WASHINGTON (CNS) -- According to the Census Bureau's new statistics, released Sept. 16, poverty in the United States is down, but only slightly. The actual number of people living in poverty in 2013 is unchanged at 4.53 million, but because of continued population growth in the United States, the p...
Read full story »

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family will not open until Oct. 5, but some of its most prominent members are already publicly debating what is bound to be one of its most controversial topics: the eligibility of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Co...
Read full story »

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family will not open until Oct. 5, but some of its most prominent members are already publicly debating what is bound to be one of its most controversial topics: the eligibility of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Co...
Read full story »

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- According to the Census Bureau's new statistics, released Sept. 16, poverty in the United States is down, but only slightly. The actual number of people living in poverty in 2013 is unchanged at 4.53 million, but because of continued population growth in the United States, the p...
Read full story »

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Tuck the Gospel in your pocket and put on your walking shoes to share Christ's love, peace and joy with the world, Pope Francis said. It is the Holy Spirit who inspires Christians to "overcome every obstacle, to conquer the temptation of being closed up in oneself -- among a c...
Read full story »

Q. I appreciate your "Question Corner" column, read it faithfully and have learned a great deal from it. But as a convert, one thing still puzzles me. I would like to know why the Church has an annulment process that actually may involve a tribunal sitting in judgment on a person's previous marriag...
Read full story »

ROME (CNS) -- Just a few steps away from Rome's traffic jams, blaring sirens and sticky heat, the city's Non-Catholic Cemetery is a garden of breezes and greenery, of crickets, birdsong, roses and pomegranate trees. Not surprisingly, it is also a magnet for visitors. There are students reading unde...
Read full story »

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President Barack Obama's decision to delay executive measures on immigration until after the November elections drew sharp rebukes from some of the most vocal advocates for immigrants, while others plugged away at arguing for certain actions, and analysts weighed whether the del...
Read full story »

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians are called to help those who have nothing to give and love those who don't love back, Pope Francis said. Salvation and changing the world for the better require "doing good to those who aren't able to repay us, just like the Father did with us, giving us Jesus," the...
Read full story »

Q. I was given a prayer folder that tells me that I will suffer no purgatory and be taken directly to heaven when I die, provided that I say these prayers daily for 12 years. (Missed days can be made up.) I am about ready to start the third year, but a dear Catholic friend has just told me that thi...
Read full story »