VATICAN CITY – Happiness "is not an 'app' that you can download on your phones nor will the latest update help you become free and great in loving," Pope Francis told thousands of teenagers.
Inquiry into Dorothy Day's life next step in sainthood cause
NEW YORK – A canonical inquiry into the life of Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, will begin soon and extend to the end of the year, according to the Archdiocese of New York, which is sponsoring her sainthood cause and is where Day oversaw Catholic Worker houses.
VATICAN CITY – In a continuing effort to protect children, the Catholic Church's focus is now turning to religious orders of men and women.
Jesuit education plan puts ‘Mercy in Motion’
The Jesuit Refugee Service has a very specific answer to Pope Francis’ call to put mercy on the leading edge of a Church reaching out to the peripheries. The answer is education.
A Christian cannot keep quiet about announcing gospel
Pope Francis on Friday urged Christians to have the courage to announce the good news about Jesus, just like the Apostles who testified to Christ’s resurrection even at the cost of their lives. The Pope’s words came during his morning Mass at the Santa Marta residence where he said announcing the gospel, intercession and hope are the three interlinked dimensions of a Christian life. Friday (April 22nd) marked the 43rd anniversary of the religious profession of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Rescued refugees report hundreds drowned in Mediterranean
ROME – The same day Pope Francis brought 12 Syrian refugees to Rome from Greece, a merchant ship rescued 41 refugees, including a three-year-old child. They told human rights workers they saw as many as 500 others drown when the refugees' boat sank.
Pope reminds world of suffering in war-torn Ukraine
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis' pleas for humanitarian aid for Ukraine is bringing needed attention to a forgotten war, said Ukrainian Catholic leaders.
Flaubert named new auxiliary bishop for Montreal
OTTAWA – Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Alain Faubert, C.S.S., as the new auxiliary bishop of Montreal
ROME – After less than 48 hours in Rome, "dream" is the word used most often by the six Syrian adults Pope Francis brought back to Italy with him from a refugee camp in Greece.
'It makes you weep,' Pope says of refugees' stories
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM GREECE – When an aide suggested Pope Francis offer to fly some Syrian refugees back to Rome with him, the pope said he agreed immediately because it was "an inspiration of the Holy Spirit."
Pope prays for refugees, brings 12 Syrians back to Rome
MYTILENE, Greece – Pope Francis' five-hour visit to Greece ended with him offering safe passage to Italy to 12 Syrian Muslims, half under the age of 18.
MYTILENE, Greece – Although their speeches were punctuated with policy appeals, Pope Francis and Orthodox leaders focused their visit to the island of Lesbos on the faces, stories and drawings of refugees.
Pope Francis meets with Bolivian president
VATICAN CITY – Meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Bolivian President Evo Morales discussed social policy and the economic situation facing his country.
Mercy for families
Perhaps Cardinal Christoph Schonborn best summarizes Pope Francis’ papal exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love): “There are true innovations, but no break” in tradition, the Austrian theologian told reporters the day the exhortation was released.
VATICAN CITY – In a "humanitarian and ecumenical gesture," not a political one, Pope Francis is to join Orthodox leaders in personally meeting with hundreds of refugees and migrants stranded in Greece, the Vatican spokesman said.