Catholic World News

Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Regensburg, Germany to become prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican’s key doctrinal...

At his public audience on Sunday, July 1, Pope Benedict XVI remarked that the miracles of Jesus involve spiritual as well as physical healing. The day’s Gospel reading, which recounted the...

Pope Benedict XVI will leave the Vatican on July 3 for his annual summer stay at the apostolic palace in Castel Gandolfo. With a flurry of appointments to the Roman Curia in the past week, the...

Pope Benedict XVI has named the presidents delegate who will lead the discussions of the Synod of Bishops in October 2012. The presidents delegate are Cardinals John Tong Hon of Hong Kong;...

In a lengthy and revealing interview with the National Catholic Register, Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, the newly appointed vice president of the Ecclesia Dei commission, offers some revealing...

Pope Benedict XVI plans a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Loreto in October, as part of his preparation for the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops. Loreto’s Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci revealed...

For the 4th time in just over one year, Pope Benedict XVI has forced a bishop from office. The Vatican announced on July 2 that the Pope had removed Archbishop Robert Bezak from his post as head...

Among the Catholic chaplains at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be Father Geoff Hilton of the Diocese of Salford, England: a priest who has an impressive record of personal involvement in...

At least 17 people were killed, and many others seriously wounded, in an armed assault on a Christian church in Garissa, Kenya, on July 1. Armed men killed two guards, then threw grenades into...

The UN’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated the Nativity basilica in Bethlehem as a World Heritage site. The UNESCO decision, reached on a secret ballot,...

Yad Vashem, the Israeli memorial to Holocaust victims, has changed its description of Pope Pius XII, acknowledging the work of historians who have demonstrated the wartime Pontiff’s efforts to save...

Brazil, the country with the world’s largest Catholic population, has seen a dramatic slip in the proportion of residents who identify themselves as Catholics, the latest census shows. In the...

Dawn Stefanowicz, a Canadian author raised by an actively homosexual father, discussed her experiences in a recent interview with Catholic World Report. “Our identity, security, and sense of...

The Mirabile Dictu International Catholic Film Festival is taking place in Rome from July 2-5. The festival, sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for...

Over 50 scholars and prelates, including 10 cardinals, gathered at the Vatican from June 29 to July 1 for the twelfth plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. The topic of...

Fourteen nuns associated with the lobbying group Network have concluded a nine-state bus tour in protest of the House budget plan. The tour, which attracted considerable media attention, concluded...

The former chief financial officer of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia pled guilty on June 29 to embezzling $906,000 from the archdiocese between 2004 and 2011. Anita Guzzardi, 43, will be sentenced...

The number of test-tube babies in the world has reached 5 million, according to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). About 350,000 babies are conceived through...

The Vatican has released the full schedule for the September 14-16 visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Lebanon, where he will release his apostolic exhortation concluding the work of the Synod for the...

Archbishop Gerhard Müller, the newly appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was instrumental in cutting of Church funding for dissident groups in Germany, the LifeSite...

At MercatorNet, Michael Cook recalls the history of Otto von Bismarck’s effort to eliminate the power of the Catholic Church in Germany, and notes that the effort ultimately failed. Repression,...

For the feast of St. Benedict, maestro Daniel Barenboim will conduct a concert by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at the summer residence of Pope Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo. The...

Police in Colorado are investigating a violent attack on the home of a pro-life leader. Keith Mason, the head of Personhood USA, was alarmed last week when vandals threw a rock through a window...

Prince Alois of Liechtenstein won a solid electoral victory when 65% of the little country’s voters opposed a referendum that would have ended his legislative veto power. Only 15% of Lichtenstein’s...

A gang attack on Vietnamese Catholics during Sunday Mass was instigated by government officials, local Catholics told the AsiaNews service. A Mass in Con Cuong was disrupted by the gang, and...

In one of the first efforts of Catholics Voices USA—a “media-friendly and studio-ready” lay initiative that seeks to “put the Church's case in the public square”-- Melissa Moschella argues in the...

Describing the Muslim shrines and tombs of Timbuktu as “un-Islamic,” members of the radical Islamist group Ansar Dine (“Defenders of the Faith”) are destroying much of the ancient city’s...

The bishops of the southern African nation of Zimbabwe have issued a pastoral letter to emigrants who have left the troubled nation, which Robert Mugabe has ruled since 1980. “As the fabric of...

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has promulgated the first liturgical texts for personal ordinariates of former Anglicans who have been received into full...

Noting that “the appointment of bishops is not a political but religious matter,” the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples is warning that Father Joseph Yue Fusheng will incur automatic...

Pope Benedict XVI has strongly signaled his support for Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in a highly unusual gesture clearly designed to end speculation that the Secretary of State might be replaced. ...

After studying the Shroud of Turin, the Italian scientist Giuseppe Baldacchini has reached the same conclusion as many others: the theory that it is a medieval forgery requires more leaps of faith...

Speaking to a conference of religious in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the prefect of the Congregation for Evangelization paid tribute to the religious men and women who “played a historic role...

Pope Benedict XVI has begun his summer vacation, at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. The Holy Father—who, earlier in his pontificate, took short summer vacations in the Italian Alps—has...

Real freedom isn’t something Caesar can give or take away. He can interfere with it; but when he does, he steals from his own legitimacy. At a July 4 Mass at the basilica of the National Shrine...

An Austrian organization strongly critical of Church teaching is criticizing Pope Benedict’s appointment of the bishop of Regensburg as the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the...

Ireland’s deputy prime minister is calling upon the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. “I believe in gay marriage,” said Eamon Gilmore, who also serves as minister for foreign affairs and...

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University has examined the link between sacramental practice and belief in heaven and hell. The Center found that 25% of...

A federal district court judge has ruled that New York City public schools cannot discriminate against churches in permitting outside organizations to use school property outside school...

An Iranian appeals court has affirmed the six-year prison sentence of Farshid Fathi Malayeri, a Protestant pastor convicted of administering funds for foreign organizations. “Pastor Fathi...

In an interview with Our Sunday Visitor, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna responds to the criticism he has received for allowing an avowed homosexual to sit on a parish council, traveling to...

The Holy See ran a deficit of nearly €15 million ($18.6 million) in 2011, the largest shortfall in recent years. After posting a surplus of €9.8 million in 2010, the Vatican budget showed the...

European banking inspectors have completed their report on the Vatican’s financial procedures, although the contents of that report will not be made public for a month. Inspectors from the...

In a BBC report on the decision facing the Church of England—whether or not to allow the ordination of women as bishops—Robert Pigott provides a generally accurate summary of the arguments....

A Philadelphia judge has refused to allow Msgr. William Lynn to be kept under house arrest pending his sentencing, saying that he must remain in prison. After Msgr. Lynn, a former Philadelphia...

The economic practices of colonialism are still in evidence in Brazil’s resource-rich Amazon region, a Catholic bishop complained at a July 3 conference. Bishop Jesus Maria Berdonces of Cameta...

After the Vatican warned that Chinese prelates would be excommunicated if they participated in the illicit ordination of a bishop on July 6, the Beijing government condemned the statement from Rome...

Reacting to a massacre at a Christian church in Garissa, Kenya, a group of local Muslim leaders have promised to recruit volunteers to guard other Christian churches. Adan Wachu, who heads the...

A month after Feng Jianmei, a woman seventh months pregnant, was forced to undergo an abortion in China, the European Parliament has passed a resolution condemning “the practice of forced abortions...

A federal appeals court has ruled that Baltimore’s mayor and city council infringed upon constitutional free speech rights in compelling crisis pregnancy centers to post signs stating that they “do...

Writing for L’Osservatore Romano, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the Holy See described the role of an Anglican choir at the June 29 papal Mass as an instance of “ecumenism in action.” “While...

Continuing his pastoral visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo—a nation whose conflicts have claimed over five million lives since 1995—the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization...

A Seattle court has ruled that the Oblates of Mary Immaculate must pay $6.4 million to a 65-year-old man who said he was abused by a lay teacher at the school between 1961 and 1964. The teacher, who...

Two years after a man entered a retirement home and beat a Jesuit priest he says abused him, a California jury has ruled that the man is not guilty of felony assault and elder abuse. Father Jerold...

Authorities in Northern Ireland have announced plans for a new investigation into the “Bloody Sunday” killings of January 30, 1972. An earlier investigation concluded that police had opened fire...

A prized 12th-century guide for pilgrims has been returned to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, one year after it was stolen. The illustrated manuscript known as the Codex...

Scientists’ discovery of the Higgs boson, sometimes known as the “God particle,” should not detract from belief in God, an official of the Vatican Observatory told a Vatican Radio audience. The...

In Catholic World Report, Anthony Esolen laments that many hymns sung in Catholic churches combine bad music with worse poetry. Those who read this piece can choose between being depressed to learn...

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has restored 4 priests to active ministry, after lengthy investigations into sex-abuse charges produced no substantial evidence against them. The archdiocese...

A Vatican representative has told the UN’s Human Rights Council that many nations are failing to honor their professed commitment to religious freedom. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s...

About half of the world’s episcopal conferences have established policies for handling abuse problems, the Vatican top’s sex-abuse prosecutor told the Italian monthly Jesus. Msgr. Charles...

A Catholic parents’ group in Ontario is urging administrators of Catholic schools to resist a new government policy that requires administrators to approve the formation of “gay-straight alliance”...

Defying a warning from the Vatican, Chinese officials ordained a new bishop for the Harbin diocese without approval from the Holy See. Bishop Joseph Yue Fusheng, a vice-president of the...

Earlier this week, Pope Benedict XVI released a letter of support to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, most observers saw the gesture as a signal from the Pope that the Secretary of State would remain in...

In preparation for Pope Benedict’s July 9 visit to Nemi, the director of the Holy See Press Office has devoted his weekly editorial to the Pope and the Second Vatican Council. Nemi, recalls...

The July 5 issue of Origins has drawn attention to a recent address by Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles on priestly formation and the evangelization of culture. “The future of priestly...

Representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and National Council of Synagogues met recently to discuss Amy Jill Levine and Mark Zvi Brettler’s Jewish Annotated New...

The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People has published its annual message for seafarers. “Seafarers and their families are not invisible to God and to the...

As he continued his pastoral visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples praised those laity who serve as “an excellent example...

Following critical remarks by Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni of Rome, Israel’s Holocaust memorial has defended its decision to moderate its tone in its description of Pope Pius XII. Reports that...

Five years after Pope Benedict issued Summorum Pontificum, his motu proprio permitting priests to offer the extraordinary form of the Mass without first having to obtain permission from their...

At his Angelus audience on Sunday, July 8, Pope Benedict XVI spoke on the day’s Gospel, in which Jesus reflects that a prophet is never accepted in his own country. The people of Nazareth could...

On July 9, Pope Benedict XVI traveled from his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo to the village of Nemi, to visit the Ad Gentes Center where he had once worked on a commission drafting the...

A new Chinese bishop, who underlined his loyalty to the Holy See during his ordination, has been reporting “resting” at a seminary after he briefly disappeared following the ceremony. Bishop...

Supporters of a Slovakian archbishop who was removed from office by Pope Benedict XVI are asking the Vatican for an explanation of the unusual move, while a public prosecutor has launched an...

Melinda Gates, the Catholic wife of software czar Bill Gates and co-chair of his charitable foundation, has taken a public stand against the Church’s teaching on contraception. The Bill & Melinda...

Ireland’s largest political party is planning to introduce legislation that would legalize abortion. Fine Gael, the leading party in Ireland’s ruling government coalition, had pledged in 2011...

As the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) opened a chapter general at Écone, Switzerland, on July 9, the French daily La Croix reported that the traditionalist group is deeply split on a proposed...

A group of 77 former students at a school run by the Legion of Christ in Rhode Island have signed a letter complaining of psychological abuse, and urging the Vatican to shut down the troubled...

The leading female contributor to the Vatican newspaper has suggested that if women had a greater role in Church leadership, the sex-abuse scandal would not have occurred. “If there had been...

At least 37 people were killed in armed attacks on Christians in northern Nigeria on July 7, in a series of raids around the city of Jos. A police official said that “hundreds” of armed men...

Gay activists in Scotland are raising pre-emptive protests about reports that the Catholic Church will mount an organized campaign to oppose legal recognition of same-sex marriage. The Scottish...

Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum led some US priests—notably Msgr. John Ryan (1869-1945) and Msgr. George Higgins (1916-2002), among others—to devote themselves to labor-related issues....

Following the Fortnight for Freedom, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, asks, “Where do those who want to stand up for religious...

By a 111-41 vote, the bishops of the Episcopal Church USA have voted to approve a rite for the blessing of homosexual relationships. Some Episcopal Church leaders spoke out against the...

Fearful that Nigeria may descend into anarchy, the president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference discussed the Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram while receiving a peace prize in...

As the largely Christian and animist nation of South Sudan celebrated the first anniversary of its independence, the new nation’s leading Catholic and Anglican prelates denounced corruption, called...

The Vatican announced the excommunication of a Chinese bishop who was ordained without the approval of the Holy See, while Chinese authorities have taken into custody another bishop who proclaimed...

Cardinal Eugenio de Araujo Sales, the retired Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, died on July 9 at the age of 91. The Brazilian prelate had been the longest-serving member of the College of Cardinals,...

Michael Kelly writes from Dublin for Catholic World Report to point out that in the Irish sex-abuse scandal the problem was not that canon law failed to provide remedies, but that bishops failed to...

William McGurn of the Wall Street Journal sees the irony as Catholic Charities of Chicago joins in a lawsuit against the Obama administration. After all it was the Chicago archdiocese that helped...

An Illinois priest who resigned as pastor because he refused to use the new English-language translation of the Mass has been suspended from ministry. Father William Rowe, who acknowledged that...

An earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale shook buildings in Italy on July 10, but no major damage was reported. The epicenter of the quake was just south of Rome, near Castel Gandolfo,...

Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne of Lima warned against clerical involvement in partisan political affairs, as Church leaders in Peru sought to mediate an increasingly tense conflict over the...

Father Marcel Guarnizo, who became the focus of a nationwide controversy when he refused to administer the Eucharist to an avowed lesbian, is no longer engaged in priestly ministry in the Washington...

Commonwealth, a magazine devoted to local politics in Massachusetts, has published a feature story criticizing the Archdiocese of Boston for restricting the use of parish properties that are offered...

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej I has said that he would welcome a visit by Pope Benedict XVI, despite an earlier decision by the Serbian Orthodox Church not to invite the Pope to a major...

The Catholic bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo have issued a statement opposing a bid to divide the country politically. "No to the balkanization of Congo. No to the division of the...

The famed Catholic poets Gerard Manley Hopkins and Charles Péguy can serve as “exemplars” in the new evangelization, Father Robert Imbelli writes in L’Osservatore Romano. Drawing upon Charles...

Cardinal Georges Cottier, who served as theologian of the pontifical household from 1989 to 2005, assessed the legacy of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) as the fiftieth anniversary of its...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), joined by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (NCRLC), has weighed in on the Agriculture Reform,...

“The remarkable fertility declines now unfolding throughout the Muslim world is one of the most important demographic developments in our era,” write Nicholas Eberstadt and Apoorva Shah in Policy...

The Church’s confederation of relief and development agencies is warning that the food crisis in the Sahel region of western Africa now affects more than 18 million people. “A bad harvest last...

The Holy See and Israel are “very close” to agreement on a long-awaited pact defining the economic and juridical rights of the Church in the Holy Land, according to the Israeli ambassador to the...

Canadian prosecutors have struck an unusual deal, allowing a priest who is accused of sexual assault to leave the country and escape trial. Father Jose Silva, a Brazilian native who was serving...

A radical Catholic priest in London has revealed that he is legally married to his homosexual lover and has presided over many other same-sex unions. In his new book If it Wasn't Love: Sex,...

William Oddie of the Catholic Herald writes that the appointment of Bishop Philip Egan to head the Portsmouth diocese reflect the influence of a new apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop...

Vatican officials met with Islamic leaders on July 10, in the latest session of a joint Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee that has held periodic meetings since 1995. A brief Vatican statement...

Cardinal Joseph Zen led a group of Catholics a Hong Kong demonstration protesting Chinese government interference with the freedom of the Catholic Church. The protest, held outside the office of...

The Vatican has filed legal charges against a German satirical magazine that published an offensive depiction of Pope Benedict XVI. The July issue of Titanic magazine featured a photo of the...

A woman who once worked as a Planned Parenthood clinic director in Iowa has filed suit against her former employer, alleging that it illegally billed Medicaid for abortion-related procedures. The US...

A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a new Mississippi law requiring doctors who perform abortions to “have admitting privileges at a local hospital and staff privileges to replace...

The Society of St. Pius X has issued a brief statement on the discussions between the Holy See and Bishop Bernard Fellay, its superior general. “The General Chapter of the Society of St. Pius X...

Representatives of the Venezuelan bishops’ conference met with the nation’s vice president, justice minister, and youth minister on July 10. “We've come to express our intention, beyond the...

A German regional court has declared infant circumcision for religious reasons illegal because it “causes bodily harm and should only be performed on males old enough to give consent.” The judges...

Chinese authorities have announced an investigation into the conduct of Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, who is being held in custody after announcing his resignation from the government-backed Catholic...

The Vatican’s investigation into the release of confidential papal documents is nearing its conclusion, and Paolo Gabriele, who was arrested in May on charges of stealing secret documents, will soon...

Pope Benedict XVI could beatify two of his predecessors during the coming Year of Faith, according to the former prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Cardinal José Saraiva...

Government officials in China’s Shaanxi province have agreed to pay 40,000 yuan (about $6,750) in damages to a woman who was forced to have a late-term abortion. Feng Jianmei was taken into...

Some Sunday-school teachers in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, have quit their posts in protest after the diocese asked all instructors to take an oath of fidelity to the Catholic...

Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano visited with Pope Benedict XVI on July 11, at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. After an informal conversation, the Italian leader joined the...

An English appeals court has affirmed a lower court’s decision that the Diocese of Portsmouth can be held liable for sexual abuse by a priest and even physical abuse by a nun working in the...

The world’s oldest functioning Christian monastery faces a clouded future, after an appeals court in Turkey ruled that the building sits on land not owned by the monks. The Mor Gabriel monastery,...

Representatives of Europe’s episcopal conferences met in Cologne, Germany this week to discuss a series of mutual concerns, including preparations for the Year of Faith, relations with the media,...

Civilians have been evacuated from the besieged Syrian city of Homs as the result of an agreement between government troops and rebel forces. The civilians, who are mostly members of the...

Irish nationalists clashed with police in Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 12, as violence broke out in the wake of marches by the Orange Order. The annual marches, which commemorate the victory...

Christian and Muslim leaders have joined in a warning that terrorism initiated by the Boko Haram movement in Nigeria could lead to wider violence between religious groups. A 12-member delegation,...

Cardinal Adrien Sarr of Dakar, Senegal, has called for a concerted effort to preserve distinctive African cultures, in his introduction to a report for African bishops’ conferences. "It is time...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced that a national Natural Family Planning Awareness Week with the theme “Faithfully Yours” will take place from July 22-28 in US...

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, traveled to Mongolia to attend a special July 8 Mass in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of a...

SAT-7, a Christian satellite television station founded in 1996, has expanded to five channels and broadcasts in Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish to the nations of the Middle East and North Africa....

The Federation of the Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) is calling for “the immediate stop to the trafficking of arms.” The bishops praised the Arms Trade Treaty, a prospective multilateral treaty...

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I has reaffirmed the See of Constantinople’s commitment to work for Christian unity. Patriarch Bartholomew, who has held office since 1991, said that his...

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has issued a pastoral letter on the new evangelization to help prepare Catholics for 2021, the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Gospel in...

Archbishop Mario Zenari, the apostolic nuncio in Syria, is calling upon international leaders to take action to stop the growing violence in that country. "The situation is worse," the archbishop...

The papal delegate supervising reform of the Legion of Christ has called for a “brief but intense period of joint reflection” involving both the Legionaries and their affiliated lay movement, Regnum...

The Archdiocese of St. Louis is encouraging Missouri legislators to override a veto by Governor Jay Nixon and enact legislation that would protect insurance buyers from being required to pay for...

As a public prosecutor in Slovakia opened an investigation of financial dealings in the Trvana archdiocese, supporters of ousted Archbishop Robert Bezak claimed that the probe was triggered by...

Brentwood cathedral in Essex, England was the site of a bizarre accident last Sunday: the roof of the building was smashed by a block of ice dropped from an airplane passing overhead. Although...

A study published in the British medical journal Lancet has found that the use of a injected hormonal contraceptive seems to increase a woman's risk of infection with the HIV virus associated with...

Father Alexander Lucie-Smith writes in London's Catholic Herald that this week's appeals court ruling, holding the Portsmouth diocese liable for sexual abuse by a priest there, endangers religious...

Following a concert of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra attended by Pope Benedict, the director of the Holy See Press Office has devoted his weekly editorial to the theme of music and...

A newly-released Gallup survey has found that 46% of Catholics have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the Church and organized religion – down from 73% in 1975 and 52% in 2011, but up...

The chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace is urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to “reinforce strongly the unequivocal...

A bishop in South Africa, where estimates of the HIV infection rate range as high as 22%, says that condoms are not a solution to the AIDS epidemic. “I think the international community is always...

Following the conclusion of its weeklong general chapter, the Society of St. Pius X has issued a statement on the discussions between the Holy See and Bishop Bernard Fellay, its superior...

Pope Benedict’s representative in Syria has condemned military action by the Assad regime that left 200 dead in the village of Tremseh. “The inactivity of the United Nations could be understood...

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat argues that by adapting themselves to the liberal secular culture, liberal Christian denominations have been making themselves irrelevant, since if you’re...

Cardinal John Tong Hon of Hong Kong has said that Chinese authorities must stop ordaining new bishops without approval from Rome, and engage in open negotiations with the Holy See, to resolve the...

Thousands of Catholics joined in public demonstrations in the Vinh diocese on July 15, protesting government-sponsored violence against Catholics and the desecration of a church. The...

The father of Paolo Gabriele, the only accused suspect in the “Vatileaks” scandal, insists that his son is innocent of wrongdoing, and wished only to expose corruption within the Vatican. Andrea...

Croatian legislators have voted to expand legal access to assisted reproduction, easing the terms of a law that was already one of the most liberal in Europe. Ignoring opposition from the...

New Australian legislation restricting sales of “adult” video games has been “cautiously welcomed” by the director of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting. "In an ideal world...

In a July 16 message celebrating the 450th anniversary of the reform of the Carmelite order, Pope Benedict XVI said that the initiatives begun by St. Teresa of Avila offer a valuable model for our...

The Vatican has announced the theme and title for the annual World Day of Peace message that Pope Benedict XVI will release on January 1: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The Pope’s message will...

Pope Benedict XVI visited the town of Frascati, near his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, on July 15. Celebrating Sunday Mass there, the Holy Father spoke in his homily about the mission of all...

Irish defense minister Alan Shatter refused to allow the army to play any official part in the Eucharistic Congress that was held in Dublin in June, the Irish Catholic has revealed. Organizers of...

European banking inspectors will give the Vatican a satisfactory rating for financial transparency, while suggesting some steps for further reform, the Reuters news service reports. That report...

A Philadelphia priest who has been involved in an online business venture has been found “unsuitable for ministry.” Father Geraldo Pinero violated established standards for priestly conduct, the...

At his Angelus audience on July 15, Pope Benedict XVI paid tribute to St. Bonaventure, noting that the date is designated on the liturgical calendar as his feast day. Speaking to pilgrims who...

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill dedicated a church at the site of the Katyn massacre on July 15, saying that with the acknowledgment of the Soviet execution of thousands of Poles, “finally, the...

Vatican Radio has profiled Cross Catholic Outreach, a US charity that offers support for international relief and development efforts. James Cavnar, the charity’s president, emphasized that Cross...

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is urging the Senate not to ratify the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). President Barack Obama signed...

Cardinal Georges Cottier, the Swiss Dominican who served as theologian of the pontifical household from 1989 to 2005, said that “the future will be severe with us” because of lack of respect for...

The superior general of the Society of St. Pius X said that its general chapter attained “peace and unity” during its July 8-14 meetings and “very soon” will respond to the Holy See’s offer of...

The rector of the largest residential high school seminary in the nation has been placed on administrative leave following an accusation of sexual misconduct with a minor. The alleged incident took...

The topic of the annual “Ratzinger Schulerkreis,” in which Pope Benedict meets with his former doctoral students, has been announced. The group will meet at Castel Gandolfo in late August to...

In a National Public Radio (NPR) interview, the president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) has defended her group against Vatican criticisms, and indicated that the LCWR is...

A dozen doctors have been suspended from practicing medicine in India’s state of Rajasthan after authorities found that they were administering illegal sex-determination tests to pregnant...

Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham has issued “an urgent appeal for dialogue, reconciliation, peace” in Syria, begging for an end to a widening civil war and charging that outside forces...

Coptic Christian leaders refused to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to Egypt, charging that American policy is tilted toward support for Islamic power in that...

The sociologist who authored a study questioning whether same-sex parents are successful in raising children is now under investigation for allegations of “scientific misconduct.” Mark Regnerus,...

The Italian journalist who published dozens of confidential papal documents has said that he received some of the letters to Pope Benedict “from those who wrote them.” Gianluigi Nuzzi, whose...

Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, who has been held in custody in a Sheshan seminary since his ordination as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, has posted a new entry on his blog—his first public statement of...

A legislative committee in Australia’s state of Victoria is questioning whether the government should honor the confessional seal. The parliamentary committee is considering new laws to toughen...

Brazil’s Federal Council of Psychology has warned Mario Lobo that she could lose her license because she advertises herself as a “Christian psychologist.” Lobo, an Evangelical Christian, has...

L’Osservatore Romano has published an article paying tribute to US artist William Congdon (1912-98) a century after his birth. Art critic Alfredo Tradigo writes: The 36-year-old William...

Seven relief agencies, including Catholic Relief Services, are urging the international community not to turn its back on the world’s largest refugee camp, which is located in Dadaab, Kenya. “The...

Physicist Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University writes in Newsweek that the description of the Higgs Boson as the “God particle” is “unfortunate,” because the particle validates an...

As Scotland’s cabinet considers the legalization of same-sex marriage, the cabinet has rejected Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s call to bring the matter to a vote of the people. “The dangers of the...

A Nebraska federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by seven states and several Catholic plaintiffs against the HHS mandate. Senior US District Judge Warren Urbom ruled that the Catholic...

Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said that the Catholic Church has been “too timid in bringing its liberating voice to the demons of Irish society.” “Scandals within the Church and perhaps...

A Brown University Medical School professor has confirmed “serious concerns” about studies that suggest the use of contraceptives may increase the risk of contracting the HIV virus. Dr. Timothy...

New York is “mission territory,” according to Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Writing on his blog, the New York prelate explained that in an important sense every diocese is always mission territory....

European banking inspectors have given the Holy See generally passing grades in an audit of financial transparency, while citing some deficiencies and calling for improvement. The “Moneyval”...

In a devastating critique of plans for a redoubled international drive to promote contraception in the Third World, Greg Pfundstein and Meghan Grizzle point out that women living in poverty have...

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), “the official overseas relief and development agency of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops,” has provided millions of dollars in funding to an organization that...

Young Catholics have organized a petition drive calling for cancellation of a concert scheduled by Madonna in Warsaw on August 1. August 1 is the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, the petition...

The basilica of St. Bartholomew in Rome has amassed a collection of items paying tribute to the recent victims of anti-Christian violence, including Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador; the...

Nelson Mandela is a hero in South Africa because he “gave himself for the cause of freedom,” according to Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban. As South Africans mark "Nelson Mandela Day" on the...

Two conscience-protection provisions--the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act and the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act--have been included in the current draft of the House budget for the...

Asked during an Ohio campaign appearance about the effects of the HHS mandate on religious freedom, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said that “we’re all Catholic today” and...

Reviewing the new documentary film It’s a Girl!, Kyle Duncan writes that sex-selective abortions, according to United Nations statistics, have led to an estimated 200 million “missing”...

One of the nation’s leading evangelical Protestant colleges, in partnership with the Catholic University of America, has filed suit against the HHS mandate. “The mandate, which is a regulation...

The prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples arrived in the Central African Republic on July 18 to conduct a weeklong pastoral visit. In addition to meeting with the nation’s...

Syria’s capital has become a place of fear, desperation, and suffering, according to the city’s Maronite Catholic archbishop. “On the streets of Damascus you see people fleeing, there are...

The traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has declined a Vatican offer for reconciliation, but left the door open for further talks. The SSPX answer to the Vatican was not a surprise, since...

Polish flags were burned in bonfires in Belfast on July 11, on the eve of the annual marches by members of the Orange Order. The July 12 marches—commemorating the he victory of King William of...

Organizers of the International Eucharistic Congress held in Dublin in June have reacted strongly against criticism that the closing Mass of the event was “impossibly sentimental.” Msgr. Andrew...

Lawyers for the former Philadelphia archdiocesan official who was convicted of endangering children have asked the court to sentence him to probation or house arrest rather than a prison...

Writing for the Sydney Morning Herald), Michael Cook alerts readers to an unintended consequence of legalizing same-sex marriage. Married couples will want babies, Cook remarks. Lesbian couples can...

The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has drawn attention to a ugly historical phenomenon of the 19th and 20th centuries: forced migration. In the century that began with the Crimean War...

Robert George reminds readers of The Public Discourse that not too long ago, gay-rights activists were promising that legal recognition of same-sex marriage would not affect the legal rights of...

In a message to a meeting of Latin American bishops on pastoral care for African Americans, Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged a drive “to examine the cultural values, history and traditions of...

Writing for The Catholic Thing, Francis Beckwith coins a new term, “egopapism,” to describe the attitude displayed by Arlington diocese religious-education instructors who refused to take an oath of...

In an op-ed piece for the Des Moines Register, a Catholic nun, Sister Patricia Miller, claims that President Barack Obama represents “the values Catholics cherish.” Sister Miller argues that as a...

A Wisconsin judge has dismissed a $700,000 judgment against the Green Bay diocese in a sex-abuse case, after finding that a member of the jury was likely biased against the defendant. Judge Nancy...

While international pressure is growing for the release of Asia Bibi—the Christian woman who faces a death sentence in Pakistan after conviction on a highly questionable blasphemy charge—Church...

A federal district court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Belmont Abbey College against the HHS contraception mandate, saying that the case is “not ripe for decision.” Judge James Boasberg...

The newly independent nation of South Sudan has the world’s highest rate of maternal mortality, with roughly 1 woman dying for every 50 children born. Infections, uncontrolled bleeding, poor...

“The excitement is building” in Lebanon as Catholics look forward to the September 14-16 visit by Pope Benedict XVI, the chief organizer of the papal trip has told Vatican Radio. Father Marwan...

Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham heatedly denies charges that Church leaders in Syria have acted as apologists for the Assad regime, insisting that the Syrian Church has worked...

Italian foreign minister Giulio Terzi has said that a drive to stop anti-Christian atrocities should be a top priority of world leaders. Citing the killing of 800 Christians in Nigeria by the...

John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter writes that the Moneyval report, giving the Holy See a passing grade for financial transparency, is a victory not only for Vatican banking officials but...

The bishops of Missouri have endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment that will ensure “that any person shall have the right to pray individually or corporately in a private or public setting so...

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the US bishops’ official relief and development agency, has responded to a LifeSiteNews report on its 2010 grant of $5,380,466 to CARE, a humanitarian agency that...

One of Peru’s leading prelates traveled to Washington and urged members of a House subcommittee to hold a US company accountable for the environmental degradation caused by one of its...

Following the July 20 shooting at a Colorado movie theater that left 12 dead and 58 injures, the Archdiocese of Denver sought to console those affected by the massacre. On the evening of July 20,...

The Vatican has ruled that a Peruvian school no longer has the right to be called a “Catholic” or “Pontifical” university. The Vatican ruling, announced July 21, comes after 22 years of...

Paolo Gabriele, the valet to Pope Benedict XVI who was arrested in May for possessing confidential papal documents, has been released from custody, to remain under house arrest pending his trial on...

In his encyclical Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II suggested that a Day for Life be set aside each year. In England, the bishops' conference has followed that suggestion--but in a way that misses...

Donna Bethell notes that when she was interviewed by National Public Radio, Sister Patricia Farrell, the president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, was presented with multiple...

Pressure is mounting for a change in China’s brutal “one-child” population policy, the New York Times reports. Stories about forcible abortions have sparked international outrage. But the Times...

At his Sunday public audience on July 22, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the image of Jesus as Good Shepherd, and on the most famous of the “lost sheep,” St. Mary Magdalene. Noting that the date...

Pope Benedict XVI described the Olympic Games as “the greatest sporting event in the world,” and offered a prayer that the 30th Olympic Games, opening this week in London, will be “a true experience...

The Vatican has voiced “firm and total disapproval” of Italian and German newspaper reports naming three individuals who are allegedly being investigated in connection with the leaks of confidential...

Prosecutors in Philadelphia have reportedly decided to seek a new trial of Father James Brennan, whose first trial on rape charges ended in a hung jury in June. Father Brennan was tried alongside...

Pope Benedict XVI said that he was profoundly shocked by the "senseless violance which took place in Aurora, Denver," where a lone gunman opened fire on a movie audience. Speaking at the close...

The Pope also said that married couples have a “duty to sit down together” to discuss problems and deepen their relationships. He said: In our world, which is so deeply marked by individualism,...

A series of personnel changes in the Roman Curia—mostly at the level of second-in-command in various dicasteries—have lowered the level of Italian influence at the Vatican, writes Sandro Magister of...

Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, the retired secretary of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, has been named by Pope Benedict XVI to become vice-chamberlain of the Church. The...

Christian leaders in Indonesia's Aceh province are expressing grave concern over a wave of violent attacks against churches. The attacks have apparently been carried out by Muslim...

In 1986, Barack Obama, then a community organizer in Chicago, attended training offered by the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) with funds provided by the Archdiocese of Chicago, according to...

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) are calling upon Catholics to contact Secretary of State Hillary Rodham...

A Phoenix man who used his home for Bible study and worship has been jailed for 60 days and fined $12,000 for building code violations. “Mr. [Michael] Salman had regular gatherings of up to 80...

At the request of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Montgomery County district attorney’s office is reinvestigating an abuse allegation against Bishop Michael Bransfield, who was appointed Bishop...

The Populorum Progressio Foundation—an arm of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, devoted to supporting development projects in Latin America—is meeting in Colombia this week, with an eye to revamping...

Msgr. William Lynn, who was convicted in June on child-endangerment charges, has been sentenced to serve 3 to 6 years in prison. A former vicar for clergy in the Philadelphia archdiocese, Msgr....

A letter from a leading official of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), and an interview with the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, have confirmed that the authority of...

Oswaldo Paya, a leading Cuban Catholic and political dissident, was killed in an auto accident on July 22. Paya’s son said that activist’s car had been forced off the road by another vehicle,...

In a new report on teaching at American Catholic universities, the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) argues that theology professors should be required to obtain the mandatum, the local bishop’s...

Paolo Gabriele, the papal valet who was arrested in May for possession of confidential papal documents, has written to Pope Benedict XVI asking for forgiveness. Gabriele, who was released to...

Thousands of families are leaving Syria to escape the escalating violence there, and pouring into refugee camps in Lebanon, Catholic relief workers report. More than 47,000 people—predominantly...

In Catholic World Report, John Buescher traces the roots of the movement to legalize contraception in the US, and finds that the 19th-century proponents of birth control were an exceeding odd lot....

Former British prime minister Tony Blair, who converted to Catholicism after stepping down from public office, says that he has “always been more interested in religion than politics.” Blair...

The Vatican’s annual message for World Tourism Day is devoted to the theme of sustainable energy, arguing that “tourism not only contributes to global warming: it is also a victim of it.” The...

A New York Times article on Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha’s upcoming canonization focuses on the “complex emotions” that surround it. The Times finds that the reaction is “complex, particularly among...

The Our Sunday Visitor publishing company has been named the exclusive distributor of the North American English edition of L’Osservatore Romano. “Now subscribers on that side of the ocean will...

Days after Catholic Relief Services (CRS)—the US bishops’ relief and development agency—issued a statement that referred to the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) in its defense of a...

The National Catholic Safeguarding Commission, a lay body formed in 2008 by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in England and Wales and the Conference of Religious, released its annual report on July...

The Chaldean Catholic bishop of Aleppo—Syria’s largest city—says fear is widespread that Christians there will be attacked. “If they come in around our churches and round our bishopric, just as...

Elected in April 2005 when he was 78, Pope Benedict XVI was generally expected to have a short reign. But his pontificate has now lasted longer than the average for all the Pontiffs in recorded...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York will team up with television comedian Stephen Colbert at a forum on faith and humor, to be held at Fordham University in September. The forum will be chaired...

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, named this week to be the new Archbishop of Glasgow, has come under heavy fire because of offhand remarks he made earlier this year about the sudden death of a...

African-American Catholics are more actively involved with their faith than their white counterparts, according to a new study by Notre Dame researchers. By almost every measure of religious...

Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message of condolence on the deaths of Cuban human-rights activists Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero, who were killed in a car crash on July 22. Voicing his regret at...

In an interview with National Public Radio, the bishop who conducted a Vatican-ordered apostolic visitation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) explained the Holy See’s demand for...

In a sober, informative analysis, Father Dwight Longenecker addresses the possibility that demonic influence may have been involved in the mass murder in a Aurora, Colorado movie theater....

An influential Church official suggested that the Vatican should drop out of the Euro currency agreement, in order to avoid new European banking regulations, according to a new book by a veteran...

Responding to reports that Philadelphia prosecutors are reopening an investigation of old sex-abuse charges, Bishop Michael Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia has pointed out that...

In an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, the newly-appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith discussed the centrality of faith and divine revelation and briefly addressed...

In an effort to stem the burgeoning conflict between Christian indigenous peoples and Muslim settlers in the eastern Indian province of Assam, Bishop Thomas Pulloppillil of Bongaigaon is calling for...

The newly-appointed archbishop of Glasgow has spoken out against same-sex marriage in an interview with Vatican Radio. “We have to constantly repropose a Christian vision of the dignity of the...

The chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development is urging the Senate to retain the Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable Child Tax...

The Dominican Republic’s leading prelate has denounced the “international scandal” of violence against women in the Caribbean nation. An estimated 1,000 women have been murdered there in the past...

Cardinal James Francis Stafford, the retired head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, celebrated his 80th birthday on July 26, becoming ineligible to vote in a papal election. There are now 120...

The Catholic bishops of Italy, among others, have resisted the urging of Pope Benedict XVI to revise translations of the Mass so that the Latin words pro multis in the words of consecration to read...

The Vatican Museums have announced that priests will be available, beginning in August, to offer spiritual care for visitors. Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, the secretary-general of the Vatican...

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia has agreed to meet with the homosexual lover of a deceased Scottish politician. The newly appointed Archbishop of Glasgow has been heavily criticized for implying that...

The leader of a Catholic women’s religious community near the embattled Syrian city of Homs has appealed to Western nations to stop arming Syrian rebels. Rebels supported by Western countries are...

The priest who served as executive director of the Campaign for Human Development from 1978 to 1985 was the first person to greet President Barack Obama during a recent campaign stop in Iowa. The...

In a 7-4 decision, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a South Dakota law requiring that women considering an abortion be told about the “increased risk of suicide ideation and...

The bishops of Malta have issued a pastoral letter on in vitro fertilization. “The conception of a human person should be the outcome of the mutual self-giving love of the married couple,” the...

Hundreds of Christians gathered outside a church in Gaza amid allegations that two Christians were recently kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam. Hiba Daoud, a woman who was reportedly...

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) is appealing for peace in Assam, the eastern province in which fighting has flared between Christian tribals and Muslim settlers. “The Catholic...

Addressing a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender reception, Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed his commitment to legalizing same-sex marriage and said that “obviously there’ll be arguments...

Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Salvatore Cordileone the new Archbishop of San Francisco. The appointment is certain to create shockwaves in a city known for homosexual activism. Recognized as...

Pope Benedict XVI met on July 26 with commission of three cardinals set up to investigate the “Vatileaks” scandal. The cardinals presented their conclusions to the Pope, the Vatican said. The...

The Irish government has named Tony O'Brien as head of the country's health service. O'Brien, who has served in various executive roles in the health service since 2006, had previously been...

The city of Steubenville, Ohio, has announced plans to change the city's official logo, removing an image of the chapel of Franciscan University. The city is taking this action in response to a...

Two former bishops of Springfield, Massachusetts, have settled a sex-abuse lawsuit, 3 days after the case came to trial. Bishops Joseph Maguire and Thomas Dupre reportedly agreed to pay $500,000...

A Christian member of England’s Green Party faces possible expulsion after she voted against a motion approved of same-sex marriage. Christian Summers, a Green Party member of the Brighton and...

The Vatican’s representative at the UN endorsed a new international treaty to control arms traffic, at a conference in which the Holy See’s envoy was not recognized as a full...

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia delivered an urgent call for Catholics to take action to protect the American tradition of religious freedom, in a July 26 address to the Napa Institute in...

John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter writes that as Pope Benedict XVI prepares for a visit to Lebanon, the Vatican is carefully avoiding diplomatic entanglements in Syria’s escalating...

As the Olympic Games open in London, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano recalls the film Chariots of Fire, with its portrayal of British Olympic athletes. Made on a modest budget,...

On the eve of the 2012 London Olympics, an Italian historian has recalled the involvement of Pope Pius X in helping to arrange the 1908 Olympics in London. St. Pius X was an advocate of sports at...

A federal judge in Colorado has given a preliminary legal victory to a privately owned business, granting an injunction to stop the implementation of the Obama administration’s contraceptive...

A lay Catholic group has organized a nationwide petition drive, encouraging American bishops to promote forthright teaching on the Church's stand regarding contraception. The Bellarmine Forum...

Communist authorities in China are cracking down on the seven priests of the Diocese of Heilongjiang who opposed the ordination of Father Joseph Yue Fusheng to the episcopate. The ordination,...

The Vatican’s publishing house has released a book by the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The book is devoted to Pope Benedict’s controversial 2006 Regensburg address...

The apostolic prefect of Battambang, a city located in northwestern Cambodia, discussed the terrible persecution of the Church there under the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-79). “It is a martyr...

In the second chapter of the Book of Revelation, the members of the Church in Ephesus are told that “you have abandoned the love you had at first” (2:4). That verse offers a key to understanding...

The Chicago Tribune has published an article describing how a local woman was able to conceive after receiving care at the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha. The institute was founded in 1985 and...

The director of the Holy See Press Office has devoted his weekly editorial to the 2012 Summer Olympics. Father Federico Lombardi reflects on a variety of themes: the More than Gold ecumenical...

A Slovenian prelate who resigned in 2009, citing reasons of health, has been asked by the Vatican to withdraw from public life because of persistent rumors that he has fathered two children, Vatican...

Although Republican political leaders have denounced President Obama for imposing a contraceptive mandate as part of his health-care reform, the Republican leadership has not taken action to...

Three members of a female Russian punk band went on trial July 30 for staging an unauthorized performance in Moscow’s Orthodox cathedral to denounce ties between the Moscow patriarchate and the...

At his midday audience on Sunday, July 29, Pope Benedict XVI commented on the Gospel story of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, pointing out that Jesus used a boy’s generosity as the basis...

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat offers another thoughtful reflection on religious liberty, observing that many secularists now regard Christian teachings on marriage and sexuality as...

Pope Benedict XVI repeated his “appeal for all violence and bloodshed to end” in Syria, during his midday public audience on Sunday, July 29. The Pope said that he is troubled by the “depressing...

Advocates of unrestricted abortion rallied in Madrid on July 29 to protest plans by the Spanish government to amend the country's 2010 law. Justice minister Alberto Ruiz Gallardon has announced...

A New York Times report looked forward to this week’s meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), at which members will discuss their response to a Vatican demand for reform of...

Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message of condolence to the people of Ghana upon the unexpected death of the country’s President John Atta Mills. Mills, who took office in 2009, died on July 24....

The Vatican newspaper has published an editorial sharply criticizing international foundations and corporations that promote contraception in the Third World. The editorial specifically targets the...

A columnist in the Irish Examiner has criticizes Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin for speaking about the problems facing the Church without offering the faithful any real reasons to have...

Historian Philip Jenkins suggests that the Catholic Church might be opening new parishes all over America today, if not for the devastating financial impact of the sex-abuse scandal. Jenkins...

The bishops of Kenya have decried renewed international efforts to promote contraception in Africa. Contraception, the bishops write, “is both dehumanizing and goes against the teaching of the...

Cardinal Francis George has criticized Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s recent comments on Chick-fil-A, a restaurant chain whose president said recently that he believes marriage is the union of a man and a...

In a 2-1 decision, a federal appeals court has ruled that a lower court erred in dismissing a suit filed by Kimberly Crider against the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK). Crider, a...

Preaching at a Mass in celebration of the 30th Olympic Games on July 28, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster challenged Catholics to glorify God with their bodies. “We will see many fine...

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service is considering proposals to increase the number of organs available for donation, including presumed consent for organ donation and the ability of...

The Associated Press is distributing an article on a Wisconsin family whose three sons are pursuing priestly vocations. “Grandma would always say, ‘Maybe one of you boys is going to be a...

The distraught mother of an imprisoned Vietnamese Christian activist set herself on fire in front of government offices in Bac Lieu. The shocking death of Dang Thi Kim Lieng called attention to...

An annual report on religious freedom throughout the world, released by the US State Department, "sends a signal to the worst offenders that the world is watching,” according to Secretary of State...

A Christian with same-sex attraction explains why he does not identify himself as a “gay Christian” in a thoughtful essay for First Things. Daniel Mattson remarks that many “gay Christians” see...

In a witty and perceptive comment on the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games, George Weigel remarks that the spectacular show should serve a useful purpose: “It reminds the world that you can’t...

Unnoticed despite the saturation media coverage of the Olympic Games, Catholics are engaged in 24-hour adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Francis of Assisi church in East London for the...

Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, who was killed in a car crash on July 22, was not forced off the road, according to two survivors of the accident. Paya and Harold Cepero, another human-rights...

The Vatican has released the prayer intentions of Pope Benedict XVI for August 2012. The Pope’s general intention is: "That prisoners may be treated with justice and respect for their human...

Australian police are completing an investigation into how Church leaders covered up the evidence of sexual abuse by a notorious pedophile priest. The investigation centers on the activities of...

Six former US ambassadors to the Holy See have joined in a declaration of support for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The former envoys--Frank Shakespeare, Tom Melady, Ray Flynn,...