DOMREMY, France – French President Nicolas Sarkozy praised his country’s patron, St. Joan of Arc, for helping “forge the national conscience.”Read More

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI baptized 16 infants and told their parents and godparents that prayer and the sacraments will give them the strength and guidance they need to promote a child’s true well-being.Read More

Pope Benedict XVI presents the pallium to Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien in 2008 in Rome.  (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano) Pope Benedict XVI announced today that Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and pro-grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, will becomeRead More

John Gehring, a former writer for The Catholic Review, has a provocative piece on The Huffington Post: "The Catholic Case Against Rick Santorum."   It's easy to see why Santorum might appeal to some culturally conservative Catholics and moderate evangelicals who are wary of Democrats but also turned off by theRead More

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A masked man was fatally shot by an Albuquerque police officer Jan. 4 moments after the suspect stole a safe from the Albuquerque Catholic Center, pulled a gun on a security guard and possibly fired shots at the officer in an apparent attempt to get away, according to the Albuquerque Police Department.Read More

WASHINGTON – With election-year politics pretty much guaranteed to clog up the process of passing legislation this year even more than partisan posturing did in 2011, Washington wish lists for policy and legislation are brief and heavy on defensive thinking.Read More

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Here is the list of the 22 cardinals-designate, in the order in which Pope Benedict XVI announced them today:Read More

MANILA, Philippines – Residents of a small mining community in the southern Philippines continued mining for gold Jan. 5 despite a landslide that swept through their village and government warnings to evacuate, a Catholic priest said.Read More