IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden MYTILENE, Greece (CNS) — Pope Francis’ five-hour visit to Greece ended with him offering safe passage to Italy to 12 Syrian Muslims, half under the age of 18. The Vatican had kept secret the pope’s plan to invite the members of three Syrian families …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden MYTILENE, Greece (CNS) — Although their speeches were punctuated with policy appeals, Pope Francis and Orthodox leaders focused their visit to the island of Lesbos on the faces, stories and drawings of refugees. Pope Francis, Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Archbishop Ieronymos …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said attending a Vatican conference on Catholic social teaching did not represent a political endorsement of his run for higher office.  When asked about the controversy surrounding the invitation during a presidential campaign cycle and …

IMAGE: CNS photo/EPA By LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) — Two Nigerian bishops called on the government to hasten its efforts to free 219 school girls who were abducted by insurgents two years ago. Bishops Matthew Audu of Lafia and George Dodo of Zaria urged officials to boost intelligence gathering efforts and …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The fight against HIV/AIDS is being hampered by continued stigma against those who are infected, a lack of access to appropriate medical care and fake antiretroviral drugs pedaled on the black market, said activists taking part in a Caritas Internationalis conference. Caritas brought …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Alkis Konstantinidis, Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a “humanitarian and ecumenical gesture,” not a political one, Pope Francis was to join Orthodox leaders in personally meeting with hundreds of refugees and migrants stranded in Greece, the Vatican spokesman said. Releasing the detailed schedule for …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The courageous witness of those who have given their life for the Gospel is needed in a world that is often antagonistic toward its message, Pope Francis said. “We too are living in a time of martyrdom, and in the midst of …

By WASHINGTON (CNS) — Religious freedom “is foundational to our church and American society,” said Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori in announcing a new video that explores the foundations of church teaching on religious liberty, including the Second Vatican Council document “Dignitatis Humanae.” The archbishop made the comments April 12 …

IMAGE: CNS/Nancy Wiechec By Thandiwe Konguavi EDMONTON, Alberta (CNS) — The specter of assisted suicide is leading aging people to “fear an institution that should be the last thing they should ever fear — a hospital,” said Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith. “But the strong feeling is, ‘If I can’t speak …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy of NASA By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — A wave of courses connecting branches of science with Catholic teaching is emerging in seminaries across the country. The goal is to raise “the scientific literacy of clergy,” said Doris Donnelly, retired professor of religion at John Carroll University …