God can act in unexpected ways, calling for brave acceptance, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- St. Joseph teaches people to learn to take life as it comes and to accept what God has in mind, Pope Francis said. Speaking about...
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Catholic, Orthodox must make their communion visible, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholics and Orthodox Christians must increasingly work together where they can, Pope Francis told Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew...
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Paris archbishop denies report, offers to resign to avoid being divisive
PARIS (CNS) -- Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris has offered to step down to avoid "becoming a source of divisions," after an article in the Le Point...
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Pope advances sainthood causes, including Dutch priest murdered at Dachau
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis signed a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Titus Brandsma, clearing the way for...
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Closing assembly, Latin American church leaders call for inclusive church
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Nearly 1,000 church leaders -- lay and religious -- from Latin America and the Caribbean called for a more inclusive and synodal church,...
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Pope sets up commission to monitor annulment reform in Italy
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Concerned at the slow pace of adopting his reforms of the marriage annulment process, Pope Francis has established a Vatican commission...
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Worst poverty is lack of faith, no meaning in life, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- There is no greater poverty than a life without faith in God, Pope Francis said in a recent message. The world needs hope, people's...
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Lebanon topic at pope's meetings with prime minister, French president
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In separate meetings with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and French President Emmanuel Macron, Pope Francis expressed his ongoing...
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Text of pope's prayer to St. Joseph
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Here is the Vatican's English translation of the prayer to St. Joseph that Pope Francis recited at his weekly general audience Nov....
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Change bad habits, protect the earth, help others, pope says in new book
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Despite the disappointing outcome of the COP26 summit on climate change, Pope Francis said he knows it is not too late for humanity...
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Papal spotlight: Migration is major theme of trip to Cyprus and Greece
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will draw the world's attention to migration once again as he visits Cyprus and Greece in early December. The number...
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UPDATE: Pope sends condolences to victims of Waukesha parade attack
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis expressed his condolences to the victims of a tragic attack at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that claimed...
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Vatican trial raises more questions than answers
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At the ongoing Vatican trial involving alleged embezzlement, money laundering and abuse of office, the defense has raised more questions...
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Pope gives Italian bishops beatitudes to be good shepherds
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis invited Italy's bishops to live the "beatitudes of a bishop," an adaptation of the traditional Eight Beatitudes to provide...
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Church can't just ignore new questions about meaning of life, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The classical Christian understanding of what it means to be human provides a clear affirmation of the sacredness and uniqueness...
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Polish priest killed by Nazis takes step closer to sainthood
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A young Catholic priest has been beatified as a martyr in Poland, nearly eight decades after he was guillotined by wartime Nazi...
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CELAM must 'revive Aparecida,' go to peripheries, says its president
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Peruvian Archbishop Hector Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte called for a "second reception" of the Second Vatican Council as prelates, religious...
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Imitate Mary by listening to God, pope tells consecrated women
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Be confident in God like Mary and imitate her by listening and accepting his will, Pope Francis told members of the secular institute...
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Trappist monk, last survivor of Algerian monastery attack, dead at 97
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Trappist Father Jean-Pierre Schumacher, the last survivor of the 1996 attack on the Tibhirine monastery in Algeria, died at the age...
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Dialogue is not 'synonymous' with relativism, pope tells Swedish Academy
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The world needs a culture of encounter that can open a way for respectful dialogue that doesn't resort to hostility, Pope Francis...
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At COP26, Vatican delegation calls for solidarity with poorer nations
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the U.N. Climate Change Conference was nearing its final day, the Vatican delegation urged parties to deliver on the financing,...
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Assisi pilgrimage with the poor: Pope calls for open hands, open hearts
ASSISI, Italy (CNS) -- With a pilgrim's staff and mantle, Pope Francis entered Assisi's Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels with 500 economically or socially...
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Church cannot repair what it does not recognize, cardinal says on abuse
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Gathering information and statistics on the sexual abuse of minors is an important tool for assessing established responses and for...
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Nuclear arsenals do not provide 'security,' top Vatican cardinal says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The global COVID-19 pandemic should be teaching people that security does not come from a country's possession of nuclear weapons,...
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Retired pope's publisher presents him with copy of his first contract
BERLIN (CNS) -- The German publishing company Verlag Herder GmbH has paid tribute to retired Pope Benedict XVI, 94, as its most loyal and oldest living...
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Confession can be place where church fights abuse, Jesuit says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To protect the sacrament of reconciliation as a "channel of grace" for victims of sexual abuse, the Catholic Church must do a better...
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Vatican releases theme for pope's 2022 World Peace Day message
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Lasting peace in the world can be achieved only by responding to the needs of current and future generations, the Vatican said as...
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President of Communion and Liberation announces he's stepping down
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Complying with new Vatican rules placing term limits on the leadership of Catholic lay movements and associations, Spanish Father...
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Vatican releases program for papal trip to Cyprus, Greece
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Visiting Cyprus and Greece in early December, Pope Francis will have several meetings with the countries' Orthodox leaders and with...
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Nurture hope tomorrow by healing pain today, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The gift of hope becomes tangible in people's lives through concrete actions that seek to relieve the suffering of the poor and console...
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Pope thanks reporters for speaking truth, giving voice to abuse victims
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Honoring two reporters who have covered the Vatican for more than 40 years, Pope Francis paid tribute to all journalists who work...
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Pope urges Ratzinger Prize winners to hold fast to truth like Pope Benedict
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Honoring an Australian theologian, a French philosopher and two German theologians, Pope Francis prayed that they may continually...
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Failure to protect creation will incur God's judgment, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- World leaders are running out of time and must address the challenges of climate change before it's too late, Pope Francis said. In...
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Treasuring the widow's mite: Vatican finance reform is long, slow process
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The day after Catholics around the world heard the Gospel story of the widow's mite, Vatican media published a long interview with...
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Pope sets date for canonization of Blessed de Foucauld, others
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Blessed Charles de Foucauld and six other candidates for sainthood finally will be canonized May 15, 2022, the Vatican announced...
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Exiled Nicaraguan bishop calls presidential election 'illegitimate'
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- An exiled Nicaraguan bishop denounced elections in the Central American country as "illegitimate," but called on citizens to continue...
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Who was Charles de Foucauld?
Vatican City (CNA) -- The Vatican announced Wednesday that Pope Francis has advanced the sainthood causes of 14 men and women, including Blessed Charles...
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Pope at Vatican Library exhibits calls for dialogue, openness
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The world needs new maps, guides for the human journey that are focused not on borders, but on what draws all people together and...
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Polish church leaders offer support for refugees, but back border security
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- Poland's military archbishop urged security forces to prevent the illegal entry of refugees and migrants, as the country's bishops'...
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Archbishop says closer Vatican-Russia ties could benefit the world
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During his first visit to Russia, the Vatican foreign minister said relations between the two "have been steadily strengthened,"...
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Myanmar military shells northeast cathedral twice in five months
YANGON, Myanmar (CNS) -- Fighting has intensified in northeastern Myanmar's Shan state as the military reinforces troops to crush local militias, and religious...
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Papal vision of universal kinship is based on faith, cardinal says
ROME (CNS) -- The surprising thing about Pope Francis' encyclical on human fraternity was not its affirmation that all people are brothers and sisters,...
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Trust Christ's presence, learn to invoke the Holy Spirit, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In times of trouble, Christians must be like the disciples in the boat on the stormy sea, calling out to Jesus and waking him up,...
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Pope condemns attack on Iraqi prime minister's residence
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis condemned a drone attack on the Iraqi prime minister's residence as a "vile act of terrorism" and expressed his hope...
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French bishops set out new reforms in wake of abuse report
LOURDES, France (CNS) -- France's Catholic bishops have unveiled new measures to counter sexual abuse by clergy after an October report by an independent...
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Pope's World Day of the Poor includes listening, helping
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis plans to prepare for his celebration of the World Day of the Poor by meeting with and listening to some 500 poor people...
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Pope thanks Retrouvaille for support of couples in crisis
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A period of crisis in a marriage is frightening and painful, but it also can be an opportunity for growth, especially if the couple...
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Pope: True faith known by sincerity of heart, not hypocrisy of appearances
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians must strive for a sincere faith that seeks to serve others rather than to exploit the weakest for personal gain, Pope...
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Pope plans Dec. 2-6 visit to Cyprus and Greece
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' planned trip to the eastern Mediterranean in December will focus on migration, Catholic-Orthodox relations and promoting...
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Iraqi Catholics looking ahead, not back, Chaldean bishop says
ESLÖV, Sweden (CNS) -- After enduring war and suffering in Iraq, Chaldean Catholics abroad prefer to look ahead to a brighter future in their adopted...
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World needs people who are passionate about caring for others, pope says
ROME (CNS) -- People need to be passionate about serving others and caring for those who suffer, Pope Francis said. "Lord, we entrust to your heart the...
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