A Catholic pro-life activist has been found not guilty of charges that he violated a federal law protecting access to abortion clinics, thereby avoiding a possible 11-year prison sentence.

The final blessing is the official conclusion of the Mass, so — in that sense — once the final blessing is said, Mass is over and you may leave without technically missing any of the Mass.

The church is called to address taboos associated with mental illness both within society and within its own ranks, advocates at the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering said on Jan. 28.

Auxiliary Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski of Baltimore recalled in a homily Jan. 28 the kind of greeting he would always receive from a Puerto Rican woman who was a member of the parish he pastored in Philadelphia’s Kensington section, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The “spiral of death” that has materialized in the Holy Land in recent days threatens the little remaining trust that exists between Israelis and Palestinians, Pope Francis said.