By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Two months after bishops of the Melkite Catholic Church declared they had reconciled with each other and found a way to move forward together, the Vatican announced Pope Francis had accepted the resignation of Melkite Patriarch Gregoire III Laham. In a letter released …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Be ready with the spiritual weapon of faith because the biggest battle facing the Swiss Guard today is fighting the devil and worldly vices, Pope Francis told the guard’s members. The Swiss Guards’ colorful and valuable presence at the service …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — At a White House Rose Garden ceremony May 4, President Donald Trump told a group of religious leaders: “It was looking like you’d never get here, but you got here, folks,” referring to their presence at the signing of …

IMAGE: CNS By Mike Stechschulte DETROIT (CNS) — Sixty years after his death, Capuchin Father Solanus Casey is on his way to sainthood. Pope Francis announced May 4 that Detroit’s beloved friar, who earlier had been named venerable, met the requirements for beatification and will be named “blessed” — the …

IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Junno Arocho Esteves ROME (CNS) — Having a group meeting with Pope Francis was not like attending a lecture, but it was a moment of communion and sharing among friends and shepherds, a Cuban archbishop said. “When people call it an audience, it sounds like we’re …

By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — Many religious leaders viewed President Donald Trump’s executive order on religious freedom, which he signed in a White House Rose Garden ceremony May 4, as a step in the right direction. In the ceremony for National Day of Prayer prior to signing the executive …

By WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Donald Trump will visit the Vatican and meet with Pope Francis May 24 as part of his first foreign trip as president. White House officials said the visit will be part of a trip that will include stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia before Trump …

IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via EPA By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of Wisconsin-born Capuchin Father Solanus Casey, five religious, four laypeople and two cardinals, including Vietnamese Cardinal Francois Nguyen Van Thuan. The pope approved the decrees during an audience May 4 with …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Shortly after Pope Francis met privately with Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Holy See and Myanmar announced they were establishing full diplomatic relations. The Vatican announced May 4 that the pope would appoint a nuncio to the southeast Asian …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Julien Warnand, EPA By Simon Caldwell MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — A group of psychiatric care centers run by a Catholic religious order in Belgium has announced it will permit doctors to undertake the euthanasia of “nonterminal” mentally ill patients on its premises. In a nine-page document, the Brothers …