IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — Continuing his monthly Year of Mercy visits to people in particularly vulnerable situations, Pope Francis spent an afternoon Oct. 14 at Rome’s SOS Children’s Village. The village, which includes five houses, attempts to provide a home-like atmosphere for children under …

IMAGE: CNS/Don Doll, S.J. By Carol Glatz ROME (CNS) — Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, 67, a member of the Jesuits’ Venezuelan province, was elected the first non-European superior general of the Society of Jesus. The 212 voting delegates to the Jesuit general congregation elected Father Sosa Oct. 14. He …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — For Cardinal-designate Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, one of nine children born to a family in Omaha, Nebraska, more than 40 years of priesthood have been filled with “Are you kidding me?” moments. Like Pope Francis, the archbishop of Chicago …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Joe Tosini believes that on the last day Jesus will judge people on whether they fed the hungry, clothed the naked and, especially, whether they loved one another, not on whether they were baptized with a sprinkling of water as …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Giorgio Onorati, EPA By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Meeting a pilgrimage of Catholics and Lutherans from Germany, Pope Francis said he does not like “the contradiction of those who want to defend Christianity in the West, and, on the other hand, are against refugees and other …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — A letter to President Barack Obama and congressional leaders asks them to “renounce publicly” a contentious sentence in the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ report that equates religious freedom with discrimination. The letter, dated Oct. 7 and released Oct. 12, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jim Young, Reuters By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — Hours before the Oct. 9 presidential debate began, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani invoked St. Augustine of Hippo on a Sunday morning political news show to defend the man he was supporting for president. “Ever read ‘The Confessions’ …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — All it takes is just one person carrying out one simple, loving act of mercy every day to start a revolution and stamp out the “virus of indifference,” Pope Francis said. Sharing God’s mercy is not about expending a huge …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bassam Khabieh, Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In the wake of intensified attacks in Syria, Pope Francis called for an immediate cease-fire — even if temporary — so that civilians, especially children, could be rescued from the ruins. Emphasizing that his thoughts and prayers are …

INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — Last December, Cardinal-designate Joseph W. Tobin of Indianapolis made national news by defending the decision of his archdiocese to resettle a Syrian refugee family through the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities agency — a decision that went against Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s ban on resettling Syrian refugees in the …