‘Laudato Si” at one year: Catholics inspired to act on climate change
IMAGE: CNS photo/Dan Peled, EPA By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) — Thinking green is not easy. Nor is it always cheap. But for St. Michael Parish in Poway, California, north of San Diego, parishioners are already seeing the benefits — spiritual, financial and environmental — of a $1.3 million investment …
Hostility, indifference make us blind to those in need, pope says
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Indifference and hostility can blind Christians from recognizing Jesus in those most in need, Pope Francis said. “This indifference and hostility can turn into aggression” toward people often marginalized by society, the pope said June 15 during his weekly …
Vatican dialogue with U.S. women religious continues, cardinal says
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — More than a year after the conclusion of the Vatican’s apostolic visitation of U.S. communities of women religious, the Vatican began asking more than a dozen orders to send their superiors to Rome to discuss concerns that surfaced. “We did a very positive …
Orlando shooting victims remembered at Xavier prayer service

Xavier University is 906 miles from the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla. but the tears shed on campus Tuesday fell in solidarity with the the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. Responding to the June 12 rampage in Orlando that left 49 dead, Xavier University hosted a …
‘A sword has pierced heart’ of city, says Orlando bishop about shooting
IMAGE: CNS photo/Steve Nesius, Reuters By ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — Orlando Bishop John G. Noonan urged people of faith “to turn their hearts and souls” to God and pray for the victims, the families and first responders following the worst mass shooting in U.S. history June 12. “A sword has …
Doctrinal text looks at increasing harmony among church groups
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Local bishops have an obligation to welcome new movements and communities and guide them, while the groups have an obligation to obey the local bishop and avoid the appearance of setting up a parallel church, said a new Vatican document. …
‘Witnesses to Freedom’ theme of church’s fortnight for religious liberty
IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By WASHINGTON (CNS) — “Witnesses to Freedom” is the theme of the U.S. bishops’ fifth annual Fortnight for Freedom, which opens June 21, the vigil of the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, and closes on Independence Day, July 4. The opening Mass will …
Maronite Patriarch will participate in local Fortnight for Freedom event

The crowning event for the 2016 observance of Fortnight for Freedom in Cincinnati will be the visit of the Patriarch of Antioch for Maronites, to bring attention to the plight of Christians currently being persecuted in the Middle East. His Beatitude Mar Bechara Peter Cardinal Rai, the Patriarch of Antioch …
Extreme poverty is a reality, not a faceless statistic, pope says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Hedayatullah Amid, EPA By Junno Arocho Esteves ROME (CNS) — The key to ending extreme poverty and hunger is to recognize that behind every statistic, there is the face of a person who is suffering, Pope Francis said. “Poverty has a face! It has the face of a …
Pope offers prayers for Orlando victims of ‘terrible, absurd violence’

IMAGE: CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis offered prayers for the families of the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, and expressed hope that people would find ways to identify and uproot “the causes of such terrible and absurd violence.” A …