Church cannot improvise its training, support for priests, pope says

VATICAN CITY - The Catholic Church needs priests who show their people that being Christian is a lifelong journey toward holiness, a journey that proceeds by serving God and serving their brothers and sisters, Pope Francis said.

Pope demotes Cardinal Burke from Vatican post

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has removed outspoken U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke as head of the Vatican's highest court and named him to a largely ceremonial post for a chivalric religious order.

To heart of Europe: Pope expected to talk dignity, jobs, family life

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis, who has called the Catholic Church to go out to the peripheries and who described himself as coming from "the end of the Earth," will visit the heart of European secular and economic power: the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.

The unhappy cost of resentment

It’s not only love that makes the world go round. Resentment too is prominent in stirring the drink. In so many ways our world is drowning in resentment. Everywhere you look, it seems, someone is bitter about something and breathing out resentment. 

Be awake to spiritual opportunities

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Nov. 16 (Proverbs 31:10-13, 16-18, 20, 26, 28-31; Psalm 128; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30) 

The job description of a good wife in the Book of Proverbs is daunting. The described individual is a combination of social worker, business woman, mother and companion. One can only hope that equal standards apply to the husband in question. 

Pope Francis suggests no-cost annulments in divorce cases

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis raised the prospect of no-cost marriage annulments Nov. 5 after revealing he had dismissed a Church official for selling annulments for thousands of dollars, which he called a “public scandal.”

Pope Francis to open Vatican conference on traditional marriage

VATICAN CITY - A month after closing a Synod of Bishops on the family stirred by controversy over divorce, same-sex unions and other non-marital relationships, Pope Francis will open an interreligious conference dedicated to traditional marriage.

Praying for the dead, pope asks special prayers for victims of war

VATICAN CITY - The early November feasts of All Saints and All Souls call Catholics to contemplate their ultimate destiny, hope in the eternal happiness of their beloved dead and remember the thousands of innocent people dying each day because of human evil and selfishness.

Vatican official: Syria's war is part of regional humanitarian crisis

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A Vatican official who just returned from a visit to Syria said "the humanitarian situation is worse than I thought."

Divisions aside, Christians must work together to evangelize, pope says

VATICAN CITY - Although divided by ancient disputes and new developments, Christians in Europe still have an obligation to work together to help confused men and women find the answers to their spiritual thirst and their search for life's ultimate meaning, Pope Francis said.

Be ready with God's weaponry; devil is real, pope says

VATICAN CITY - Christian life is a constant battle against the devil, who is not the stuff of legend, but really exists, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.