Pope Francis is urging Christians not to be ashamed of expressing their joy of meeting God and feeling His closeness. He made the exhortation at Mass at the Casa Santa Marta Tuesday morning, saying the Gospel will only go ahead with evangelizers full of joy, a joy that also continues in the family at table together with the Lord.

In light of the recent massive bushfires that have engulfed parts of Australia, the Church in the country launches a new initiative to deal with natural disasters.

Prayer, St. John Damascene says, is the unveiling of the mind before God. When we pray we ask him for what we need, confess our faults, thank him for his gifts, and adore his immense majesty. Here are five tips for praying better—with the help of St. Thomas Aquinas.  1. Be humble. Many people falsely think of humility as a virtue of a low self-esteem. St. Thomas teaches us that humility is a virtue of acknowledging the truth about reality. Since prayer, at its root, is an “asking” directed at God, humility is crucially important. Through humility we recognize our neediness before God. We are totally and entirely dependent on God for everything and at every moment: our existence, life, breath, every thought and action. As we become more humble, we recognize more profoundly our need to pray more. 2. Have faith. It’s not enough to know that we’re…

I write these words from the Eternal City of Rome, whither I’ve come with my brother bishops from Region 11 (California, Nevada, and Hawaii) for our ad limina visit. This is a regular and canonically required trip to pray at the limina apostolorum (the threshold of the Apostles), the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, and to meet with the successor of Peter. Yesterday was the first official day of the pilgrimage, and it was extraordinary indeed. We gathered early in the morning for Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, in the presence of the tomb of the Galilean fisherman to whom Jesus gave the keys of kingdom of heaven. And then, just about a half-hour later, we were ushered into the Apostolic Palace, and after traversing a number of elaborately decorated corridors and receiving a few salutes from Swiss Guards (I’ll confess that I rather like the…

Escribo estas palabras desde la Ciudad Eterna, Roma, a la que he venido con mis hermanos obispos de la Región 11 (California, Nevada y Hawai) para nuestra visita ad limina. Se trata de un viaje regular y obligatorio canónicamente, para rezar en el limina apostolorum (el umbral de los Apóstoles), las tumbas de los santos Pedro y Pablo, y para encontrarse con el sucesor de Pedro. Ayer fue el primer día oficial de la peregrinación, y fue realmente extraordinario. Nos reunimos temprano en la mañana para la misa en la cripta de la basílica de San Pedro, en la presencia de la tumba del pescador galileo a quien Jesús dio las llaves del reino de los cielos. Y luego, media hora más tarde, entramos en el Palacio Apostólico, y después de atravesar una serie de pasillos decorados y recibir algunos saludos de la Guardia Suiza (¡confieso que me gustan los…

The Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has denounced illegal activities, prostitution, drug dealing and money laundering in the country, saying they are on the increase and human trafficking appears dramatically "normal".

The death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak in China rises to 81 today as the government scrambles to contain the epidemic.

Swarms of crop-eating locusts are crossing through East Africa, causing food insecurity and threatening livestock in the worst invasion in decades.

The Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama, has called on Christians and Muslims to show genuine respect and mutual acceptance towards each other’s beliefs.

On the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, January 27, the United Nations is holding a symposium on the Church's action to save lives during the Holocaust.