VATICAN – Forgiving those who have caused pain or offense is not easy, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – Promoting and defending Catholic teaching is itself a pastoral practice, said Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

By truly listening to the penitent during confession, "we listen to Jesus himself, poor and humble; by listening to the Holy Spirit, we put ourselves in attentive obedience, becoming listeners of the Word" in order to know what God wants to be done, he said.

VATICAN – Christians must let go of resentments and forgive those who have wronged them so that they may experience God's forgiveness, Pope Francis.

VATICAN – 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 Pentecost each year.

VATICAN – Like Jesus cast out the merchants from the temple in Jerusalem, we should drive the desire for personal gain and advantage from our hearts, replacing it with love, Pope Francis said Sunday.

EDMONTON – Of all the sacraments, confession often appears to be the most intimidating, and most people tend to avoid it — sometimes for years, says Fr. Roger Niedzielski.

VATICAN – The authentic development of doctrine is about making more explicit the revealed truths of faith, not changing, or “shifting,” Church teaching – and to use this idea to defend an agenda is wrong, Cardinal Gerhard Müller has said.

VATICAN – Lent is a time to face our temptations and be converted by the Gospel, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on the first Sunday of Lent.