Catholic News

God wants people to be merciful, which means forgiving others and giving freely with love, Pope Francis said.

After two nights of violence in Charlotte, Bishop Peter J. Jugis called on men, women and children in the Diocese of Charlotte to join him in prayers for "peace and justice" for all victims of violence and for law enforcement personnel who have been victims of "unjust violence."

Melva Arbelo, director of the Santa Teresita of the Child Jesus Children's Home in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, has been named the winner of the 2016-17 Lumen Christi Award given annually since 1978 by Catholic Extension.

Two prominent Catholics will be commemorated on U.S. postage stamps in 2017. Holy Cross Father Theodore Hesburgh, who was president of the University of Notre Dame for 35 years, and President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas in 1963, are among several subjects that will be part of next year's stamp program, the U.S. Postal Service announced Sept. 20.

Eighty-six percent of the world's refugees are living in developing countries and it is particularly hard for those countries to meet refugees' needs and provide them an education and a livelihood, according to a senior policy and legislative specialist at Catholic Relief Services.

Violence in the name of God does not represent the true nature of religion and must be condemned by all faiths, Pope Francis said. "We never tire of repeating that the name of God cannot be used to justify violence. Peace alone, and not war, is holy!" the pope said Sept. 20 at the closing ceremony of an interreligious peace gathering in Assisi.

Jesus' cry of thirst on the cross is heard today in the cries of innocent victims of war in the world, Pope Francis said. Christians are called to contemplate Christ in "the voice of the suffering, the hidden cry of the little innocent ones to whom the light of this world is denied," the pope said September 20 at a prayer service in Assisi with other Christian leaders, including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury.

Offering migrants and refugees truly helpful and loving hospitality is the greatest guarantee against terrorism, Pope Francis said.

A nuncio is not simply a "diplomat in a (priest's) collar," but must truly be a priest and bishop who listens, supports and serves as a channel of God's mercy, Pope Francis said.