By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Clericalism is a danger to the Catholic Church not only because on a practical level it undermines the role of laity in society, but because theologically it “tends to diminish and undervalue the baptismal grace” of all believers, whether they are lay or …

IMAGE: CNS/Nancy Wiechec By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis named Archbishop Juan Garcia Rodriguez, who has worked quietly to help rebuild the Cuban church, physically and spiritually, to be the new archbishop of Havana. He succeeds 79-year-old Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana, whose retirement was accepted …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jose Jacome, EPA, Reuters By QUITO, Ecuador (CNS) — Catholic agencies are beginning to build temporary shelters for thousands of families in Ecuador made homeless by the South American country’s worst natural disaster in nearly seven decades. As the death toll continues to climb following a magnitude-7.8 earthquake, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Sharing and celebrating the joy of faith with thousands of Catholic teenagers from around the globe was a rare moment that not many people are able to experience, a U.S. teen said. “It was a different atmosphere …

IMAGE: NS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz By Chaz Muth WASHINGTON — The recent update in the sainthood cause for American Catholic icon Dorothy Day is welcome news to many of her friends and associates who believe her understanding of Catholic social teaching should be held up as a church value. The …

IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Happiness “is not an ‘app’ that you can download on your phones nor will the latest update help you become free and great in loving,” Pope Francis told thousands of teenagers. Youth from around the world …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — People who closely follow the Supreme Court know it’s a waiting game. There’s the wait to see if a case makes it to the court, the wait for a seat in the courtroom if it does, and then the wait …

IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the new nuncio to the United States, said he is ready to learn about the Catholic Church in the country and will try his best to be Pope Francis’ emissary, particularly in promoting a church that …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Kurt Jensen WASHINGTON (CNS) — The controversy over the appearance by the head of Planned Parenthood at Jesuit-run Georgetown University April 20 became the background to a standing ovation. Cecile Richards was greeted warmly by more than 400 students, most of them women, at Lohrfink …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a continuing effort to protect children, the Catholic Church’s focus is now turning to religious orders of men and women. Much of the attention had been on how dioceses and national bishops’ conferences have been responding to victims and …