IMAGE: CNS/Cristiano Minichiello, AGF By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican spokesman described as obviously “unreliable” an Italian journalist’s claim that Pope Francis told him that following the Synod of Bishops on the family, “all the divorced who ask” will be admitted to Communion. Eugenio Scalfari, a co-founder …

By Matt Hadro CNA/EWTN News Catholic and Lutheran bishops have signed a declaration that they hope solidifies areas of “consensus” on matters of faith while providing a path forward for more dialogue. “Pope Francis in his recent visit to the United States emphasized again and again the need for and …

By David Agren Catholic News Service MEXICO CITY — Pope Francis will visit Mexico in February, marking the pontiff’s first trip to the heavily Catholic country, said Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City. Cardinal Rivera revealed the date Pope Francis would arrive in Mexico Feb. 12 during a homily Nov. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Mary Knight By JERUSALEM (CNS) — Jerusalem is hot, especially in the gym of the Max Rayne Hand in Hand Bilingual School for Jewish Arab Education. Jerusalem is tense, too, with jolting violence this summer over dismantled settlement homes, gay rights and a brutal attack on a Palestinian …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Ricardo Castelan, EPA By David Agren MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will visit Mexico in February, marking the pontiff’s first trip to the heavily Catholic country, said Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City. Cardinal Rivera revealed the date Pope Francis would arrive in Mexico Feb. 12 …

IMAGE: Paul Jeffrey/CNS By Damian Avevor NAGASAKI, Japan (CNS) — A U.S. bishop who visited Japan for the 70th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki said he is a changed man after having come face to face with survivors of the U.S. bombs. “Anybody can talk about policy. …

By John Mulderig VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pope Francis repeated the Catholic Church’s call for a ban on nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. Seventy years after the Aug. 6, 1945, bombing of Hiroshima and the …

By John Mulderig VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Like their Orthodox brothers and sisters, Catholics formally will mark Sept. 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis has decided. The day of prayer, the pope said, will give individuals and communities an opportunity to implore …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Debbie Hill By Judith Sudilovsky HAIFA, Israel (CNS) — In the seaside restaurant called Maxim owned by the Mattar and Tayar families, customers speak in Arabic and Hebrew while enjoying Middle Eastern specialties. While that’s not so unusual in this northern coastal town, the eatery’s ownership is. The …

By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A Vatican official and a former lay consultant on a pontifical commission were arrested for leaking documents to an Italian journalist who has announced plans to publish them in a book. Msgr. Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, secretary of the Prefecture for the …