Q. Recently, my wife and I were visiting friends in the Chicago area and decided to attend a weekday Mass. I was surprised when we did not recite the creed, which I had always thought was a critical part of the Mass. My friend said that frequently, at this parish, they recite neither the Gloria nor...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A springtime visit to a Catholic Charities program in Wisconsin has the House Budget Committee chairman thinking that ramping up case management services would help a lot of people escape poverty, hopefully for good. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, a budget wonk whose earlier propo...
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SEOUL, South Korea (CNS) -- Starting his first visit to Asia, Pope Francis urged South Korean political and civic leaders to seek peace on their divided peninsula and strengthen their nation's commitment to democracy and social justice. "Peace is not simply the absence of war, but the work of justi...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican called on Muslim leaders to condemn the "barbarity" and "unspeakable criminal acts" of Islamic State militants in Iraq, saying a failure to do so would jeopardize the future of interreligious dialogue. "The plight of Christians, Yezidis and other religious and ethn...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has echoed a century of papal pleas: "No more war!" But, referring to the outrageous violations of human rights taking place in northeastern Iraq, he also begged, "Stop these crimes!" The Catholic Church for millennia has taught that war must be a last resort to r...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Slowing down, being generous and fighting for peace are ingredients in Pope Francis' secret recipe for happiness. In an interview published in part in the July 27 issue of the Argentine weekly "Viva,” the Holy Father listed his “Top 10” tips for bringing...
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CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- The aisle is paved with stone from an ancient Roman road; the apse is made of carefully trimmed evergreen bushes; the columns are tall, thin cypress trees; and the nave is a lily pond, complete with gold fish. Welcoming visitors to "our outdoor church" in Castel Gand...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Health care policy remains a potentially divisive subject not only in Congress but in the heartland of America, as hospitals across the country continue to be affected by states' decisions regarding Medicaid expansion. Although Medicaid has provided affordable health insurance t...
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Q. In a recent article on Our Lady in a well-known Catholic magazine, I was disturbed to read that the Blessed Mother was "saved retroactively from original sin" in view of the merits of Jesus Christ. I had always learned that, from the time of her conception, Mary was born without sin and already...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- World War I was dubbed "the Great War" because of the near-global scale of the fighting. Some called it "the World War," and many had thought it was "the war to end all wars." But its status as World War I was cemented when World War II commenced just 21 years after it ended. It...
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