IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden TBILISI, Georgia (CNS) — Pope Francis said a global war against marriage is underway and Catholics must respond by helping couples stay strong and by providing pastoral care to those experiencing difficulty. “Today there is a global war to destroy marriage,” the pope said …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden TBILISI, Georgia (CNS) — At a papal Mass focused on two female saints, the longing for Christian unity and the painful reality of Christian division were strong undertones. Celebrating Mass Oct. 1, the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, Pope Francis also praised St. …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — In a heartfelt letter to his homeland Sept. 30, Pope Francis told his fellow Argentines that he will not be able to visit this or next year because of obligations in Asia and Africa. “You don’t know how much I would …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Earnie Grafton, Reuters By SAN DIEGO (CNS) — Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego asked people to pray for calm and called on police to be “as transparent as possible” in their investigation following the shooting of unarmed man in a San Diego suburb. The bishop said …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden TBILISI, Georgia (CNS) — Subtly acknowledging Georgia’s ongoing territorial dispute with Russia, Pope Francis urged greater efforts to sow peace throughout the Caucasus region. Shortly after arriving in Tbilisi at the start of his 16th foreign trip, the pope met privately with Georgian President …

IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via EPA By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said he will never give up calling for stronger efforts to bring peace to the Middle East and for people to stop being indifferent to the fate of the region’s people. “My daily prayer to …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Katie Breidenbach By Katie Breidenbach TOLEDO, Ohio (CNS) — The moment Ann Barrick stepped from the sidewalk onto the crumbling parking lot, her eyes filled with tears. “You pray about these things, and you never think you’re going to see it happen.” For nine years, Barrick stood on …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters By Tom Tracy MIAMI (CNS) — South Florida’s Cuban-American Catholic community and other Miami Marlins baseball fans planned to honor Jose Fernandez with prayers at the Cuban shrine and a public parade Sept. 28, a day before his private funeral. Fernandez, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Abir Sultan, EP By Judith Sudilovsky JERUSALEM (CNS) — One of the last ceremonies in which former Israeli President Shimon Peres participated as a public figure took place in the Vatican Gardens in June 2014, the last month of his presidency. Along with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Abdalrhman Ismail, Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As a brief cease-fire agreement failed and Syrian government forces returned to bombing Aleppo and fighting rebels in the city streets, Pope Francis made a forceful appeal for assistance for the thousands of innocent civilians trapped in the …