Olive harvest at Garden of Gethsemane unites faithful with Christ
The opportunity to help a group of Franciscan priests harvest olives in the Garden of Gethsemane offers a sense of hope amid the adversaries one man's family has faced in their own olive groves.
Pope Francis calls for abolishing death penalty and life imprisonment
Pope Francis called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment, and denounced what he called a "penal populism" that promises to solve society's problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice.
First St. John Paul II feast day unites faithful in prayer, remembrance at St....
His leadership helped bring down the Soviet Union. He forgave the man who tried to kill him. He traveled the world and wrote 14 encyclicals. Throughout his 27-year papacy, St. John Paul inspired millions.
Celebrating God’s Gift of Love and Life
A wedding banquet was not when we might have expected Jesus' first miracle. Usually, His miracles cured the sick, healed the leper, fed a hungry crowd of thousands, gave sight to the blind. So why did He work His first miracle at a wedding banquet?
Pope beatifies Blessed Paul VI, the ‘great helmsman’ of Vatican II
Beatifying Blessed Paul VI at the concluding Mass of the Synod of Bishops on the family, Pope Francis praised the late pope as the "great helmsman" of the Second Vatican Council and founder of the synod, as well as a "humble and prophetic witness of love for Christ and his church."
Synod ends by affirming tradition, leaving controversial questions open
After several days of animated debate over its official midterm report, the Synod of Bishops on the family agreed on a final document more clearly grounded in traditional Catholic teaching. Yet the assembly failed to reach consensus on especially controversial questions of Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried and the pastoral care of homosexuals.
Judge strikes down Arizona’s marriage law, opens door to same-sex marriage in state
A U.S. District Court judge's ruling that Arizona's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional "overturns the will of Arizona voters and reflects a misunderstanding of the institution of marriage," the state's Catholic bishops said Oct. 17.
Cardinal Pell: Synod says no to ‘secular agenda’
Cardinal George Pell said working-group reports from the Synod of Bishops on the family finally give a true picture of the assembly's views, counteracting what he characterized as a misleading midterm report.
Archbishop Kurtz hopes synod’s final report will ‘refine and clarify’
Archbishop Kurtz said he hoped the final report of the Synod of Bishops on the family would improve on the assembly's midterm report in celebrating exemplary families, encouraging missionary outreach and emphasizing that the church's pastoral efforts must be grounded in Scripture and Catholic teaching.
Church called to keep hope alive, live in joyful expectation, pope says
The church of Christ is called to keep the light of hope alive in the world, showing all humanity the path leading to "the merciful face of God" and salvation in Christ, Pope Francis said.
