Crux Now

After Trump, Pope Francis tackled the Balkans on Friday

Some forty-eight hours ago, a meeting between Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump made global headlines. On Friday, Francis received the heads of state of two Balkan nations, Bulgaria and Macedonia, and almost no one noticed. Yet from the pontiff's point of view, there's good reason to think these sessions were every bit as important.

Overdosing from despair: How the Church can fight the opioid epidemic

More people are dying than ever from overdosing on painkillers, and the Church is trying to help. Some pain is part of being human: Having no pain is dangerous. Christianity sees pain as both an opportunity for virtue and a union with Jesus: The pain of Christians is far more meaningful, and thus endurable.

Philly's Archbishop Chaput looks at living faith in America

Religion in America is not just a matter for history class. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia points to the work of the great French observer of early American life, Alexis de Tocqueville, in concluding that the strength of American society was "the prevalence and intensity of religious belief." In a new book, Chaput asks what happens when religion is no longer part of our shared common culture? In a word, what happens now?

Death toll in Egypt attack on Christians rises to 29
- Associated Press
- May 27, 2017
Masked gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Coptic Christians to a monastery south of Cairo on Friday, killing at least 28 people, and Egypt responded by launching airstrikes against what it said were militant training bases in Libya.
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Pope in Genoa challenges the 'worldliness' of Catholic life
- Inés San Martín
- May 27, 2017
In a busy morning, Pope Francis said that the Church is interested in the “dignity of work” because even Jesus was a worker, acknowledged the role religious people have had in the drop in vocations by leading a worldly life, and challenged the young people of Genoa to question whatever the surrounding culture presents as normal, including the fact that the Mediterranean Sea has become a cemetery.
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Mission means never saying, 'It's always been done this way,' pope says
- Cindy Wooden
- May 27, 2017
“Mission and service to the poor put you in the position of going out and help you overcome the risks of being self-referential, of limiting your concerns to survival and of defensive rigidity,” Pope Francis told the general chapter of the Don Orione Sisters. “The comfortable criteria of ‘it’s always been done this way’ won’t work.”
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Romania takes step toward marriage defense amendment
- Catholic News Agency
- May 27, 2017
A constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman was recently approved by the overwhelming majority of the lower house of parliament in Romania. The Coalition for the Family collected 3 million signatures from Romanian citizens in support of the constitutional language.
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Why this cardinal has high hopes for Pope Francis's Colombia visit
- Catholic News Agency
- May 27, 2017
A prominent Latin-American cardinal expressed optimism on the upcoming summer trip by Pope Francis to Colombia, stating that the country represents “the best sample of the problems we suffer from on the continent.”
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College presidents appeal to homeland security for student migrants
- Rhina Guidos
- May 27, 2017
In a letter sent to the Secretary of Homeland Security, presidents of dozens of U.S. Catholic institutions asked about immigration policies regarding their students. The presidents advocate for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM Act, that would grant residency for some unauthorized persons brought in to the country as minors.
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New video shows graphic discussion of aborted baby parts
- Catholic News Agency
- May 27, 2017
The Center for Medical Progress recently released a video showing participants at a national abortion convention discussing body parts of fetuses in abortion procedures. Previous videos allegedly showed employees in the abortion industry discussing the sale of body parts from aborted babies.
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Arrests made after attack on Catholic prayer hall in south India
- Nirmala Carvalho
- May 26, 2017
The roughly 30 million Christians in India, about half of whom are Catholic, have suffered various forms of intimidation and harassment, including physical violence, instigated by Hindu nationalist groups. There is a fear among Christians that the nation is losing its secular identity.
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Meet the man who could define what a ‘Francis bishop’ means

May 26, 2017

In general, the president of a national bishops’ conference may be an important post domestically, but it doesn’t have great international interest. The one exception tends to be Italy, where the president of the conference is presumed to be a role model for bishops trying to reflect the current pope’s vision, and now the Italians have a new prelate at the helm.

Church leaders urge calm in Venezuela, Brazil

May 26, 2017

Two pacesetter Catholic nations in Latin America, Brazil and Venezuela, are both currently gripped by dramatic cycles of civil unrest, and in both cases the Catholic bishops are emerging as primary forces in favor of democracy, accountability, and an end to the bloodshed — and also in both cases, what the bishops have to say isn’t always pleasing to the government.