By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — A homily at Mass is not a mini catechism class, the Vatican says in a new document on homilies, but it is an opportunity to explain church teaching using the Scripture readings and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “In the …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  ROME — When Pope Francis walked through the gate surrounding a group of shacks and very humble homes, it took a while for people to notice. In fact, when a couple of people looked out their doors, the pope’s chief security guard motioned them …

By Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced Feb. 5 that Pope Francis will address a joint meeting of Congress Sept. 24. The pontiff’s “historic visit” would make him the “first leader of the Holy See to address a joint meeting of Congress,” Boehner said in …

By Elise Harris CNA/EWTN News The Vatican has organized the first-ever international day of prayer and reflection against human trafficking, in hopes that the world will join forces in putting this “plague” to an end. “Our awareness must expand and extend to the very depths of this evil and its …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — After decades of debate within the church, Pope Francis formally recognized that Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed “in hatred of the faith” and not for purely political reasons. Pope Francis signed the decree Feb. 3, recognizing as martyrdom the March …

CNA/EWTN News ATLANTA, Ga. — On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will hear oral arguments in a case brought by EWTN Global Catholic Network against the federal contraception mandate. “EWTN looks forward to being able to make our case against the government’s contraceptive services …

By Valerie Schmalz Catholic News Service  SAN FRANCISCO — California legislators have introduced assisted suicide legislation modeled on Oregon’s assisted suicide law, energized by the heartbreaking story of Brittany Maynard, a young woman with brain cancer, who moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon to end her own …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — In an effort to help bolster a minority Catholic population and encourage dialogue and friendship among once-warring ethnic and religious communities, Pope Francis announced he would be visiting Bosnia-Herzegovina. The pope said he hoped the one-day trip June 6 to Sarajevo, …

By N.J. Viehland Catholic News Service  MANILA, Philippines — The recent announcement of this year’s working plans of the Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs has driven a young priest from northern China to call church leaders to work for dialogue and reconciliation among Catholics in his country.

By Mary Rezac CNA/EWTN News Disneyland is supposed to be the Happiest Place on Earth, not the place where you contract a highly contagious, once-eradicated disease. Unfortunately, that is what happened at Disneyland in California, starting back in December. The measles virus, likely carried by a tourist from a foreign …