IMAGE: CNS photo/Michael Reynolds, Reuters By Carolyn Mackenzie WASHINGTON (CNS) — Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has initiated the Social Capital Project, a research effort that examines the importance of “associational life,” which includes families, religious congregations and other communities. The project found that civil society has declined in America, and …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Mark Clatterbuck, cour By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — As chapels go, the simple structure on property owned by the Adorers of the Blood of Christ congregation in Columbia, Pennsylvania, is not much. It’s more of an arbor, really: four posts and several cross boards built on property …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Robert Duncan By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — To understand the current situation in Iraq — the evolving and complex conflicts there, and the fear and resilience of its Christians — one has to understand its past, which is often ignored or unknown in the West, said …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Liam Burke courtesy Pr By Sarah Mac Donald LIMERICK, Ireland (CNS) — The Catholic Church is doing whatever it can to strengthen the family, including families often considered nontraditional, said Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, the theologian who reviewed Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the family. “Favoring the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Colleen Dulle By Colleen Dulle WASHINGTON (CNS) — For some aspiring priests and religious, the biggest obstacle to pursuing their vocation is student debt. Because many religious orders do not accept members with outstanding debts, 42 percent of individuals discerning religious life in the U.S. are barred from …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The former head of the Vatican’s doctrine office denied reports claiming he was dismissed by Pope Francis due to differences in doctrinal matters. In a story in the German Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost, journalist Guido Horst said Cardinal Gerhard Muller “could not …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — U.S. politics have become increasingly colored by an apocalyptic world view, promoted by certain fundamentalist Christians, that fosters hatred, fear and intolerance, said an influential Jesuit magazine. In fact, this world view shares some similarities with Islamic fundamentalism since …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jean Gonzalez, Florida Catholic By Jean Gonzalez ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — In 1955 in Mississippi, a white woman lied and told her husband that Emmett Till, a black teen, flirted with her in the grocery story. In retaliation, her husband and another man kidnapped, beat, shot and lynched …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Vatican recently published a circular letter, “On the bread and wine for the Eucharist,” sent to diocesan bishops at the request of Pope Francis. Dated June 15 — the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy of Agape Association of El Salvador By Rhina Guidos SONSONATE, El Salvador (CNS) — His Boston Red Sox baseball hat is almost as big a part of him as his brown Franciscan habit. Anywhere Franciscan Father Flavian Mucci goes in El Salvador, he’s known not only for …