Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, left, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, joins other religious leaders at a news conference regarding the Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate July 2 at the National Press Club in Washington. A diverse group of r...
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Linda Lambert touches the cross displayed for nephew Andrew Ashcraft, a Hot Shot Firefighter, at a makeshift memorial July 2 outside the Granite Mountain Interagency Hot Shot Crew firehouse in Prescott, Ariz. Ashcraft one of 19 Arizona firefighters, all members of the same elite squad, who were kil...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' first encyclical, which he has said is largely the work of retired Pope Benedict XVI, will be published July 5. The Vatican announced July 1 that "Lumen fidei" (The Light of Faith) will be presented at a news conference featuring Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- U.S. Catholic bishops said the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 rulings on same-sex marriage were a "tragic day for marriage and our nation." The court, in separate 5-4 rulings struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, defining marriage as between one man and one wom...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis and retired Pope Benedict XVI have a special devotion to St. Joseph and have assured that devotion regularly will be shared at Mass by Catholics around the world. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments said Pope Francis confirmed a decision origina...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ideologies and practices that destroy human life arise from false ideas of freedom without God, Pope Francis told a crowd in St. Peter's Square, including thousands of pro-life activists from around the world. "Whenever we want to assert ourselves, when we become wrapped up in...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis told members of the ordinary council of the Synod of Bishops that he was preparing to publish an encyclical on faith written "with four hands" -- his own and those of Pope Benedict XVI. While a formal speech was prepared for the pope's meeting with the council res...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis ditched a 1,250-word prepared speech to students saying it would be "a tad boring" to read out loud and opted instead to just quickly hit the high points and spend the rest of the time answering people's questions. "Would you like that?" he asked as some 9,000 stu...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Unlike many of his predecessors since the early 1600s, Pope Francis has decided not to spend the summer months at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo south of Rome, although he will observe a reduced schedule in July and August. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesma...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Of the various innovations that Pope Francis has already introduced into the way a pontiff lives and works, one of the most significant is his celebration of weekday morning Masses with invited guests. The practice is revealing of the new pope's character and of how he underst...
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