ROME (CNS) — Smiles, laughter, prayer and strategizing abound at the Bishops’ Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican. Just a few blocks from Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain, the visitors’ office is where hundreds of Americans — and not only — go on Tuesday afternoons to pick up their tickets for the pope’s weekly general…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A nerdy love of science fiction, a yearning for adventure, a passion for science and a foundation of Jesuit education all helped in some way to lead a man from Detroit, Michigan, to become a master of meteorites and the head of the Vatican Observatory. Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, who has…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — It is unacceptable that a child’s right to life and a dignified childhood should be sacrificed to “the idols” of power, profit, ideology and nationalistic self-interest, Pope Francis told a group of world experts and leaders. “A childhood denied is a silent scream condemning the wrongness of the economic system, the…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The way consecrated women and men live their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience can offer light and hope to a world looking for authentic relationships marked by love and self-giving, Pope Francis said. Celebrating vespers Feb. 1, the eve of the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and of…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Concern for the salvation of souls is what guides the work of church tribunals and the implementation of reforms regarding the marriage annulment process, Pope Francis said. “We are called upon by the pain and hope of so many faithful who seek clarity regarding the truth about their personal situation and,…
WASHINGTON – “The Catholic Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children and have both the right and responsibility to direct their child’s education,” said Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education. Bishop O’Connell offered the following comments in response to the…