IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Apostolic Penitentiary has nothing to do with a jail cell and everything to do with ensuring repentant sinners experience God’s mercy. Established in the 12th century when penitential pilgrimages to Rome began to bring thousands of …

There are several instances of biological brothers becoming priests for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, but in the late 19th century, an extraordinary instance came from the family of Patrick and Johanna Hickey. Five of their sons became priests for the Archdiocese and one daughter became a Sister of Notre Dame …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Toru Hanai, Reuters By Lise Alves RIO DE JANEIRO (CNS) — Glued to the improvised screen set up on the patio of the Caritas house, the refugees yelled and they cried. But most of all, they cheered. They cheered for their two Congolese colleagues, Popole Misenga, 24, and …

By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis “snuck” out of the Vatican Aug. 9 for a drive, a walk in the woods and lunch with an Italian bishop at a small convent. Long after the pope had returned to the Vatican from two small towns near Rieti — …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God’s mercy is infectious and must be shared with others, Pope Francis said. Mercy is “a journey that departs from the heart to arrive at the hands,” the pope said Aug. 10 at his weekly general audience. In …

Change is coming to NET Ministries in Cincinnati — the first NET Ministries hub in the United States. Ryan Lopez, who with wife Catherine, coordinated the local NET office, is departing to take a leadership position with the Minnesota-based Laboure Society, a ministry designed to assist people who want to discern …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Stephanie Lecocq, EPA By Dale Gavlak AINKAWA, Iraq (CNS) — Iraqi Christians appear divided about whether they will be able to return home after Islamic State militants are flushed out of the battle-scarred Ninevah Plains region. They say their safety must be guaranteed at all costs. “If the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Piyal Adhikary, EPA By Saadia Azim KOLKATA, India (CNS) — A group of young independent photographers are busy clicking away, taking photos of the “City of Joy.” Their photos, part of the crowdsourced “Sainthood Project,” will be displayed in several locations in Rome in early September, to coincide …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Leslie E. Kossoff By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — Practicing patience can be a great virtue, said Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry of Chicago in his homily at the Aug. 7 closing Mass of the African National Eucharistic Congress in Washington. “What greater school for patience is there …

By Michael Kelly DUBLIN (CNS) — Bishop Edward Daly of Derry, known for his tireless advocacy for peace and reconciliation during decades of sectarian tension in Northern Ireland, died in a hospital in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Aug. 8. Bishop Daly, who retired in 1993 due to ill health after suffering …