Pope Francis: Jesus is free, salvation cannot be bought

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pilgrims must beware of people who seek to use the Jubilee Year to profit off of them since salvation is a gift that cannot be bought, Pope Francis said. "Be careful! Beware of someone who is sly or sneaky who tells you that you need to pay. Salvation cannot...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Catholic schools give high marks to sweeping new federal education law

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When President Barack Obama signed the sweeping bipartisan legislation Every Student Succeeds Act Dec. 10, he described it as a "Christmas miracle." "This is an early Christmas present. After more than 10 years, members of Congress from both parties have come t...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Pope Francis' 2015: Family, ecology, but mostly mercy

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At the Vatican and on five continents in 2015, Pope Francis continued to encourage and demonstrate a style of evangelization that emphasizes walking with people, listening to them and showing them God's mercy. From the heart of the universal church to the hea...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Holy Year reminds us to put mercy before judgment

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – On a cloudy, damp morning, Pope Francis' voice echoed in the atrium of St. Peter's Basilica: "Open the gates of justice." With five strong thrusts, the pope pushed open the Holy Door, a symbol of God's justice, which he said will always be exercised "in the light of his m...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Pope Francis: The church needs this Holy Year of Mercy

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church needs the extraordinary Holy Year to become an effective witness of God's divine mercy, Pope Francis said. "The jubilee is a favorable time for all of us, so that in contemplating divine mercy, which surpasses every human limitation and s...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Pope wants Year of Mercy to tenderly transform world

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Francis planned the Year of Mercy and the opening of the Holy Door, he did not mean to give the starting signal for a frenzied wave of pilgrims to Rome. More than call to sign up for an Eternal City package tour, the pope is inviting people t...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Civil war, terrorism - and now politics - affecting Syrian refugees

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The trickle of refugees that left Syria when that country's Arab Spring-styled protests morphed in late 2011 into civil war, turned to a flood and then a torrent this year as hostilities escalated when euphemistically termed "outside actors" got more deeply involved. ...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Film on Blessed Mother Teresa captures her saintly simplicity
"The Letters" is another film about the life of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (acted with aplomb by Juliet Stevenson) – specifically that part of her life where, posthumously, personal letters surfaced that revealed her prolonged dark night of the soul. The stunning revelation is chronicl...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 03, 2015
Pope in Africa: Open the doors of mercy
SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/timlilley/Desktop/Website - Dec 4 2015 issue/p01 - Pope in Africa with edits.doc BANGUI, Central African Republic (CNS) – Put down the weapons of war and work for justice, Pope Francis urged the people of the Central African Republic. &...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 03, 2015
Missionary spirit means giving witness, not proselytizing, pope says

SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/timlilley/Desktop/Website - Dec 4 2015 issue/Papal Audience.doc VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Missionary spirit is manifested by preaching love, humanity and faith through one's witness and not through proselytism, Pope Francis said. ...
Read full story »
Thursday, December 03, 2015