IMAGE: CNS photo/Pascal Rossignol/Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The murder of a priest in northern France, taken hostage with a handful of other faithful during a weekday morning Mass July 26, is another act of “absurd violence” added to too many stories of senseless violence and death, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Dennis Sadowski KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) — Jesus did not stop talking about mercy even though he was nearly thrown from a cliff after his first public talk in a Nazareth synagogue, and the rest of his life can serve as an example for people of …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Jonathan Luxmoore KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) — St. John Paul II’s former secretary urged young Catholics to share their faith, experiences and hopes and spread a “message of divine mercy” worldwide during World Youth Day. “We come from every nation under heaven, like those who came …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Pawel Supernak, EPA By Jonathan Luxmoore KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) — Polish police have raised the official security threat level at World Youth Day in Krakow, after an Iraqi man was arrested with traces of explosives. However, a police spokesman said the category of “alpha,” or high, was not …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Jeffrey By Paul Jeffrey DURBAN, South Africa (CNS) — The face of the AIDS epidemic has changed dramatically in recent years as scientists have created antiretroviral drugs that lower levels of the virus in the bloodstream, allowing those infected with HIV to live relatively normal lives. Yet …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With his visit to World Youth Day only a few days away, Pope Francis asked young pilgrims to accompany his visit to Krakow, Poland, with prayers. Leaving for Poland July 27 “to meet up with these young men …

IMAGE: CNS/Nancy Wiechec By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an effort to help contemplative women religious renew their life and mission in the church and the world, Pope Francis issued a series of new rulings dealing with formation, assets, prayer life, authority and autonomy. The new rulings include …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta has been appointed as chair of a new task force of the U.S. bishops to deal with racial issues brought into public consciousness following a series of summertime shootings that left both citizens …

IMAGE: By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Francis goes to Poland to meet with an expected 2 million young people from around the world, he’s going with a firm idea of the dreams, fears and challenges so many of them face. He knows what lies inside the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jok Solomun, Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis sent a high-ranking cardinal to South Sudan to urge a peaceful end to the escalating violence in the country. Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, met with President Salva …