WASHINGTON – Earlier this week, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its first Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding. Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People issued a statement welcoming the information highlighted…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God wants everyone to be a saint, and the clearest path to achieving that goal is loving service to others, Pope Francis said. Celebrating the feast of All Saints, the pope led the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer Nov. 1 with thousands of visitors in St. Peter’s Square. Hundreds of…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis told members and staff of the Dicastery for Communication that the Vatican and the Catholic Church need their expertise to share the Gospel, but he also asked them to find creative ways to do it while cutting their expenses. “I dream of a communication that is heart to heart,…
Reading 1 EPH 6:10-20 Brothers and sisters: Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers,…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church must put more effort into ensuring that the sacrament of confirmation is not the “sacrament of goodbye” for young people, who receive it and then do not come to church again until they want to get married, Pope Francis said. “The problem is how to ensure that the…
Reading 1 Eph 6:1-9 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.Honor your father and mother.This is the first commandment with a promise,that it may go well with youand that you may have a long life on earth.Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,but bring them up with the training and…