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FAITH/STORIES

With seminaries like Toronto’s St. Augustine’s re-opening in September, it will be a different experience due to the COVID reality.

Seminaries reopen in a pandemic world

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Six months since seminarians were sent home as a precaution against the rising tide of COVID-19, Canadian seminaries are only now recommencing community living, formation and on-campus lectures. 

The Chinese national flag is pictured in a file photo in front of a Catholic church in the village of Huangtugang.

Cardinal Parolin hopeful Vatican-China agreement will be extended

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VATICAN CITY -- As the expiration of a provisional agreement signed between the Vatican and China approached, the Vatican secretary of state said he hopes it will be extended.

A protester draped in a flag of Belarus kneels in front of law enforcement officers in Minsk Sept. 13, 2020, during a protest against presidential election results.
September 14, 2020

Pope Francis: Swat the fly of resentment; use the ointment of forgiveness

VATICAN CITY -- If people took seriously the Gospel call to forgive one another, the world would be a much better place, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis greets religious as he leaves the hermitage and cell of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, in this Oct. 4, 2013, file photo. The Pope plans to visit Assisi on Oct. 3 to sign his new encyclical on human fraternity.

Pope’s fall agenda includes new encyclical

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VATICAN CITY -- While the COVID-19 pandemic has put the brakes on most foreign travel and many in-person meetings, Pope Francis still has some major events on his fall 2020 agenda.

September 9, 2020
Pope Francis greets a boy as he arrives to lead his general audience in the San Damaso courtyard at the Vatican Sept. 9, 2020.

Common good, not greed, must motivate search for vaccine, Pope Francis says

VATICAN CITY -- The common good -- and not political or economic gain -- should be at the heart of the race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, Pope Francis said.

September 8, 2020
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sept. 6, 2020. During his address, the pope spoke about the dangers of gossip in the church.

Gossip worse than COVID, Pope Francis says

VATICAN CITY -- Gossip is "a plague worse than COVID," Pope Francis said, asserting that while speaking ill of others comes almost naturally, it is a tool of the devil to divide the church.

September 2, 2020
Pope Francis and Maronite Father Georges Briedi hold a Lebanese flag as they pray for the country -- following an explosion in Beirut -- during the the pope's weekly general audience at the Vatican Sept. 2, 2020.

Pope Francis calls for day of prayer, fasting for Lebanon

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has asked Catholics and all people of goodwill to observe Sept. 4 as a day of prayer and fasting for Lebanon.

Trees reflect in a pond along a trail in Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Pope Francis: Jubilee for the Earth a time for restoring bond with God, creation

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VATICAN CITY -- The exploitation and plundering of the Earth's resources at the expense of the poor and vulnerable cry out for justice and the forgiveness of debts, Pope Francis said.

August 31, 2020
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Aug. 30, 2020.

Cross is sign of God's love, not superstitious ornament, Pope Francis says

VATICAN CITY -- Christ's cross is a powerful symbol of God's love for humanity and not just a decoration or trinket, Pope Francis said.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, undersecretary for the Vatican's Migrants and Refugees Section, stands on the terrace of the Jesuit residence in Rome where he lives and, during the coronavirus lockdown, works.

Care of the earth, concern for migrants are connected, Canadian cardinal says

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VATICAN CITY -- Catholics will mark the World Day of Migrants and Refugees during the ecumenical celebration of the Season of Creation, highlighting the obligation, as Pope Francis says, to listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, said Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny.

New Swiss Guard members stand at attention during their swearing-in ceremony in the Vatican's San Damaso courtyard in this May 6, 2015, file photo. Starting Sept. 2, Pope Francis will resume his general audience with the public present in the courtyard.

Public invited to attend pope's weekly general audiences starting Sept. 2

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VATICAN CITY -- Twenty-six weeks after his last weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis will resume his audiences with the public present, but in a Vatican courtyard.

August 26, 2020
Pope Francis leads his general audience in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Aug. 26, 2020. Christians cannot stand idly by and watch as milions of people are deprived of their basic needs because of greed, the pope said.

With millions deprived of basic needs, Christians must act, Pope Francis says

VATICAN CITY -- Christians cannot stand idly by and watch as millions of people are deprived of their basic needs because of others' greed, Pope Francis said.

August 24, 2020
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Aug. 23, 2020. The pope prayed for people persecuted for their faith, remembered the victims of the 2010 San Fernando massacre in Mexico and prayed for the victims of COVID-19.

Charity is path to perfection when done for Jesus, Pope Francis says

VATICAN CITY -- The central focus of a Christian's life and all he or she does to help others must be Jesus Christ, Pope Francis said.

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