IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities has called for increased efforts and “renewed vigor” to stop legalized physician-assisted suicide after the practice was approved by voters in Colorado and the District of Columbia City Council. Cardinal Timothy M. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Luke Michael Davies, courtesy Buckfast Abbey Media Studios By Simon Caldwell BUCKFAST, England (CNS) — The hair shirt worn by St. Thomas More as he contemplated a martyr’s death in the Tower of London has been enshrined for public veneration. The folded garment made from goat’s hair was …

IMAGE: CNS/Nancy Wiechec By Nancy Wiechec PHOENIX (CNS) — Chris Hoffman is cooking for 4,500 guests this holiday season, yet he’s cool as a cucumber. “It should go well,” he said. “We did it last year and it went very smoothly.” The confident executive chef runs the sprawling kitchen of …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Joyce Duriga ROME (CNS) — The day after Pope Francis inducted him into the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago took possession of his titular church in Rome, the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island. Cardinals are symbolically priests of the Diocese …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Acknowledging and sharing God’s mercy is a permanent part of the Christian life, so initiatives undertaken during the special Year of Mercy must continue, Pope Francis said. “Mercy cannot become a mere parenthesis in the life of the church,” the …

IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Visiting young women rescued from forced prostitution and meeting with a mother inconsolable over the loss of one of her newborn triplets are images from the Year of Mercy that Pope Francis said remain impressed on his heart. Reviewing the …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Balancing a cup in one hand and a small sandwich over the plastic plate on her lap while a grandchild played on the floor next to her wheelchair, Marie Terese Tobin beamed with joy for all the gifts God has …

IMAGE: CNS/Tiziana Fabi, pool via Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Following Christ the King, whose regal power is love and mercy, means the whole church and each Christian must “follow his way of tangible love,” Pope Francis said. Celebrating the feast of Christ the King Nov. 20 …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church’s 17 new cardinals must dedicate their lives to being ministers of forgiveness and reconciliation in a world — and sometimes a church — often marked by hostility and division, Pope Francis said. Even Catholics are not immune …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sean Gallagher, The Criterion By John Shaughnessy INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — As Cardinal-designate Joseph W. Tobin headed to Rome for his Nov. 19 installation into the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, he naturally thought again of all the ways his life has changed in the past six weeks. …