The Catholic Sun

Christiana Gondreau could not have imagined that a chance encounter she and her 8-year-old son, Dominic, had with Pope Francis in the middle of St. Peter's Square following his first Easter Mass would touch the hearts of so many around the globe.

Pope Francis reaffirmed the importance of responding decisively to the problem of the sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy and called on the Vatican office dealing with suspected cases to continue carrying out its mandate.

An April 5 decision by a New York federal judge to lift age limits on purchases of over-the-counter emergency contraceptives should be "appealed and overturned," according to an official of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops.

Fr. Biong Kuol's parish is a sprawling collection of temporary huts made from sticks and sun-bleached plastic sheeting. A few skinny cows and goats wander about.

Traditional marriage between one man and one woman is really about the good of children and families, and the "good of families" is about "the good of society," said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares, accompanied by numerous priests and deacons, processed through the plaza in front of the downtown Diocesan Pastoral Center March 15 surrounded by clouds of billowing incense, en route to the Solemn Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving for Pope Francis.

Recently a new type of scholarship has been developed by the Arizona Department of Education that allows students currently attending “failing” (“D” or “F”) public district or charter schools to transfer to private schools and receive funding to pay for tuition.

Complaining frequently and stewing over disappointments can easily become an obsession that blocks one's view of Jesus' presence in difficult situations, Pope Francis said.

Women have a privileged role in the church because of their ability to pass on the faith through love, Pope Francis said. "Women have had and still have a special role in opening doors to the Lord, in following him and communicating his face, because the eyes of faith always need the simple and profound look of love," the pope told an estimated 50,000 people in St. Peter's Square April 3.

Fr. Stephen John Adrian, whose gift of teaching in parables captured the hearts of both the young and old, died at home, March 17. He was 100.