News & Commentary

Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican as he leads, for the first time, the midday recitation of the "Regina Coeli" prayer May 11, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Quietly, without flashiness, Pope Leo strives toward unity

Following the April 21 death of Pope Francis, a great curiosity hovered across the world as the College of Cardinals entered into mourning and prepared to elect a new pope.
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Megan Miller, a music teacher and orchestra director, teaches during an Aug. 12, 2019, class session at St. Mary Catholic School in League City, Texas. Miller was one of nearly 75 educators to attend a recent continuing education and development day for art and music teachers hosted by the Catholic Schools Office and the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston. (CNS photo/James Ramos, Texas Catholic Herald)

Catholic school art, music teachers find camaraderie at event

Art and music teachers joined other educators, like band directors, orchestra leaders and music leaders, for a series of workshops that inspired them personally and emphasized the importance of viewing, learning about and producing sacred art with their students in ...
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Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square is seen as Pope Francis leads the Angelus

Advent is opportunity to get off pedestal of superiority, pope says

The season of Advent is a moment of grace to help believers stop being presumptuous and pretending to be self-sufficient, Pope Francis said.
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A cross bearing the first names of the victims of the Dec. 14, 2012, shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School is pictured amid hundreds of other items left by mourners at a memorial in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 19, 2012. Ten years ago a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children. (CNS photo/Mike Segar, Reuters)

Pastor reflects on 10th anniversary of Sandy Hook shooting

Ten years ago, Newtown, Connecticut was catapulted into the national spotlight when a young man shot and killed 26 people Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
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Vatican offers guidelines for investing in a way consistent with faith

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — No investment of money is morally neutral; “either God’s kingdom is being advanced by the assets we deploy, or it is being neglected and undermined,” said a new Vatican document. To help Catholic institutions and individuals ...
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Cardinal Becciu secretly recorded call with pope, Vatican prosecutor says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After learning that Cardinal Angelo Becciu and a relative of his secretly recorded a phone call with Pope Francis, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor said his office is considering a new charge — one of criminal conspiracy ...
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Rodrigo Zamora, left, and Ashby Hardesty show their marriage license to friends at the New York City clerk's office after their wedding in Manhattan June 26, 2015. That day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry. On Sept. 15, 2022, the U.S. Senate delayed vote on a bill that would codify same-sex marriage until after the midterm elections. (CNS photo/Brendan McDermid, Reuters)

Senate passes Respect for Marriage Act; bill now heads to House

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Ahead of the U.S. Senate’s Nov. 29 61-to-36 vote approving the Respect for Marriage Act, the chairmen of two U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees reiterated the bishops’ ” firm opposition” to the “misnamed” measure legalizing same-sex ...
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