Pope Francis urges Salesians to continue caring for world's youth, vocations
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis encouraged the Salesians in their work with young people, saying that religious vocations are the fruit of good pastoral youth ministry.
Pope Francis confirms heads of Vatican curial agencies
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis confirmed the head of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and named among its new members Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Australian Cardinal George Pell, and Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin of Indianapolis.
Jerusalem patriarch says Pope Francis' May trip to focus on Christian unity
JERUSALEM - When Pope Francis visits the Holy Land in May, he will follow the pattern he set last year in Brazil by meeting with the leaders of the three nations he will visit as well as with the less fortunate.
We face our Maker each day
Some day you will have to face your Maker! We’ve all heard that phrase. The hour will come when we will stand alone before God with no place to hide, no room to rationalize and no excuses to offer for our weaknesses and sin. We will stand in a searing light, naked and exposed, and all we ever did, good and bad, will stand with us in that light. That prospect, however vaguely felt, makes for a dark corner in every person’s mind.
The divine Spirit strengthens
Death comes in many guises. Degradation, humiliation and oppression are considered by many as far worse than the literal cessation of biological life.
Pope Francis, Obama meet privately at Vatican for 50 minutes
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis received U.S. President Barack Obama at the Vatican March 27. In what was their first encounter, the two leaders spoke in private for more than 50 minutes, an extraordinarily long time for such a meeting.
Cardinal O'Malley, abuse survivor among members of Vatican commission
VATICAN CITY - Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, four women -- including a survivor of clerical sex abuse -- two Jesuit priests and an Italian lawyer are the first eight members of the new Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Vatican, Rome gear up for canonizations of John XXIII, John Paul II
VATICAN CITY - Just over five weeks before the canonizations of Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II, Rome hotels are reporting they are almost fully booked and the Vatican has confirmed the Mass will take place in St. Peter's Square, despite knowing that hundreds of thousands of people will have to watch the ceremony on large video screens.
Before meeting Pope, Vanier talks about joy, tenderness, acceptance
VATICAN CITY - On the eve of meeting Pope Francis, Jean Vanier spoke about the importance of joy, tenderness and practical resistance to the "throwaway" culture.
Thousands of rare Vatican manuscripts to go online
VATICAN CITY - Thousands of rare manuscripts until now accessible only to scholars at the Vatican will go online over the next four years, thanks to help from a Japanese information technology company.
The real challenge in creativity
There are three kinds of performers. The first, while singing a song or doing a dance, are making love to themselves. The second, while performing, are making love to the audience. The third, while on stage, are making love to the song, to the dance, to the drama itself.