Articles by Courtney Mares
Pope at Mass in South Sudan: In the name of Jesus, lay down the weapons of hatred
Feb 5, 2023 / 05:00 amPope Francis urged Christians in the war-torn South Sudan to make a decisive contribution to changing history by refusing to repay evil with evil.
Pope Francis to priests in Congo: Bring people Jesus, who ‘heals the wounds of every heart’
Feb 2, 2023 / 10:30 amSpeaking in Our Lady of Congo Cathedral in Kinshasa on Feb. 2, the pope encouraged priests and religious to continue to bring the Congolese people Jesus.
Pope Francis ‘left without words’ after children’s shocking stories of violence in eastern Congo
Feb 1, 2023 / 13:07 pmThe moving encounter with the pope provided a potent reminder of the horrors taking place in eastern Congo.
Cardinal Zen hospitalized in Hong Kong after returning from Benedict XVI’s funeral
Feb 1, 2023 / 09:02 amThe 91-year-old cardinal wrote on his blog on Jan. 31 that he is receiving treatment in the hospital after experiencing difficulty breathing.
Pope Francis meets with refugees from Congo and South Sudan before flight to Africa
Jan 31, 2023 / 06:15 amAmong the refugees who met with the pope was Bidong, who spent much of his childhood in a refugee camp in Ethiopia after fleeing the war in his home of South Sudan.
Pope Francis entrusts trip to Congo and South Sudan to Blessed Virgin Mary
Jan 30, 2023 / 12:00 pmThe pope departs Rome on Tuesday morning for the capital city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country home to more than 52 million Catholics.
Synod organizers tell Continental Assemblies not to ‘impose an agenda’ on discussions
Jan 30, 2023 / 09:18 amCardinal Mario Grech and Cardinal Jean Claude Hollerich stressed that the Synod of Bishops is not meant “to address all the issues being debated in the Church.”
Pope Francis accepts Ouellet’s resignation, appoints American to lead Dicastery for Bishops
Jan 30, 2023 / 07:27 amBishop Robert Francis Prevost will lead the Vatican office responsible for evaluating new members of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy.
Pope Francis expresses sorrow over ‘spiral of death’ in the Holy Land
Jan 29, 2023 / 08:10 amIn his Sunday Angelus address, the pope expressed “great sorrow” for the death of Palestinians killed in an Israeli military raid and seven Israelis killed in a shooting.
Pope Francis decries culture that ‘throws away’ unborn children, elderly, poor
Jan 29, 2023 / 05:55 amIn his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis decried a culture that “throws away” unborn children, the elderly, and the poor if they are not useful.
Pope Francis offers condolences for Monterey Park shooting
Jan 25, 2023 / 12:00 pmThe pope sent a telegram to L.A. Archbishop José Gomez on Jan. 25 expressing his sadness and assuring his spiritual closeness to “those affected by this tragedy.”
‘Being homosexual is not a crime,’ Pope Francis reiterates in new interview
Jan 25, 2023 / 08:10 amThe interview with the Associated Press covered a wide range of topics, including laws that criminalize homosexuality and sodomy.
Taiwan president writes to Pope Francis about ‘preserving regional security’ with China
Jan 24, 2023 / 11:30 am“The war that erupted between Russia and Ukraine last February has brought home to humanity just how valuable peace is,” Tsai Ing-wen wrote in a letter to the pope.
Pope Francis: Amid polarization in Church, we are called to speak truth with charity
Jan 24, 2023 / 08:42 amPope Francis has urged Christians to “speak the truth and to do so with charity” amid polarization and divisions within the Church.
Controversial Dominican priest to lead October retreat for bishops at start of synod
Jan 23, 2023 / 09:21 amFather Timothy Radcliffe, whose statements on homosexuality have previously sparked controversy, will lead a three-day retreat to kick off the Synod of Bishops.
Pope Francis: To stay with Jesus requires the courage to leave our sins
Jan 22, 2023 / 07:00 amFollowing Jesus “means giving up the time wasted on so many useless things,” the pope said.
Pope Francis confers lay ministries upon 10 people in St. Peter’s Basilica
Jan 22, 2023 / 04:30 amPope Francis conferred the lay ministries on the Sunday of the Word of God, a day that he declared in 2019 on the 1,600th anniversary of the death of St. Jerome.
Meet the six newest venerable servants of God in the Catholic Church
Jan 19, 2023 / 12:15 pmIn a decree signed on Jan. 19, Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtue of an Italian stigmatic, four 20th-century priests, and a holy laywoman.
Cardinal Koch: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity a time to pray for peace in Ukraine
Jan 19, 2023 / 08:00 amThe president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity said he is praying this week that “we can re-find peace between Christians in Ukraine.”
Pope Francis discusses ‘ecological conversion’ with Buddhist monks from Cambodia
Jan 19, 2023 / 07:20 amThe pope defined “ecological conversion” as “true repentance” that leads to the end of “ideologies and practices that are hurtful and disrespectful to the earth.”