Pope to diplomats: peace must be more than a theory in politics
VATICAN CITY – nice theory, but must be actively pursued with concrete policies aimed at promoting the common good and the dignity of the human person.
Pope says tiring papal trips are ‘worth it’ because of the people he meets
VATICAN CITY – In a new interview published Sunday, Pope Francis said that though his many papal trips are often very tiring, both from a physical and mental standpoint, the people he encounters and the testimonies he hears make all of it worthwhile.
The homeless need urgent prayers in cold winter months, Pope says
VATICAN CITY – On Sunday Pope Francis announced that his “urgent” prayer for the month of January is for all those who live on the streets with no shelter, especially during the cold winter weather.
Have we got it all wrong about women in the Church?
ROME, Italy – When it comes to talking about women and their role in the Church, discussion tends to focus almost exclusively on getting ordained or being placed in high ranking, decision making positions.
What to do if you're too ashamed to go to Confession
MADRID, Spain – While Reconciliation is intended to allow Christ’s victory to overcome sin in our lives, what happens when shame over one’s sins is so great that it keeps people away from the sacrament?
That time a priest was reprimanded by Saint John Paul II
VATICAN CITY – When white smoke poured out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on October 16, 1978, Fr. Eamon Kelly, a seminarian studying in Rome at the time, couldn’t have known that he was witnessing the election of a future saint.
God’s guiding hand calls us to greater mission
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 15 (Year A) Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34
The job we signed on for often turns out to be far more than we could imagine.
Churches must be a sanctuary for all
Whenever we have been at our best, as Christians, we have opened our churches as sanctuaries to the poor and the endangered.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ masterwork continues to amaze
I have a long love affair with St. Thomas Aquinas, the 13th-century philosopher, theologian, teacher, writer and Dominican preacher who stands among the most important Catholic thinkers of the past 2,000 years.
Reconciliation is harder than we think
How difficult is human relationship! How glorious, how deeply and universally sought-after it is! Our hunger for relationship can draw out the best and the worst in us. The deepest wrestling is with one another, in relationship — be it person to person, nation to nation, or Church to Church.
Hope, not optimism, is needed to rebuild, Pope tells Italian quake survivors
VATICAN CITY – Along the difficult path of rebuilding their lives, survivors of the earthquake that devastated central Italy must also rebuild their hearts with a strong foundation built on hope, Pope Francis said.