By Zita Ballinger Fletcher For the first time in 500 years, Lutherans in Sweden are welcoming Catholics to celebrate Masses in Lund cathedral. The historic cathedral, formerly the site of bitter religious feuding, has become a site of interfaith friendship since Pope Francis held a service there in 2016. The …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God calls all Christians to be saints — not plastic statues of saints, but real people who make time for prayer and who show loving care for others in the simplest gestures, Pope Francis said in his new document on holiness. “Do not …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Feeling ashamed of one’s sins does not mean wallowing in guilt, rather it is the gateway all men and women can use to experience firsthand God’s tender mercy and forgiveness, Pope Francis said. Christians should be grateful for …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Diocese of Ja By Tim Muldoon CHICAGO (CNS) — When Pope Francis addressed the U.S. Congress Sept. 24, 2015, he pointed to the witness of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., suggesting that a great nation “fosters a culture which enables people to ‘dream’ of full rights …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Loren Elliott, Reuters By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic leaders in Texas criticized President Donald Trump’s April 4 announcement that he would be deploying National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. In an April 5 tweet, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller said Trump’s move was a “senseless …

By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage, abortion, human sexuality and contraception is rooted in the same respect for human dignity that guides its work for social justice and care for poor people, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput told a Catholic University of America audience. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann, The Catholic Standard By Kelly Sankowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — Puerto Rican students who are studying at The Catholic University of America in Washington for the spring semester said that this opportunity not only gives them a reprieve from the damage caused by Hurricane Maria, but allows …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz By Beth Griffin MARYKNOLL, N.Y. (CNS) — One hundred years after receiving Vatican approval to begin missionary work in China, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers recalled the “original inspiration and holy stubbornness” of the society’s founders during a celebratory centennial Mass April 2 in Maryknoll. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/ Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters By Wyatt Noble ROME (CNS) — The Villanova men’s basketball team claimed its second national championship in three years April 2 with a 79-62 win over Michigan, and I was an ocean away from 99 percent of my fellow Wildcats. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Rhina Guidos By Rhina Guidos LOLOTIQUE, El Salvador (CNS) — On Easter, as thousands of Salvadorans from around the country packed into the rural town of Lolotique, Catholic Church officials laid to rest a 36-year-old priest violently killed during Holy Week — the latest victim of an unending …