By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Praying for peace in the Holy Land alongside leaders of long-antagonistic nations, Pope Francis called on God to act where human efforts had failed, to end what he described as violence inspired by the devil.

By David Agren Catholic News Service  MEXICO CITY — A priest in north central Mexico has been stripped of his position by the Vatican and faces criminal charges in connection with alleged sexual abuse of a teenage boy. The case marks the first time the Catholic Church in Mexico has …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM TEL AVIV — Pope Francis will meet with a group of sex abuse victims for the first time in June, he told reporters May 26. During a wide-ranging inflight news conference on his return to Rome from the …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — Asking prayers for his May 24-26 trip to the Holy Land, Pope Francis said his visit to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories would be “strictly religious.”

CNS Reports God makes no one struggle with life’s challenges alone, pope says VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God is always by our side, never giving us more than we can handle, Pope Francis said. The countless women and men who stand tall through enormous difficulties, pain and especially persecution, are …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — When Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople meets Pope Francis in Jerusalem May 25, one of their main discussion topics will be the “diminishing Christian minorities in the Middle East,” the patriarch told Catholic News Service.

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — Canonizing two recent popes in the presence of his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis praised the new Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II as men of courage and mercy, who responded to challenges of their time by modernizing the Catholic …

Staff Report At St. Adalbert Parish, founded in 1903 to serve the Polish Catholic community in Dayton and vicinity, Pope John Paul II’s canonization had special significance, said Father Eric Bowman, pastoral administrator. The parish celebrated a special Mass, featuring songs and scripture readings in Polish, followed by a reception.

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — Just days before Pope Francis was set to canonize two of his predecessors, he expressed his hopes the two soon-to-be saints would continue to inspire the whole church in its mission.

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said the assassination of “my confrere,” a 75-year-old Dutch Jesuit in Syria, “filled me with deep sadness and made me think again of all the people who suffer and are dying in that martyred country.”