Make more room for women without crowding out family, pope says
VATICAN CITY - Women should play a greater role in society and the church without sacrificing their essential attention and contribution to their families, Pope Francis said.
Under Pope Francis, Church entering a 'new era'
OXFORD, England - The cardinal who heads Pope Francis' Council of Cardinals said the Catholic Church is entering a "new era" and accused critics of the Pope's statements on economic injustice of failing to "understand reality."
Pope, French president discuss controversial laws on family, bioethics
VATICAN CITY - When Pope Francis met French President Francois Hollande at the Vatican Jan. 24, their discussions about human dignity touched on several topics of tension between the French church and government, including the family and bioethics, the Vatican said.
Pope says judgments on annulments must be impartial and pastoral
VATICAN CITY - Addressing the Vatican court primarily responsible for hearing requests for marriage annulments, Pope Francis said judges on church tribunals should show "imperturbable and impartial balance" as well as the "delicacy and humanity proper to a pastor of souls."
Opus Dei announces beatification date for Msgr. del Portillo
VATICAN CITY - The prelature of Opus Dei has announced that Msgr. Alvaro del Portillo, the successor to Opus Dei founder St. Jose Maria Escriva, will be beatified Sept. 27 in Madrid.
Pope says Internet a 'gift from God,' should be used for solidarity
VATICAN CITY - Like the good Samaritan, who stopped on the road to help a person in need, travelers along today's communication highways should offer support to those they encounter there, Pope Francis said.
Never does God call us to violence
In his deeply insightful book Violence Unveiled, Gil Bailie takes us through a remarkable section of the diaries of Captain James Cook, the famed British scientist and explorer. Visiting Tahiti in 1777, Cook was taken one day by a local tribal chief to witness a ritual where a man was sacrificed as an offering to the god, Eatooa. The man was being sacrificed in hope that this particular god would give the tribe some assistance in an upcoming war. Cook, though friendly to the local peoples, could not conceal his detestation for what he considered both a barbaric and superstitious act. In a conversation with the chief afterwards, Cook told him that in England they would hang a man for doing that.
Jesus came to be one with us
Presentation of the Lord (Year A) Feb. 2 (Malachi 3:1-4; Psalm 24; Hebrews 2:10-11, 13b-18; Luke 2:22-40)
The prophet Malachi was a rather disappointed and angry man. It was some time in the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC. The exiles had returned from Babylon but the prophesied rebirth and restoration of the nation had not occurred. The nation was struggling to rebuild its economic and political life.
At Rome parish, pope meets with migrants, homeless, youths
ROME - Meeting 80 immigrants assisted by members of a Rome parish, Pope Francis said leaving one's homeland is always painful, but faith can give one the strength to keep going.
Vatican panel says violence is 'greatest corruption of religion'
VATICAN CITY - Violence is the "greatest corruption of religion," while belief in a single God is the "principle and source of love between human beings," says a new study by a Vatican advisory panel of theologians.
Mexican bishop rebukes government for crackdown on self-defense groups
NUEVA ITALIA, Mexico - A Mexican bishop has rebuked the federal government for sending soldiers to grab the guns of the self-defense groups formed to fight off violent drug cartels and criminal gangs in the western state of Michoacan.