Articles by Courtney Mares
Pope Francis calls for 'integral ecology' in TED Climate Countdown video
Oct 11, 2020 / 04:30 amPope Francis sent a video message to the TED Countdown summit on climate change Saturday explaining how a more “integral ecology” can help the poor.
Beatification of Carlo Acutis: The first millennial to be declared Blessed
Oct 10, 2020 / 08:46 amWith the beatification of Carlo Acutis in Assisi Saturday, the Catholic Church now has its first “Blessed” who loved Super Mario, Pokémon, and above all the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
South Korea proposes new law allowing abortion up to 14 weeks
Oct 8, 2020 / 12:00 pmSouth Korea’s National Assembly is considering a proposal to allow abortion up to 14 weeks as the deadline approaches to revise the country’s abortion law.
Slain Catholic priest awarded Italy’s highest honor for civil valor
Oct 8, 2020 / 04:00 amThe president of Italy conferred the highest honor for civil valor Wednesday upon Fr. Roberto Malgesini, a priest who was stabbed to death near Lake Como last month.
Carlo Acutis loved the homeless, St. Francis of Assisi, and souls in purgatory
Oct 7, 2020 / 10:50 amAhead of Carlo Acutis’ beatification this week, people who knew the young computer programmer shared their memories of his love for the poor.
Pope Francis: Rediscover the beauty of the rosary
Oct 7, 2020 / 03:45 amPope Francis invited Catholics to rediscover the beauty of the rosary prayer this month, encouraging people to carry a rosary with them in their pockets.
Chinese bishop resigns as deadline for renewing Vatican deal nears
Oct 6, 2020 / 11:00 amAhead of the expected renewal of the Vatican-China deal this month, the former underground bishop of Mindong has announced his complete resignation from public life.
Pope Francis: Business management requires fair and clear conduct, not corruption
Oct 5, 2020 / 04:30 amPope Francis told a group of investment bankers Monday that fair conduct and transparency are essential in the field of finance.
Vatican official tells UN: Women deserve better than abortion
Oct 2, 2020 / 08:00 amA female Vatican official told the United Nations Thursday that resources that could be invested in basic healthcare, nutrition, and sanitation for impoverished women are instead allotted to reproductive health and “so-called new rights.”
Catholic diocese in Vietnam builds new seminary amid rising vocations
Oct 2, 2020 / 05:00 amA diocese in northern Vietnam is expanding its seminary in response to an increasing number of priestly vocations.
Tomb of Carlo Acutis is opened for veneration ahead of beatification
Oct 1, 2020 / 08:00 amThe tomb of Venerable Carlo Acutis was opened for public veneration Thursday ahead of the computer-programming teen’s beatification.
Vatican diplomats: ‘political correctness’ is hindering religious freedom
Oct 1, 2020 / 05:00 amWhile the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the Church to speak out about human rights abuses in China this week, the Vatican’s top diplomats chose to focus their remarks at the same conference on an area of agreement with the current U.S. administration: the necessity of protecting freedom of conscience and religious voices in the public square.
Pompeo: Nowhere is religious freedom more under assault than in China
Sep 30, 2020 / 10:00 amU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Rome Wednesday that the Chinese government is the world’s worst persecutor of religious believers and that the Church is in a unique position to stand up for those whose religious freedom is being oppressed.
Catholics in Belarus ask St. Michael the Archangel’s intercession for end to crisis
Sep 29, 2020 / 12:00 pmAmid strife in their country, Catholics in Belarus held a Mass Tuesday with a revered statue of St. Michael the Archangel praying for an end to the persecution of the Church in Belarus and a resolution to the socio-political crisis.
Cardinal Pell to return to Rome this week
Sep 27, 2020 / 08:10 amCardinal George Pell is set to return to Rome on Tuesday, his first time back in the Vatican since 2017, when he took a leave of absence from his role as prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy to travel to Australia.
Pope Francis: The path to holiness requires spiritual combat
Sep 27, 2020 / 05:30 amPope Francis said Sunday that the Christian life requires concrete commitments and spiritual combat in order to grow in holiness.
In UN message, Pope Francis decries abortion and family breakdown
Sep 25, 2020 / 13:00 pmPope Francis told the United Nations Friday that denying the existence of human life in the womb through abortion does not solve problems.
What does it mean for Becciu to lose his rights as a cardinal?
Sep 25, 2020 / 06:15 amThe Vatican announced Thursday night that Cardinal Angelo Becciu had resigned from the rights extended to members of the College of Cardinals, but it did not specify which rights the cardinal had lost.
Carlo Acutis beatification will be a 17-day celebration in Assisi
Sep 24, 2020 / 09:00 amAssisi is celebrating the beatification of computer programming teen Carlo Acutis in October with more than two weeks of liturgies and events that the bishop hopes will be an evangelizing force for young people.
Pope Francis blesses bell that will ring out in defence of unborn
Sep 23, 2020 / 09:00 amPope Francis blessed a large bell Wednesday that Polish Catholics hope will ring out in the defence of unborn life.