NATION/WORLD

Pope Francis' July 5-12 visit to Latin America will not take him to his native Argentina, but it will put him closely in touch with his Jesuit roots and with one of the main characteristics of his ministry as archbishop of Buenos Aires: direct contact with the poor, the sick and those striving to bring the Gospel to bear on social inequalities.

"In hindsight, I am tremendously thankful that God did not grant me my wish," adding, "If you had seen what I had gone through, you would never again question the Lord."

A Christian marriage is a courageous act of faith, not just a big ceremony held in a church with nice flowers and everyone wearing fancy clothes and taking lots of pictures, Pope Francis said.

The Holy Year of Mercy will be an opportunity to encourage Christians to meet people's "real needs" with concrete assistance, to experience a "true pilgrimage" on foot, and to send "missionaries of mercy" throughout the world to forgive even the most serious of sins, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (CNS) -- Kate Mulgrew discovered she had a talent for performance early in life when she read a poem to her class...

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called same-sex marriage "the greatest social experiment of our time" and said that "children do not need experiments," but rather the love of a mother and father at the third annual March for Marriage rally supporting traditional marriage on Capitol Hill.

The number of migrants crossing to Europe have increased sharply with growing violence in the Middle East and North Africa with more than 3,600 rescued at sea in 17 different operations in just one day in early May, according to the Italian coast guard.

Being infallible when formally defining a doctrine does not mean a pope doesn't make mistakes at other times, Pope Francis said, admitting he caused confusion for about 5,000 members of the Cursillos in Christianity movement.

Now there is an answer to the familiar question, "How can I help?" that's been posed surrounding the four-day World Meeting of Families conference and events surrounding the visit of Pope Francis to Philadelphia in September.

Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, who went from hometown schoolteacher to Vatican correspondent, lived out her drive to be a writer even in her last days. She died April 28 in her hometown of Albany, New York, after a battle with cancer.