Catholic News Service

Don't be late for Mass believing the introductory rites do not matter, Pope Francis told visitors and pilgrims Dec. 20 during his weekly general audience.

A new law deepening Mexico's dependence on soldiers for public security purposes has provoked alarm from some clergy and Catholic human rights organizations, who warn that it could provide a pretense for cracking down on peaceful protests.

People need factual and trustworthy news that avoids sensationalism and whipping up heated reactions, Pope Francis said.

Sitting on the bare pavement outside a Catholic church, an Afghan refugee woman, dressed in a bright floral headscarf, calls out plaintively to passersby, begging for coins.

Pope Francis met with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the Vatican, two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital provoked outrage in the Middle East. 

The Knights of Columbus, based in New Haven, announced it is committing $1.4 million to repair or help rebuild churches destroyed or badly damaged by the hurricanes that hit Texas, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Only relics that have been certified as authentic can be exposed for veneration by the faithful, said a new Vatican instruction.

In an open letter Dec. 15, a group of 20 Catholic bishops and other religious leaders described as "deeply troubling" the idea "that a man can be or become a woman or vice versa."

Celebrating his 81st birthday, Pope Francis blew out the candles on a 13-foot long pizza after being serenaded with song and dance by children and employees from a Vatican pediatric clinic. 

A land dispute has driven some 5,000 indigenous Tzotzil from their communities and into the mountains to survive in cold and squalid conditions. At least nine people have died.

Christmas joy expressed through music brings a message of peace and brotherhood for those most in need, Pope Francis said. 

Lebanon's Christian and Muslim leaders denounced the "unjust" decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and demanded that it be reversed.

God shows his greatness through his tenderness toward his children like a loving father, Pope Francis said. 

A trio of Nigerian bishops condemned the enslavement of Nigerians who traveled to Libya for work, calling the practice a horrific abuse of human dignity.

Fr.  Enrique Herrera, pastor of a thriving farmworker parish in California's Salinas Valley, received Catholic Extension's 2017-2018 Lumen Christi Award Dec. 10.

Martial law in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao, originally aimed at quelling a terrorist attack in Marawi in May, has been extended for another year.

Pope Francis' decision to convene a Synod of Bishops dedicated to the Amazon is a sign of his desire for the choice to be a voice for the voiceless living in the region, a Brazilian archbishop said. 

Just like a plant needs sun and nourishment to survive, every Christian needs the light of Sunday and the sustenance of the Eucharist to truly live, Pope Francis said.

The appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which mirrored that of the indigenous people of the time, is a sign of Mary's closeness to those who are marginalized, Pope Francis said.

The Archdiocese of New York has resolved claims from 189 victims of clergy sexual abuse in the amount of $40 million.