Pope Francis arrives in procession to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on March 25. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring. By Cindy Wooden Celebrating Palm Sunday Mass with thousands of young people, Pope Francis urged them to continue singing and shouting “hosanna” in the world, proclaiming the lordship of Jesus and following his example of outreach to the poor and su...

Pope Francis greets Australian delegate Angela Markas during the pre-synod gathering of youth delegates at the Pontifical International Maria Mater Ecclesiae College in Rome March 19. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring. By Cindy Wooden The Catholic Church needs the enthusiasm, daring and hope of young people so that it can preach the Gospel energetically and respond to the questions men and women...

Pope Francis prays as he leads a Lenten penance service March 9 in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Photo: CNS photo/Stefano Rellandini, Reuters. By Carol Glatz God’s love is never lacking, despite people’s sins and rejection of his presence in their lives, Pope Francis said at a Lenten penance service. “Sin is the way that we distance ourselves from Him. Yet that does not mean...

Pope Francis venerates a Marian image outside the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome. The Holy Father has this week instituted a new Marian feast honouring Mary as Mother of the Church. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring. By Cindy Wooden Pope Francis has decreed that Latin-rite Catholics around the world will mark the feast of the “Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church” on the Monday after Pe...

Pilgrims cheer after the Way of the Cross during World Youth Day in 2016 at Blonia Park in Krakow, Poland. Young men and women can live a true experience of the church by joining together and reconnecting with the past, Pope Francis told Catholic young people in his message for the local observances of World Youth Day 2017. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring. Pope Francis has told young people that ...

Muslim doorkeeper Wajeeh Nuseibeh stands outside the closed Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem’s Old City. Nuseibeh closed and locked the doors on 25 February after heads of Christian Churches in the Holy Land announced they were closing of the doors of the Church for an undisclosed period of time. Photo: CNS/courtesy Nuseibeh family. By Judith Sudilovsky Jerusalem’s most famo...

Orphan children are seen during an art lesson about solidarity in Douma, Syria. Pope Francis has told a group of children and young people at the Vatican that often when people are unable to love or accept a child with problems or illness, it is because they are too weak themselves to be able to bear someone else’s vulnerabilities. Photo: CNS/Mohammed Badra. By Carol Glatz When people...

The first approved miracle necessary for his beatification has cleared two of the three stages necessary for Archbishop Sheen to be declared “blessed.” Photo: CNS/Gregory Shemitz. The case involving the transfer of the remains of Archbishop Fulton Sheen from New York to Peoria, Illinois, has been sent back to the original court by the New York Court of Appeals for an evidentiary hearing....

Pope Francis uses incense as he celebrates Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome on 28 January. Photo: CNS/Remo Casilli, Reuters. By Carol Glatz A relationship with Mary, the mother of God, is not “optional” for Christians, Pope Francis said, because Jesus points to her as a source of protection and guidance. Wherever people have opened their doors to Mary, “the devil does...

The Catholic Church in Australia and around the world will recommit to fighting slavery and human trafficking in the coming days as it celebrates the feast of St Josephine Bakhita. Photo: Supplied. The Catholic Church in Australia and around the world will recommit to fighting slavery and human trafficking in the coming days as it celebrates the feast of St Josephine Bakhita. Pope Fra...