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…
WASHINGTON – “Joy and enthusiasm were palpable as thousands of seminarians, religious, deacons, priests, bishops and cardinals processed witnessing to the world that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, affirming their own vocations. There were people in tears who embraced each other as they experienced this historic moment in the life of our church in…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Highlighting progress made in safeguarding and recommendations for rectifying ongoing gaps, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors dedicated its first annual report to all victims and survivors of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic Church. “The commission’s work — including this report — is and always has been…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Two days after opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica to inaugurate the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis will travel to a Rome prison to open a Holy Door as a “tangible sign of the message of hope” for people in prisons around the world, the Vatican announced. The pope…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Three years after he asked the world’s Catholics to walk together in faith on a synodal journey, Pope Francis said that the church cannot risk becoming “static” but must continue as a “missionary church that walks with her Lord through the streets of the world.” “We cannot remain inert before the…