JERUSALEM Pope Francis invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to pray together at the Vatican for peace between their nations. The pope made the announcement May 25, after praying the “Regina Coeli” at the end of Mass that Abbas attended in Manger Square, in Bethlehem, West Bank. Later in the day, […]
Pope, at charismatics rally, invites them to Vatican in 2017
ROME Meeting more than 50,000 Catholic charismatics in Rome’s Olympic Stadium, Pope Francis admitted he was not always comfortable with the way they prayed, but he knelt onstage as they prayed for him and over him by singing and speaking in tongues. “In the early years of the charismatic renewal in Buenos Aires, I did […]
Pope Francis: Priests, be merciful; Catholics, ‘pester your priests’
VATICAN CITY — Always be merciful, just like Jesus, who came to forgive, not condemn, Pope Francis told new priests. “Always have in front of your eyes the example of the Good Shepherd, who didn’t come to be served, but to serve and to look for and save those who were lost,” he said in […]
Pope Francis’ homily: A Martian walks into church and asks to be baptized …
VATICAN CITY — Christians must recognize that they do not lead or guide the church, but that the Holy Spirit does and the Holy Spirit can be unpredictable, Pope Francis said. “If, for example, an expedition of Martians arrived tomorrow,” and one said he wanted to be baptized, “What would happen?” the pope asked May […]
Pope Francis to seminarians: Don’t be princes; don’t give long, boring homilies
ADVICE TO SEMINARIANS Don’t be businessmen or princes; don’t give long, boring homilies VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis told seminarians not to become “orphan priests,” who are motherless without Mary; “businessman priests,” who are after money; or “prince priests,” who are aloof from the people. He also warned them not to give “boring homilies,” saying […]
‘I love my job,’ says woman whose life’s work inspired the film ‘Gimme Shelter’
Kathy DiFiore, on whom the movie “Gimme Shelter” is based, poses with stars of the movie James Earl Jones, Vanessa Hudgens and director-writer Ronald Krauss. The movie tells the powerful story of a teenager faced with desperate choices when she finds herself pregnant and homeless in New Jersey and how meeting people who cared changes […]
Photo: Gentle touch
A young man touches the cheek of Pope Francis during the pontiff’s weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican May 14. (CNS photo/Claudio Peri, EPA)
Pope Francis, with retired Benedict, canonizes Sts. John and John Paul
A massive crowd, an estimated one million people, is seen as Pope Francis celebrates the canonization Mass for Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 27. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) VATICAN CITY — Canonizing two recent popes in the presence of his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis praised […]
Father Kenneth Doyle: Heaven without my children?
Q Is the happiness of heaven dependent on human factors? Specifically, when I die and — hopefully — get to heaven, how could I be eternally happy if my children were not to make it with me? (The way things are right now, that is a distinct possibility.) How could I ever be at peace […]
Father John Catoir: Juggling the difficulties of life with grace
Life has been falsely compared to a juggling act, where the juggler tosses many balls in the air with ease and keeps them all circulating magically until he or she sets them down in perfect order. Real life is not at all like that. In fact, in real life, most of us will make mistakes […]
