By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Recent popes have had a special affection for Our Lady of Fatima, but no pope’s connection can match that of St. John Paul II. “We cannot forget that he was saved by Our Lady of Fatima from the assassination attempt here in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Kevin J. Parks, Catholic Review By Erik Zygmont BALTIMORE (CNS) — Mourners from near and far, and all walks of life and various creeds, filled the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland March 28 for the funeral Mass of Cardinal William H. Keeler, 14th archbishop of Baltimore. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Carlos Barria, Reuters By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic environmental advocates decried President Donald Trump’s executive order that would begin a review of his predecessor’s Clean Power Plan, which set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. The advocates said that reversing any effort …

IMAGE: NS photo/Ammar Awad, Reuters By Dale Gavlak ZAATARI, Jordan (CNS) — As the U.N. secretary-general visited the world’s biggest camp for Syrian refugees in late March, he made an impassioned plea: Stop Syria’s devastating war. “I want to make a strong appeal to the parties of the conflict and …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Hope is not built on people’s predictions, assurances or line of reasoning, Pope Francis said. Real Christian hope “is not based on our word, but on God’s Word” and promises of salvation and eternal life, the pope said during his …

By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the United States, gets plenty of questions about Pope Francis. A March 27 discussion at Georgetown University, sponsored by the university’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, was no exception. The nuncio, who sat onstage …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Rick Bajornas, UN By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Today’s threats to global peace and security must be countered through dialogue and development, not nuclear weapons, Pope Francis told the United Nations. “How sustainable is a stability based on fear, when it actually increases fear and undermines …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People should stop blaming and complaining so they can be filled with God’s joy and rise up to life’s challenges, Pope Francis said. Forgetting what joy is and languishing in self-pity come with the sin of sloth, the pope said March 28 in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Robert Duncan By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — In Spanish, the word “encuentro” means encounter and in the modern church in the U.S., it refers to a series of meetings that will take place over the next four years aimed at getting to know Latinos and producing more …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Edgard Garrido, Reuters By David Agren CUERNAVACA, Mexico (CNS) — An Archdiocese of Mexico City editorial condemned Mexican companies wishing to work on the proposed wall being built on the U.S.-Mexico border as “traitors” and called on authorities to castigate any company that provides services for fencing off …