Vatican publishes updated schedule for papal trip to Thailand, Japan
IMAGE: CNS photo/Mihoko Owada By VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After spending most of October at the Vatican working with the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon and dedicating the first two weeks of November to "ad limina" visits with bishops from the United States, Pope Francis will travel to Thailand …
Update: Bishops visit parishes in Texas helped by Catholic Home Missions
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Tyler Orsburn EL PASO, Texas (CNS) — With much national attention focused along the U.S.-Mexico border, members of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions visited three programs in the Diocese of El Paso that have been funded by the Catholic Home Mission Appeal. …
Photo Gallery: Little Saints at St. Cecila

On October 27, 2019, at St. Cecilia parish in Oakley had their wonderful little saints parade into church. Photos by Marta Misleh.
Busca al Senor por Arzobispo Dennis M. Schnurr

Todas las vocaciones dadas por Dios son importantes. ¡Es por eso que Dios las da! Nuestra Oración arquidiocesana por las V ocaciones menciona específicamente el llamado vocacion a una vida casta y soltera “y esposos y esposas fieles, que son un signo del amor de Cristo por Su Iglesia”. La …
Caring for common home requires deep ecological conversion, synod says
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Barbara J. Fraser VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The "unprecedented" environmental and social crisis in the Amazon calls for "a deep personal, social and structural conversion" that leads to new ways of caring for "our common home," according to the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon. In …
Christians must shun self-worship, pope says at synod’s final Mass
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Barbara J. Fraser VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Poor people from the Amazon have shown that God’s creation must be treated "not as a resource to be exploited but as a home to be preserved, with trust in God," Pope Francis said. He celebrated Mass Oct. …
Vatican-U.S. ties benefit humanity, ambassador says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller By Barbara J. Fraser VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Even if Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump have strong differences on the issue of migration, there are many other areas of common agreement where their joint efforts promote peace and human dignity, said the U.S. ambassador …
Synod calls for more church roles for women, but stops short of diaconate
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Members of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon asked that women be given leadership roles in the Catholic Church, although they stopped short of calling for women deacons. In the Amazon, like in the rest of the world, …
Synod document: New ministries can serve evangelization in Amazon
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — To proclaim the Gospel message of hope, the Catholic Church in the Amazon must open new paths of evangelization in the region, including by instituting new ministries for lay men and women, the Synod of Bishops said. The …
Today’s Video: Does God Want Me to Be Spontaneous?

God may want you to be spontaneous, but he also wants you to be disciplined. How does that work? Well, unless you just want to have no control over you impulses like a dog chasing a squirrel, discipline is a necessary prerequisite to being spontaneous. Check out Father Mike’s thoughts: