anniversary commemorating the start of Luther's call for reform.

‘Put behind prejudice, forgive past sins,’ Pope on Lutheran Reformation

VATICAN CITY – Serious research on Martin Luther can help heal relations between Catholics and Protestants, highlight what was legitimate about the Reformation and pinpoint the errors and sins that led to the division of the church, Pope Francis said.

Living water of Jesus will satisfy our thirst

Living water of Jesus will satisfy our thirst

Growing up by the shores of one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, I never thought of water as a resource needing to be conserved, or an essential commodity over which people would fight wars.

Death can be our final gift to others

Death can be our final gift to others

Fr. Ron Rolheiser will be a leader at the 2017 National Catholic Mission, addressing the theme “Our final gift,” based on Fr. Henri Nouwen’s thesis that death can be our final gift to others. Fr. Rolheiser addressed that concept in a 2001 column reprinted here with his blessing.

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