IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via EPA By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After a strong earthquake struck central Italy and with the early news reporting many deaths and serious damage, Pope Francis turned his weekly general audience Aug. 24 into a prayer service. While the pope and some 11,000 …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jonathan Bachman, Reuters By Richard Meek BATON ROUGE, La. (CNS) — Water lapped at the heels of Father Michael Galea, steady rain an arduous reminder of Mother Nature’s unfinished business. With a sadness in his voice, Father Galea, pastor at Holy Rosary Church in St. Amant, estimated that …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Robert Duncan By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — Blessed Teresa of Kolkata was a woman who truly felt wed to Jesus, and the freedom she experienced in loving him led her to radical poverty, a courageous outreach and an immense love for the poor, said the superior general …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When nonviolence is the basic approach of political decisions and public policy, it promotes the restoration and consolidation of peace, the Vatican said. In his message for the Jan. 1 celebration of World Peace Day, Pope Francis will offer reflections on the …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Retired Pope Benedict XVI said in an interview that he felt a “duty” to resign from the papacy because of his declining health and the rigorous demands of papal travel. While his heart was set on completing the Year of Faith, the …

By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — When it comes to the Christian life, too many seminaries teach students a rigid list of rules that make it difficult or impossible for them as priests to respond to the real-life situation of those who come to them seeking guidance, Pope Francis said. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Joshua Roberts, Reuters By Ann Rodgers PITTSBURGH (CNS) — The Pittsburgh Diocese said Bishop David A. Zubik is making every effort to achieve a swift negotiated solution to the diocese’s dispute with the federal government over religious freedom in relation to the federal contraceptive mandate, as directed by …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Michael Kelly DUBLIN (CNS) — The trustees of Ireland’s national seminary have agreed to bring in a specific policy to protect whistleblowers after serious allegations were made about life in the college. The Aug. 23 announcement also followed a decision by Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Ed Wilkinson, The Tablet By Chaz Muth WASHINGTON (CNS) — The gray robes worn by the Conventual Franciscan friars may not be fashionable in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, but the religious men appear to be fitting in just fine in the heart of “hipster” country. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/CJ Gunther, EPA By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — Today’s “economic and political forces have led to increasingly lowered economic prospects for Americans without access to higher education, which is having a direct impact on family health and stability,” said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami. He made …