Articles by Courtney Mares
Cardinal O’Malley to US bishops: Ask for grace at St. Peter’s tomb
Nov 7, 2019 / 10:39 amIn St. Peter’s Basilica Thursday, Cardinal Sean O’Malley asked American bishops to pray for the grace to make a profession of faith, hope, and love at the tomb of St. Peter before meeting with Pope Francis.
Pope Francis: St. Paul announced Christ to 'idol worshippers' without attacking them
Nov 6, 2019 / 08:15 amSt. Paul announced Jesus Christ to “idol worshippers” in Athens without attacking them, but by building bridges, Pope Francis said Wednesday.
US bishops arrive in Rome for ad limina visit with Pope Francis
Nov 5, 2019 / 14:01 pmEvery American diocesan bishop will travel to Rome over the next four months for meetings with Pope Francis assessing the state of the Church in the U.S.
Remember the final judgement, Pope Francis says at Mass for recently deceased bishops
Nov 4, 2019 / 07:30 amPope Francis urged Catholics to meditation on the final judgement at a Mass offered Monday for the souls of cardinals and bishops who died within the past year.
Austrian man claims he threw 'Pachamama' statues into the Tiber
Nov 4, 2019 / 03:14 amIn a video uploaded on YouTube Nov. 4, a young man from Austria claims that he was one of the two men who took five controversial statues from a church near the Vatican and threw them into the Tiber River.
Pope Francis asks for prayer for persecuted Christians in Ethiopia
Nov 3, 2019 / 07:00 amPope Francis Sunday asked for prayer for persecuted Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia, who have been targeted in ongoing ethnic clashes that have left 78 people dead.
Pope Francis to military chaplains: Safeguard human dignity in conflict
Oct 31, 2019 / 10:54 amPope Francis met with military chaplains from around the world Thursday as they participate in a formation course on international humanitarian law hosted by the Vatican.
British military bishop returns Marian statue taken during Falklands War
Oct 30, 2019 / 15:00 pmIn a conciliatory gesture 37 years after the Falklands War, military bishops from Great Britain and Argentina exchanged statues of the Virgin Mary Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis encourages anti-corruption protesters in Lebanon
Oct 27, 2019 / 11:00 amPope Francis Sunday encouraged protesters in Lebanon who have taken to the streets to challenge government corruption and mismanagement of finances. The pope’s message coincided with a series of protests taking place in countries around the world.
Pope Francis decries ‘predatory models of development’ in Amazon synod closing Mass
Oct 27, 2019 / 03:55 amPope Francis denounced exploitation and “predatory models of development” that plunder the poor and wound “sister earth” in the Amazon Synod closing Mass Sunday.
Church must convert from cultural, ecological sins, Amazon synod concludes
Oct 26, 2019 / 14:45 pmThe Amazon synod final document, published Saturday, laid out the need to define “ecological sins” while calling the Church to walk new paths of “integral conversion.”
‘Our faith is stronger than their bombs’: A Sri Lankan priest in Rome
Oct 24, 2019 / 10:00 amAs the pastor of a parish in which many families lost a mother, father, or child in a bombing on Easter Sunday, Fr. Jude Raj Fernando has seen how healing from loss can be a long, difficult journey of faith.
Pope Francis: Synodality brought pagans to 'reject idolatry'
Oct 23, 2019 / 03:30 amPope Francis said Wednesday that the first Christian evangelization of the pagans opened up “a very lively controversy” as the early Church discerned how to absorb new members from outside the people of Israel.
Venerable Stefan Wyszynski to be beatified in June
Oct 22, 2019 / 10:22 amVenerable Stefan Wyszyński, Archbishop of Gniezno and Warsaw from 1948 to 1981, will be beatified in Warsaw June 7, 2020, the city's archbishop announced Monday.
Cardinal Turkson says ordination of married men may get further study
Oct 22, 2019 / 08:05 amCardinal Peter Turkson said Monday that the ordination of married men will likely be the subject of further study for the universal Church after the Amazon synod.
Pope Francis at Ethnological Museum: 'Beauty unites us'
Oct 19, 2019 / 05:25 amPope Francis paid a visit Friday to the renovated wing of the Vatican Ethnological Museum, which he praised for being “a place where everyone can feel represented.”
Amazon synod discussion groups support married priests, female deacons
Oct 18, 2019 / 09:26 amAt least four of the 12 language groups at the Amazon synod overtly propose the ordination of married men to the priesthood in summary reports published by the Vatican Friday, with the majority of the discussion groups expressing openness to the idea.
Bishops in Middle East urge prayer for northern Syria
Oct 17, 2019 / 10:36 amBishops in Syria and Iraq have called for worldwide prayer as fighting between Turkish and Kurdish forces further destabilizes northern Syria.
Catholic snakebite clinic in India saves thousands of lives each year
Oct 16, 2019 / 16:01 pmIn most religious orders’ novitiate year, prospective sisters study and pray. Sister Crescencia Sun, however, had another habit to acquire: killing venomous snakes.
Vatican promotes 'smart rosary,' selling for $109
Oct 15, 2019 / 08:44 amThe Vatican promoted the launch of a ‘smart rosary’ bracelet Tuesday compatible with an iOS and Android app, which costs over $100.