IMAGE: CNS photo/Maxim Shemeto, Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Human trafficking is a "crime against humanity," because it denies the human dignity of the victim, seeing him or her only as a piece of merchandise to be used to enrich or give pleasure to another, Pope Francis …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Retired Pope Benedict XVI, acknowledging his role in helping the Catholic Church come to terms with the clerical sexual abuse crisis beginning in the 1980s, wrote an article outlining his thoughts about what must be done now. Seeing the crisis …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tom Dermody, The Catholic Post By Tom Dermody DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNS) — Jesus likely died from excessive blood loss, a Catholic surgeon said April 4 during a talk that examined the 18 hours of Christ’s passion and crucifixion from a medical perspective. "Christ emptied himself," Dr. Timothy Millea …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves MANOPPELLO, Italy (CNS) — At the Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello, visitors see a transparent cloth encased between two glass panes within an ornate silver frame above the sanctuary’s altar. Once light is shined on the cloth of byssus fiber, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sean Gallagher, The Criterion By Sean Gallagher INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — The annual chrism Mass to be celebrated April 16 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis will arguably be one of the most solemn and joyful moments of worship this year for the Catholic Church in central …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Everyone is "in debt" to God, who offers his infinite love and graces for free, Pope Francis said. "We have received so much: our existence, a father and a mother, friendships, the wonders of creation," the pope said April …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Sister Veronica Faja By Laura Vallejo SALT LAKE CITY (CNS) — The messages, embroidered in red thread on white handkerchiefs, tell horrific stories of violence and death. They are memorials, meant to bring attention to those who have suffered and died because of the drug war in …

IMAGE: NS photo/Sivaram V, Reuters By NEW DELHI (CNS) — Indian police charged Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar of repeatedly raping a nun in her rural convent, the Associated Press reported. The bishop was charged April 9 with rape, illegal confinement and intimidation, said Hari Sankar, a district police chief …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Sometimes Christians seem to prefer complaining and being unhappy in life, but that makes them a perfect target for the devil, Pope Francis said in a morning homily. "Desolation is from the serpent," who tempted Eve in the Garden …

IMAGE: CNS photo/PBS By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — In the quest to bring her deported Mexican husband, Marcos, back to the United States to live with her and their four children, Elizabeth Perez has frequently turned to prayer. Nothing else has worked. "My faith is the only thing that …