Catholic minorities can still change the world, pope says at audience
IMAGE: CNS photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Visiting the small Catholic communities in Bulgaria and North Macedonia offered an opportunity to encourage the faithful to remember God’s miracle of being able to feed a multitude with just a few loaves and fishes, Pope Francis said. …
Catholic Thoughts: ‘Be who you are and be that well’
One of my favorite sayings is from St Francis de Sales: “Be who you are and be that well. So that you may bring honor to the Master Craftsman whose handiwork you are.” It is good enough to just be yourself. In fact, God doesn’t want us to try to …
Today’s Video: Do You Want to Be Well?
Jesus asked the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to be well?” It seems like an obvious question, but—as Fr. Mike explains—in order for this man to desire healing, he had to believe he could be healed. So many of us have given up on the …
Pope says study on women deacons was inconclusive
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM NORTH MACEDONIA (CNS) — The commission Pope Francis appointed to study the history and identity of women deacons did not reach a unanimous conclusion about whether deaconesses in the early church were "ordained" or formally "blessed," the pope …
Tolkien fan gets to direct a movie on his life
IMAGE: CNS photo/Fox Searchlight By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — Dome Karukoski shared one critical, albeit sad, boyhood link with J.R.R. Tolkien: being fatherless. Karukoski, then 12 years old, grew enamored of Tolkien’s books. "I was bullied, without a father. I was alone, and those stories, they became friends to …
Update: Pope Francis called Jean Vanier to thank him before his death
IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Jean Vanier Association By Cindy Wooden ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM NORTH MACEDONIA (CNS) — Pope Francis told reporters May 7 he had been kept informed about Jean Vanier’s failing health and had phoned him a week before his death. "He listened to me, but he could …
Georgia governor signs heartbeat bill restricting state abortions
By ATLANTA (CNS) — Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation May 7 to ban abortions in the state once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is around six weeks. The bill’s signing comes after weeks of protests and amid outcry for legal action against it. "We will not back …
Pope draws lessons from Mother Teresa in city of her birth
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden SKOPJE, North Macedonia (CNS) — Pope Francis went to the tiny Balkan nation of North Macedonia to pay tribute to a tiny saint who accomplished big things: St. Teresa of Kolkata. Mother Teresa was born Agnes Ganxhe Bojaxhiu to Albanian parents in Skopje …
Early evacuation in India spares more than 1 million from deadly cyclone
IMAGE: CNS photo/R. Narendra, Reuters By NEW DELHI (CNS) — A powerful cyclone ripped through eastern India and sideswiped Bangladesh, leaving a trail of destruction and more than 30 deaths. Authorities said the evacuation of 1.2 million people from more than 10,000 villages prior to Cyclone Fani’s landfall May 3 …
Pope names relator general, special secretaries for Amazon synod
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has chosen Brazil’s Cardinal Claudio Hummes to serve as relator general of next year’s Synod of Bishops on the Amazon. The nomination of the 84-year-old retired Archbishop of Sao Paulo was announced at the Vatican on …