Articles by Courtney Mares
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.
Pope Francis: Subsidiarity means everyone has a role in healing society
Sep 23, 2020 / 05:00 amPope Francis said Wednesday that he is worried that large pharmaceutical companies are listened to more than front-line healthcare workers in pandemic recovery and that the Catholic principle of subsidiarity is the solution.
Vatican official backs initiative to help prevent future pandemics
Sep 22, 2020 / 07:00 amIn an address to the International Atomic Energy Agency Monday, a Vatican official commended the organization for its preventative efforts to address another global threat: zoonotic diseases that cause pandemics.
Cardinal Parolin urges UN to return to founding ideals
Sep 22, 2020 / 05:00 amThe Vatican Secretary of State asked the United Nations Monday to return to its founding ideals to protect the common good and the right to life.
Judge killed by mafia 30 years ago is a candidate for sainthood
Sep 21, 2020 / 11:00 amThirty years ago Judge Rosario Livatino was brutally killed by the mafia on his commute to work at a courthouse in Sicily. Today he is recognized in the Catholic Church as a Servant of God and a candidate for sainthood.
Vatican calls for 'peaceful and just resolution' of Belarus crisis
Sep 21, 2020 / 04:00 amAfter President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he was putting troops on high alert and closing Belarus’ borders, a Vatican diplomat called Friday for dialogue and respect for the human rights of Belarusian protesters, who continue to take to the streets more than a month after disputed elections.
Cardinal says Syria has been hit with a ‘poverty bomb’
Sep 18, 2020 / 15:00 pmAfter nearly 10 years of war, the Syrian people have now been hit with a “poverty bomb” amid the coronavirus pandemic, a Vatican diplomat said this week.
Pope Francis accepts resignation of Bishop Bevard of US Virgin Islands
Sep 18, 2020 / 05:30 amPope Francis accepted the resignation Friday of Bishop Herbert Bevard of the U.S. Virgin Islands after he was hospitalized and airlifted to the U.S. mainland for medical treatment.
‘I will die with them and for them’: Franciscan friar who survived Syrian War dies of COVID-19
Sep 17, 2020 / 10:00 amWhen asked by his superior if he wanted to leave Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War, Fr. Edward Tamer replied that he would remain with the people “to die with them and for them.”
Pope Francis thanks sick and elderly priests for proclaiming Gospel of life
Sep 17, 2020 / 07:00 amPope Francis thanked sick and elderly priests for their quiet witness to the Gospel Thursday in a message that conveyed the sanctifying value of frailty and suffering.
Two US Catholic colleges resume Rome study abroad programs
Sep 16, 2020 / 11:00 amAt a time when many universities in the U.S. are only offering online classes this fall, American students from two Catholic colleges arrive in Rome this week to study abroad.
Taiwan foreign ministry: Vatican-China deal will not affect diplomatic recognition
Sep 15, 2020 / 07:00 amTaiwan’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that it has received assurances from the Vatican regarding the renewal of the Vatican-China deal.
Vatican official visits Belarus after archbishop blocked at border
Sep 11, 2020 / 11:19 amA senior Vatican official arrived in Belarus for talks Friday after the leader of the country’s Catholic Church was barred from returning to his homeland.