IMAGE: CNS photo/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said his reasons for going to Mexico are “easy and simple.” “I want to come as a missionary of mercy and peace,” the pope said in a video message to the Mexican people released …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Praying is not like taking an aspirin, something one does just to feel a little better, Pope Francis told thousands of members of Padre Pio Prayer Groups from around the world. Prayer is not a business negotiation with God, either, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz By VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Although the number is not high, it is no longer “exceptional” to have priests turn down an appointment as bishop, said Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Speaking Feb. 1 about the annual course his office …

By Joseph McAleer ROME (CNS) — Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Rome’s Circus Maximus to protest against a proposed bill that would grant legal recognition to nonmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples and give them the right to adopt children. Although not officially sponsored by the Catholic Church or …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth By Chaz Muth RALEIGH, N.C. (CNS) — When Aida Sarkisian and her family left their home in Iraq for the U.S., it wasn’t because they wanted to. It was because their survival depended on it. The refugees received death threats as far back as 2006 in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/David Maung By David Agren CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (CNS) — Esteban Alanis, 23, once ran with a local gang known as “Los Parqueros,” which would accost people for their cash and cellphones in a working-class neighborhood of southeast Ciudad Juarez. He called the crimes “easy money,” while gang …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By David Agren VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Mercy and mission have a close relationship that calls all Christians to be missionaries who share the joy of the Gospel without trying to force others to believe, Pope Francis said. The joy that comes from conveying God’s love and …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Russian Orthodox officials said the planned meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow is not a signal that decades of tension have been resolved, but emphasizes the need to work together on behalf of persecuted Christians in the Middle East. As …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sergei Chirikov, EPA By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After almost three decades of tense Catholic-Russian Orthodox relations, Pope Francis will meet Patriarch Kirill of Moscow Feb. 12 in Cuba on the pope’s way to Mexico. It will be the first-ever meeting of a pope and Moscow …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Simone Orendain By CEBU, Philippines (CNS) — Maria Georgia “Maggie” Cogtas of Cebu told of a childhood without playing, only tough work as a garbage picker at dumpsites, construction sites and on the streets. Cogtas, 21, also told more than 12,000 people at the 51st International Eucharistic Congress …