By Francis X. Rocca & Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, the leader of a large urban archdiocese in Latin America, was elected the 266th pope and took the name Francis. He is the first pope in history to come from

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A respected Italian journal said Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, a 76-year-old Jesuit, was the cardinal with the second-highest number of votes on each of the four ballots in the 2005 conclave. The journal, Limes, said its report

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden DUBLIN (CNS) — Acknowledging the failures “of bishops, religious superiors, priests and others” in the Catholic Church to protect children from the “repugnant crimes” of physical and sexual abuse, Pope Francis began his two-day visit to Ireland. Meeting with civil, cultural and religious

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — If Pope Francis ever plans an apostolic trip to space, he’s all set after receiving a custom-made blue flight suit with patches of the Argentine flag, his papal coat of arms and a pair of angel wings with his

More than 500 Bishop Fenwick Society (BFS) members enjoyed Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr’s annual thank-you dinner May 4 at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel. BFS members, seminarians, and faculty priests attended the invitation-only event as an acknowledgement for their spiritual and financial support. Father Benedict O’Cinnsealaigh, outgoing president and

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — Cones raised in the air, the crowd gathered for dinner at the Sant’Egidio Community’s soup kitchen toasted Pope Francis on his name day, the feast of St. George. The gelato was offered by the pope, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church in Latin America must recognize and appreciate the role of women and end the practice of using them solely as submissive laborers in the parish, said members of a pontifical commission. In addition, at the end

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope just a few days after telling the College of Cardinals that the Catholic Church faced a clear choice between being a church that “goes out” or a church focused on its internal affairs.

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Museums By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — What do the Sistine Chapel, a used car with 186,000 miles on the odometer and a statue of Our Lady of Lujan made out of metal from an abandoned factory have in common? Besides being found in the Vatican

IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Junno Arocho Esteves ROME (CNS) — Having a group meeting with Pope Francis was not like attending a lecture, but it was a moment of communion and sharing among friends and shepherds, a Cuban archbishop said. “When people call it an audience, it sounds like we’re