FAITH/STORIES

Norbertine Father P. Bernard Ardura, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, speaks during a news conference at the Vatican Oct. 26, 2021. The Vatican announced a conference Oct. 27-29 of historians and experts studying the history of the church in the first centuries of Christianity.

Vatican conference convenes experts to study early Christian history

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VATICAN CITY -- A Vatican conference will gather both Christian and non-Christian historians and experts to delve deep into the history of the church in the first centuries of Christianity.

Sr. Hae-Jin Lim is embraced during her perpetual profession in August.

Canadian Salesians celebrate first vocation in 25 years

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VANCOUVER -- Sr. Hae-Jin Lim is quick to say her vocation story is about God’s faithfulness, not her own.

This is the cover of the Oct. 10, 2021, edition of "Iglesia en Córdoba." It features relatives of some of the more than 100 victims of Spain's 1936-1939 civil war who moved a step closer to sainthood after being beatified as martyrs for the faith Oct. 16, and some of their relatives.

Martyrs of Spanish civil war beatified

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CÓRDOBA, Spain -- More than 100 victims of Spain’s 1936-1939 civil war moved a step closer to sainthood after being beatified as martyrs for the faith. They included two teenage boys as well as an 88-year-old nun who died of bullet wounds after being tied to a window as a human shield.

Former Anglican Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, pictured in an undated photo, has been received into the Catholic faith and will be ordained a priest in late October. He is the fourth English Anglican bishop to join the Catholic Church in two years.

Prominent Anglican bishop received into Catholic Church

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MANCHESTER, England -- A prominent Anglican bishop has joined the Catholic Church and will be ordained as a priest at the end of October.

Pope Francis has named Msgr. Diego Giovanni Ravelli to be the new master of papal liturgical ceremonies. He is pictured during the pope's celebration of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in this March 28, 2021, file photo.

Pope Francis appoints new master of papal liturgical ceremonies

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VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis named Msgr. Diego Giovanni Ravelli, who has served as an official of the papal almoner's office since 2013, as the new master of papal liturgical ceremonies, the Vatican said.

October 12, 2021
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Oct. 10, 2021.

Faith is not a transactional relationship with God, Pope Francis says at Angelus

VATICAN CITY -- People should ask themselves whether their faith has become a "commercial relationship" with God or if it is a relationship built on freedom, love and generosity, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives for his general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican Sept. 29, 2021. Pope Francis will not be attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, in November; Cardinal Pietro Parolin will head the Vatican delegation.

Pope Francis will not attend climate summit in Glasgow

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VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis will not be going to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, as he had hoped.

Vatican Court President Giuseppe Pignatone speaks during the verdict of Father Gabriele Martinelli and Msgr. Enrico Radice in this still image taken from video Oct. 6, 2021. The two clergymen, who were accused of sexually abusing a younger student at St. Pius X Pre-Seminary between 2007 and 2012, were cleared of the charges.

Citing lack of evidence, Vatican court clears two priests in sex abuse case

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VATICAN CITY -- A Vatican court cleared two priests involved in a controversial sex abuse case at a minor seminary once located at the Vatican.

The judges of the Vatican City State criminal court -- Venerando Marano, Giuseppe Pignatone and Carlo Bonzano -- face dozens of lawyers in a makeshift Vatican courtroom July 27, 2021, as the trial of 10 defendants in a financial malfeasance case begins. Cardinal Angelo Becciu is among the defendants.

At embezzlement trial, lawyers 'surprised' by Vatican prosecution's request

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VATICAN CITY -- A request by Vatican prosecutors to withdraw testimony in a megatrial regarding financial malfeasance prompted defense lawyers to call for the case to be thrown out.

A crucifix is pictured in Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice, France, Oct. 4, 2021. A new report on clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in France shows there have been 3,000 abusers since the 1950s.

Pope Francis prays for victims of abuse in France

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VATICAN CITY -- The Catholic Church's inability to make victims of abuse their top concern is a cause for intense shame, Pope Francis said.

A Swiss Guard is pictured before Pope Francis' general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican Sept. 22, 2021. Three members of the Swiss Guard have hung up their halberds rather than be vaccinated against COVID-19, and three others were temporarily suspended in early October as they were completing the vaccination cycle, the spokesman for the guards told a Swiss newspaper.

Three Swiss Guards quit over vaccine mandate

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VATICAN CITY -- Three members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard have hung up their halberds rather than be vaccinated against COVID-19, and three others were temporarily suspended in early October as they were completing the vaccination cycle, the spokesman for the guards told a Swiss newspaper.

People have their Green Pass, signifying vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test taken within 48 hours, checked before entering the Vatican Museums at the Vatican in this Aug. 6, 2021, file photo. Beginning Oct. 1 the Vatican will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test from most people wanting to enter Vatican territory or offices. People attending Vatican liturgies are exempt from the requirements.

Vatican to require vaccination proof or negative COVID-19 test

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VATICAN CITY -- Visitors, tourists and employees who want to enter Vatican territory will be required beginning Oct. 1 to show proof of vaccination, recovery from the coronavirus or a negative COVID-19 test.

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Bratislava, Slovakia, to Rome Sept. 15, 2021.

Pope Francis: Bishops must handle Communion debate as shepherds, not with censures

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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM SLOVAKIA (CNS) -- The debate about denying Communion to politicians who support abortion must be handled in a pastoral way, not by public condemnations that seek to "excommunicate" Catholics who are not in line with church teaching, Pope Francis said.

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