IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church needs the extraordinary Holy Year to become an effective witness of God’s divine mercy, Pope Francis said. “The jubilee is a favorable time for all of us, so that in contemplating divine mercy, which surpasses every …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Solan Kolli, EPA By WASHINGTON (CNS) — A group of 30 Christian leaders, including Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, has asked for a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry in advance of the State Department’s declaration of genocides taking place around the world. The group believes …

By James Martone PARIS (CNS) — A senior Vatican official urged a roomful of world leaders “to take action” and work in a spirit of solidarity to come up with an accord to combat global warming before it is too late. “A great deal is at stake for every country. …

IMAGE: CNS/EPA By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — On a cloudy, damp morning, Pope Francis’ voice echoed in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Open the gates of justice.” With five strong thrusts, the pope pushed open the Holy Door, a symbol of God’s justice, which he said …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Waltraud Grubitzsch, EPA By Liz O’Connor LEVITTOWN, Pa. (CNS) — A California state judge’s ruling that a now-divorced couple’s five frozen embryos must be destroyed is an example of doing something that technology allows without considering all its aspects, according to medical ethicists. Christopher White, director of research …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Charles Platiau, Reuters By James Martone PARIS (CNS) — Major hurdles stand in the way of a global accord on climate change, including over the questions of human rights and who pays the costs for poor countries to transition into using greener energy, said Catholic and other church …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Daniel Reinhardt, EPA By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Heads of states at the U.N. climate change conference in Paris must do everything possible to mitigate the effects of both climate change and poverty “for the good of our common home,” Pope Francis said. “The two …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Mike Blake, Reuters By Mike Nelson OXNARD, Calif. (CNS) — Arriving in the late morning Dec. 2 at the San Bernardino diocesan pastoral center for his job in the diocese’s Office of Worship, Chris Estrella knew something was very wrong. “I could see a police blockade of Waterman …

IMAGE: CNS/Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Whether in Rome or at home, Catholics will have a variety of ways to take part in the Year of Mercy. The Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization, the office organizing events for the Holy Year, presented details about …

IMAGE: CNS By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said his Bible is old, beat up and worth more to him than anything money can buy. “If you saw my Bible, you would not be impressed,” he wrote to young people. “You’d say, ‘What? This is the pope’s …