VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his brief pontificate, Pope Francis has coined some colorful terms to get his points across, for example, using "bat Christians" to describe those who hide their faith. While the new phrases he uses in his ecology encyclical are not as punchy, they succinctly help illustrat...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- There is a reason that the song "Solidarity Forever," sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," is an anthem of the labor movement. And it was no accident that a June 15 conference titled "Erroneous Autonomy: A Conversation on Solidarity & Faith" was held at the...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christian hope and faith in the afterlife mean the sting of losing a loved one does not have to leave behind a poisonous venom in our lives, Pope Francis said. "Our loved ones have not disappeared into dark nothingness: Hope assures us that that they are in God's good and stro...
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Q. Recently, at a parish discussion group, several people suggested that a good time to pray the rosary is while you are driving your car. I, though, have two questions: a) Is that a good prayer practice? And, b) Is it prudent and safe? (Albany, New York) A. Different people will give you different...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis once said that a person who "puts his hand in his pocket to show that he helps the church while with the other hand steals from the state, from the poor" is not simply a sinner, but is corrupt. While someone may think it is clever to find a way to avoid paying tax...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The onetime stigma of being a Catholic for those seeking national office appears to have disappeared in the 2016 presidential election cycle since a record number of candidates have declared their candidacy or expressed an interest in running for the highest office in the countr...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The hidden heroes of this world are those family members who still go to work and get the job done after staying up all night tending to a sick loved one, Pope Francis said. In fact, the family "has always been the closest 'hospital.' And still today in many parts of the world...
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Q. My husband and I have been members of our parish for 20 years, and for the last six of those years I have been a eucharistic minister. Recently, there was an announcement in our parish newsletter that, in order to be a eucharistic minister, you needed to have been baptized, received first Commun...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Always, but especially during a Holy Year, the Catholic Church does everything possible to help Catholics repent of their sins, receive forgiveness and draw closer to God. The church's law and its canon lawyers are part of that effort, said Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secreta...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A new report that more low-income children ate free breakfasts and lunches last summer than the previous summer is both good news and bad. Of course, food program advocates emphasize that more children are getting fed, but they also point out the sheer numbers of those who need...
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