Congratulations to our Mary Garden photo contest winners for July. Lisa House took first prize with her photo of her statue of Our Lady crowned with lavender flowers next to purple clematis. Christine Noble of Anderson Township came in second with a photo of her Marian rose garden and rose …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Shannon Stapleton, Reuters By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — Agencies and organizations that help refugees start new lives in the U.S. worry about the fate that awaits migrants in transit as well as those who will not be allowed into the country as the partial ban that the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Dennis Sadowski ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — Being Christian is more than accepting Jesus as savior, but requires the faithful to go to the peripheries of society where people are struggling materially and spiritually, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles told the “Convocation of Catholic …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Alonso Cupul, EPA By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The international community must not remain resigned to the plight of those suffering hunger and malnutrition, which is often caused by indifference and selfishness, Pope Francis said. In a message to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization …

IMAGE: CNS/family handout, courtesy Featureworld By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis called for respecting the wishes of a terminally ill child’s parents to accompany and care for their child “until the end.” Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman, said the pope was following “with affection and emotion” the events …

A reader sent in these photos for our ongoing Mary Garden photo contest. Although the contest is for home gardens, we wanted to feature the hard work of fourth and fifth-grade Girl Scouts at St. Christopher Parish. After learning about Marian flowers and Marian gardens for their gardening badge, the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Carol Zimmermann ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl urged participants at the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of The Gospel in America” to take a look at each other in the hotel ballroom and realize that they, as lay leaders in …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Dennis Sadowski ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — The U.S. Catholic Church’s increasing diversity presents Catholics with the opportunity to accompany each other on the journey of faith Pope Francis envisions, a Boston College professor told delegates to the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the …

By Carol Zimmermann ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — Catholic leaders attending the opening Mass of the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of The Gospel in America” were urged to reflect joy — a sign of God’s presence — and not exclusively focus on the world’s problems. “A big part of …

Have you ever dropped out or given up? Do you have piles of uncompleted projects? “Never, never, never give up,” said Winston Churchill after the London blitz. “Move forward, at all cost, move forward,” said Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain at the battle of Gettysburg. “I have fought the good fight. I …