IMAGE: CNS photo/Ford Williams, U.S. Navy handout via Reuters By WASHINGTON (CNS) — Two prominent Catholic leaders in Syria criticized the U.S. missile strikes against their nation, wondering why they occurred before investigations into the origins of chemical attacks reported April 4. But U.S. President Donald Trump said Syrian President …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Javier Etxezarreta, EPA By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The defense of the life, dignity and human rights of migrants and refugees must come before any other question when enacting migration policies, Pope Francis said. “The defense of human beings knows no limits,” the pope said in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Before he was elected Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once wrote that he was grateful for being born on a day that fell during the church’s most intense liturgical season. Born and baptized on April 16, 1927, which …

By Mark Pattison Editor’s Note: This CNS backgrounder was first posted Aug. 4, 2014, to mark the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. We are reposting it today, because April 6 marks the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entrance into the war. On April 2, 1917, …

By MEDJUGORJE, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNS) — While he said he had no authority or expertise to discuss the authenticity of the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, Pope Francis’ envoy to the town said it was clear “there is a special spiritual climate here.” Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser of Warsaw-Praga, named …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Robert Duncan ROME (CNS) — In an Italian nature reserve surrounded by a forest inhabited by wild boar and foxes, a group of families is seeking to embrace the lifestyle of New Testament-era Christians. “In the Acts of the Apostles, it is written that they lived …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Chicago Catholic By Joyce Duriga CHICAGO (CNS) — Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich April 4 announced a new initiative to increase the work of current anti-violence programs in parishes and schools and those run by Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, Catholic Charities and Kolbe House, …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Hope cannot remain hidden within but must break free to overcome vengeful, mafia-like mentalities with mercy and humility, Pope Francis said. Christians must give witness to hope through their lives as Jesus did and make room for him in their hearts to …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception By WASHINGTON (CNS) — A special one-time national collection will be taken at U.S. parishes at Masses on Mother’s Day, May 14, to support the mosaic ornamentation of the Trinity Dome, the “crowning jewel” of the Basilica of the …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to promote the “integral human development” of all peoples is a work that must continue today in the world and in the Catholic Church, Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, Illinois, told participants at …