Catholic World News

In his Easter Monday Regina Caeli address, Pope Francis urged pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square to let the grace of the Easter sacraments change their lives. “The Baptism that makes us children of...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Justice for Immigrants campaign is urging those on its e-mail list to “thank Senator Rubio for his work with the Gang of Eight.” “Anti-immigrant...

Metropolitan Hilarion, the Russian Orthodox Church’s chief ecumenical officer, has urged the new Archbishop of Canterbury not to support female bishops or same-sex marriage. “We know that the...

The Associated Press has corrected its earlier reports on an operation involving one of Pope Francis’s lungs. “In some stories from 2005 and March 2013 about Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who became...

Father Angel Armando Perez, a priest of the Archdiocese of Portland, has received the mandatory minimum sentence of 75 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy...

A speculative story from the Reuters news service, suggesting that Pope Francis will undertake serious reforms in Vatican institutions and especially in the Vatican bank, has appeared in many...

The rector of a Catholic seminary in India was murdered on Easter Monday by an unknown assailant. Father K. J. Thomas, rector of a seminary in Bangalore, was apparently killed around dawn. Police...

Eight years after the death of Blessed John Paul II, Vatican Radio recalled the words of then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, marking the same anniversary two years ago. Cardinal Bergoglio, the...

Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica since 2006, has discussed details of Pope Francis’s April 1 visit to St. Peter’s tomb, which is located in the necropolis under the...

Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse held its first hearing on April 3. Although Prime Minister Julia Gillard formed the commission in the wake of...

Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, the president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, has issued a message on the occasion of World Autism Awareness Day. “Faced...

The Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging Catholics to “contact your senators and urge them to support legislation that...

Founded around 1099, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem now has 28,000 members and provides crucial support to the Church in the Holy Land, according to a Catholic World Report...

On the evening of April 2, after St. Peter’s Basilica was closed to visitors, Pope Francis prayed at the tomb of Blessed John Paul II, who reigned from 1978 to 2005, on the anniversary of his death....

In his weekly public audience on April 3, Pope Francis spoke about the role of women as witnesses of Christ’s Resurrection and, more generally, witnesses to the faith. The New Testament refers to...

The Vatican has released a schedule of liturgical events at which Pope Francis will preside in April and May. The Pope's schedule calls for regular Sunday Masses, primarily in St. Peter's Square or...

A Pakistani Christian who has been imprisoned since 2005 on blasphemy charges has been acquitted of those charges by a court in Lahore. Younis Masih was released after the appeals court reversed...

A long-expected Vatican document on the inspiration and truth of Sacred Scripture is nearing completion. When the Pontifical Biblical Commission holds its annual five-day meeting at the Domus...

The Spanish missionary bishop of Bangassou, a city of 35,000 in the southern region of the Central African Republic, spoke with the Fides news agency about the disorder and terror in the nation,...

Less than a year after Uruguay legalized abortion, the country is poised to become the second Latin American nation to legalize same-sex marriage. By a 23-8 vote, Uruguay’s senate has approved...

Pope Tawadros (Theodoros) II of Alexandria, who was elected head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in November, has announced that he will soon visit Pope Francis in Rome. The announcement followed an...

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, has condemned attacks on three central Nigerian villages by predominantly Muslim Fulani farmers. The attacks, which...

Pope Francis enjoys broad popularity among American Catholics, a new Pew Research survey shows. A Pew telephone survey of 1,001 Americans found that 84% have a favorable opinion of the new...

Cesare Prandelli, the coach of Italy’s national soccer team, has suggested a “friendly” match with Argentina in honor of Pope Francis. "If we could arrange it, it would be nice to have an...

An Italian priest has been arrested on fraud charges at a hospital where mounting deficits forced the Vatican to intervene. Police charge that Father Franco Decaminada took €4 million ($5.1...

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pushing forward with plans to build a gigantic mosque, despite public criticism. The giant mosque with its six minarets, perched on a hill...

Femen, the Ukrainian feminist group, has announced a “topless jihad” in support of a Tunisian woman who has become the target of a fatwa after she posted a topless picture of herself on a Facebook...

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has agreed to release thousands of documents detailing the response of Church leaders to sex-abuse complaints. The archdiocese, which is in bankruptcy proceedings,...

The number of students enrolled in Catholic primary and secondary schools in the United States has fallen by 1.5% in the past year to 2,001,740, according to data released by the National Catholic...

As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis emphasized a pastoral concern for the poor and the role of the laity, according to an Opus Dei priest in Buenos Aires who once directed Vatican...

A Muslim mob burned shops and cars and threw stones at a church in a Christian neighborhood in Gujranwala, a city of 2.7 million in northeastern Pakistan that was the site of anti-Christian violence...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America has granted over $3.1 million to 132 projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Three grants...

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, the vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, will join other Christian leaders in Birmingham on April 14 and 15 to commemorate the...

Pope Francis underlined the importance of a drive to eliminate sexual abuse during an April 5 audience with Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the...

Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal that enjoys a special relationship with the Vatican, is undergoing its first-ever design change, shifting its emphasis to commentary rather than news...

A Catholic parish on Long Island has removed a man from his roles as lector and religious-education instructor after the local diocese was informed that the man had joined his homosexual partner in...

The Missionaries of Charity have been cited by city officials in Miami for operating a soup kitchen without proper licenses. Mother Teresa’s nuns have not obtained the proper permits for their...

Gonzaga University, a Jesuit-run institution in Spokane, Washington, has announced that the Knights of Columbus cannot be recognized as a student organization because the group admits only...

A panel of Italian judges has called for the country’s top court to rule on Italy’s law restricting artificial reproduction. The court in Milan argued that the 2003, which does not allow assisted...

A US federal court has ruled that the government must allow over-the-counter sales of the “morning-after pill” to women of all ages. Judge Edward Korman charged that the federal government was...

The retired Anglican Archbishop Demond Tutu of Cape Town, South Africa, has been awarded the Templeton Prize for “life-long work in advancing spiritual principles such as love and forgiveness which...

A slide presentation used in training US Army Reserves in Pennsylvania has included Catholicism and evangelical Christianity on a list of 18 religious extremist organizations. Also included on the...

In his weekday Mass homily on April 5, Pope Francis spoke of devotion to the name of Jesus and emphasized that salvation is found only in him. According to a L’Osservatore Romano summary of the...

Stones and gasoline bombs were thrown at the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo as Christians and Muslims clashed following a funeral. One person was killed and over 80 were injured in the...

As rebels in Syria seek to take control of Aleppo, the nation’s largest city, a Jordanian Islamic cleric has issued a fatwa (legal opinion) stating that it is permissible for rebel fighters to rape...

John Allen has written a profile of the Parish of Virgin of Caacupé, located in a drug-infested slum in Buenos Aires. Parish ministries include two schools, a soup kitchen, radio station, newspaper,...

The Pontifical Council for Culture, led by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, is sponsoring a TEDx conference devoted to “Religious Freedom Today.” The diverse group of 18 speakers includes Cardinal...

As he celebrated Mass in the Roman basilica of St. John Lateran on the feast of Divine Mercy, Pope Francis assured the faithful: “God always waits for us, even when we have drawn away from...

In his first major appointment to Roman Curia, Pope Francis has named Father José Rodriguez Carballo, the worldwide leader of the Franciscan order, as secretary of the Congregation for...

An American-born priest has been named Archbishop of Vilnius in Lithuania. Archbishop-elect Gintaras Lunas Grusas was born in Washington, DC, raised in Los Angeles, studied at the Franciscan...

Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit has said that Catholic politicians who advocate legal recognition of same-sex marriage should not receive Communion. A Catholic who receives Communion while...

Following at least seven suicides in protest against poverty and corruption, President Rosen Plevneliev of Bulgaria has declared three days of prayer “for an end to the suicides and for passing...

Cardinal Rubén Salazar Gómez of Bogota has expressed his support of a massive march for peace that is taking place in Colombia’s capital on April 9. “One of the serious problems we have had in...

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, has issued a statement praising those who have filed...

The bishops of 15 dioceses in northeastern India have issued a pastoral letter for the Year of Faith. In their letter, issued during a meeting that concluded on April 4, the bishops analyzed the...

Following internal archdiocesan investigations, Archbishop Charles Chaput has declared three Philadelphia priests unsuitable for ministry. Msgr. Richard Powers, 77, has been permanently removed...

Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II has berated Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi for his government’s failure to protect the country’s Christian minority. The Coptic leader said that Morsi had...

Pope Francis met on April 9 with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, for a conversation that covered humanitarian emergencies and the world’s main trouble-spots. A statement released by the Vatican...

With the allotted period for public comments coming to an end, the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has indicated that a mandate requiring contraceptive coverage in...

The Vatican has invited journalists to attend a conference on the medical use of adult stem cells, noting the importance of providing the public with adequate information about the latest...

Pope Francis has sent a message of condolence to British Prime Minister David Cameron on the death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the British government leader from 1979 to 1990. The Pope's...

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who introduced Pope Francis to the world after his election on March 12, told an audience in Chicago that the experience was "like a plane takeoff, the beginning of an...

If Christians can restrain themselves from gossip, “it will be a great step forward,” Pope Francis said in his homily as he celebrated Mass for Vatican workers on April 9. Speaking about the life...

The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea says that North Korea’s threat of nuclear war is a sign of desperation meant to extract foreign aid. “It is our presumption that they...

Pope Francis has received Rev. Nikolaus Schneider, the president of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, in audience. During the meeting, Schneider expressed his concern about recent...

Eduardo Mora, an evangelical pastor, has led a sit-in protest against the veneration of images at the Church of San Francisco Church in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. After the protest began,...

In remarks delivered at the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast on April 5, Vice President Joe Biden praised Pope Francis. Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, delivered the...

Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, has weighed in on the Safe Communities, Safe...

Communist authorities in Laos have released three Protestant pastors who were arrested in February on charges of spreading Christianity. One pastor was reportedly tortured during interrogations, and...

Bishop Thomas Qian Yurong of Xuzhou, a city of 8.6 million in eastern China, has died at the age of 99. Ordained to the priesthood in 1945, Bishop Qian received episcopal ordination without a...

Cardinal Lorenzo Antonetti, the retired president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, died on April 10 in Novara, Italy at the age of 90. Ordained to the priesthood in Novara...

All Christian faith is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus, “just like a house is built on its foundations,” Pope Francis told his weekly audience on April 10. “If those give way, the whole...

The physical health of Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI is rapidly deteriorating, according to a Spanish reporter. The Vatican has denied the report. Paloma Gomez Borrero of El Mundo said that Benedict...

At his regular weekly audience on April 10, Pope Francis greeted a delegation from the San Lorenzo Athletic Club of Buenos Aires, of which he remains a card-carrying member. "Ah, this is very...

The French Senate has voted to recognize same-sex marriages. Despite massive public demonstrations against the legislation, the Senate approved a measure that would allow for same-sex marriage by...

An Italian bishop visiting the Vatican was taken by surprise when Pope Francis joined him for breakfast at the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Bishop Francesco Cavina of Carpi was staying at the guest...

The Canadian bishops’ conference has released a statement calling upon the faithful to develop an awareness of environmental problems. Bishop Donald Bolen of Saskatoon, a member of the committee...

European banking examiners plan to issue a new report on Vatican financial procedures in December. Last year the “Moneyval” committee, which appraises banking systems for their compliance with...

The Chaldean Catholic bishop of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, described the devastation wrought by war as rebels advance on the city. “One lives day by day,” says Bishop Antoine Audo, a native of...

Bob Ferguson, the State of Washington’s attorney general, has announced that he is filing a consumer protection lawsuit against a florist who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex...

Giovanna Abbiati, an organizer of the upcoming TEDx conference at the Vatican devoted to “Religious Freedom Today,” explained the decision to invite a diverse group of 18 speakers to the conference,...

The New Yorker has published a profile of Father Tomás González Castillo, a Franciscan friar who ministers to Guatemalan migrants in Mexico – much to the consternation of Los Zetas, Mexico’s most...

Sister Mary Anne Rapp, a member of the Buffalo-area province of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, has pleaded guilty to stealing $128,000 from two western New York...

Greeting American members of the Papal Foundation at a private audience on April 11, Pope Francis called their attention to the 50th anniversary of the encyclical Pacem in Terris, by Pope John...

The Washington Post profiled Father Emil Kapuan, who received the Medal of Honor posthumously today for his heroic service as a US Army chaplain during the Korean War. Father Kapuan is also a...

The Vietnamese bishops’ conference has welcomed its newest member, Bishop Joseph Dinh Duc Dao, who was ordained on April 5 as an auxiliary for the Xuan Loc diocese. The Vietnamese prelate is the...

An Irish doctor has admitted that she never read “significant” notes about the medical condition of a pregnant woman whose death sparked calls for legalization of abortion in Ireland. At an...

Pope Francis met on April 11 with Prime Minister Alberto Clementino Vaquina of Mozambique. A short statement released by the Vatican after the meeting indicated that their conversation had centered...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has named Francesco Cesareo, president of Assumption College, the new chairman of the National Review...

Hoang Van Ngai, an elder of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, has died in prison in Dak Nong Province, which is located in the southern part of the Communist nation. While police claim that Ngai...

Books written by professors who teach at universities in Spain and Italy are the first winners of the Centesimus Annus - Pro Pontifice Foundation’s “economy and society” book award. Ciudadania,...

Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali of Jerusalem has discussed US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent visit to Israel. “On one hand, I expect that the efforts of John Kerry will lead to...

April 11 was the fiftieth anniversary of Pacem in Terris, Blessed John XXIII’s encyclical on establishing universal peace in truth, justice, charity, and liberty. “If any factor in society in any...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has asked Catholics to pray, fast, and abstain from meat on April 12 “for the justices of the Supreme Court, that they would respect the...

South African Cardinal Wilfred Napier has defended himself against charges of “homophobia” by saying “I don’t know any homosexuals.” Cardinal Napier drew critical media scrutiny in the days...

The Word of God is “the soul of theology as well as the inspiration of all Christian existence,” Pope Francis told the members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission in an April 12 private...

An openly homosexual man has petitioned the Rockville Center, New York diocese, asking to be reinstated as a lector and religious-education instructor in his parish. Nicholas Coppola, who was...

Pope Francis visited the offices of the Vatican Secretariat of State on April 12, meeting with all the staff members. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary of State, welcomed the Pope to the...

A retired auxiliary bishop in Detroit has told supporters of same-sex marriage that they should continue receiving Communion, directly contradicting a statement by Archbishop Allen...

Christians make up only 1% of the population in the Palestinian territories today, down from 2% in 2000, the Fides news service reports. In the city of Jerusalem there are only about 5,000...

Returning to Somalia’s capital city after a 6-year absence, the country’s leading Catholic prelate has reported signs that a new national government may bring unity to the African country after...

Pope Francis has appointed a commission of eight cardinals to advise him on a reform of the Roman Curia. In the first clear indication that he plans major changes in the administration of Vatican...

Archbishop Samir Nassar, the Maronite Catholic archbishop of Damascus, has told the Fides news agency that Syria’s Christians “must choose between two bitter chalices: to die or leave.” Syrians,...

The chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is calling upon the Obama administration “to expedite a thorough review” of the...

Father Luca Passi (1789-1866), an Italian priest who founded Institute of the Sisters of St. Dorothy, was beatified on April 13 at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Blessed Passi was “a great...

Sudanese authorities have ordered the secretary-general of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference and two religious brothers – one Egyptian, the other French – to leave the overwhelmingly Muslim...

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has tightened the nation’s control over religious institutions. Under a decree signed by the president, citizens of Azerbaijan are permitted to read or watch...

The Boy Scouts of America has presented its Silver Buffalo Award to Cardinal William Keeler, who served as Bishop of Harrisburg from 1983 to 1989 and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1989 to...

At an April 15 meeting with officials of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) reported that Pope Francis has...

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako paid tribute to all Christian martyrs during a pilgrimage to a shrine in Baghdad where more than 50 people were killed in an October 2010...

Celebrating Mass on April 14 at the Roman basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, Pope Francis underlined in his homily the need for pastors to “let ourselves be carried by God’s will even where we...

A striking 71% of Russia's people hope for a visit by Pope Francis to their country, according to a new poll by the Lavada Center in Moscow. Only 9% of those surveyed voiced opposition to a papal...

“The age of martyrs is not yet over,” Pope Francis remarked in his homily during a Mass on April 15. In fact, the Pope said, “the Church has more martyrs now than during the first centuries.” He...

Pope Francis met on April 15 with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Brey of Spain, for a conversation that centered on that country’s economic difficulties. The economic crisis in Spain “has provoked...

Pope Francis has asked Cardinal José Policarpo of Lisbon to dedicate his pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima. Cardinal Policarpo confirmed the Pope’s request at a meeting of the Portuguese bishops’...

An American Orthodox bishop has resigned after being accused of sexual harassment. Bishop Matthias, the leader of the Orthodox Church in America for the Midwest, had been placed on administrative...

Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston issued the following statement in response to the Boston Marathon bombings: The Archdiocese of Boston joins all people of good will in expressing deep sorrow...

Recalling the fiftieth anniversary of Blessed John XXIII’s encyclical on peace, a committee of Indian bishops called upon the nation to restrict its arms imports. “India – the largest importer of...

Following recent incidents of violence against Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority, Coptic leaders said that the government’s decision to host a “reconciliation meeting” rang hollow without the...

The recent terrorist attacks in Mogadishu that left 35 dead represent Al-Shabaab’s attempt to weaken Somalia’s new civil institutions, according to the city’s apostolic administrator. The...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) reacted to President Barack Obama’s 2014 budget proposal by calling for “robust funding” for international...

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, the vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, joined other Christian leaders in Birmingham on April 14 and 15 to commemorate the...

Lawyers for sex-abuse victims, who successfully forced the Los Angeles archdiocese to release files on sex-abuse complaints earlier this year, are now seeking the same disclosure from religious...

The commission of cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to weigh Vatican reforms could trim the sweeping powers of the Secretariat of State, according to the Italian bishop who was named secretary of...

Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI celebrated his 86th birthday quietly on April 16 at Castel Gandolfo, accompanied by his older brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger. As he celebrated Mass at the Domus Sanctae...

Archbishop Charles Chaput has acknowledged that his introduction to the Philadelphia archdiocese has been a rough one. "I haven't liked it at all," the archbishop told an awards dinner. Referring...

Cardinal André Vingt-Trois of Paris has warned that the French government is risking violent protests by pushing through a bill to legalize same-sex marriage despite public opposition. The rush...

In a weekday Mass homily devoted to docility to the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis preached that the Second Vatican Council “was a beautiful work of the Holy Spirit,” according to excerpts of the homily...

Emphasizing that the Church does not endorse political candidates, the vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said in a pastoral letter that Catholics should not vote...

During his 2009 apostolic journey to the Holy Land, Pope Benedict blessed the first stone of an International Family Center that would be built in Nazareth. “Let us pray that the Center will promote...

In an interview with Vatican Radio, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications reflected on the need “for what you could almost call a cross-generational dialogue” about...

Father David Neuhaus, the Jesuit responsible for the pastoral care of Hebrew-speaking Catholics in the Holy Land, said after a meeting with Pope Francis that the Pontiff has the potential to “untie...

At his weekly public audience on April 17, Pope Francis exhorted the faithful to keep in mind that Jesus “always defends us,” and even “defends us from ourselves.” “He always forgives us. He is...

The president of the Italian bishops' conference has scolded the nation's political leaders for their failure to resolve a stalemate that has blocked the formation of a new...

Brazilian officials are taking steps to tighten security around Rio de Janeiro as they prepare for three major interneational events: the World Youth Day celebrations in July, the World Cup...

Pope Francis has sent a message of condolence to the people of Iran and Pakistan who are suffering after a violent earthquake on the border between the two countries. "I lift my prayers to God...

Pope Francis met on April 17 with the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the Holy See, Saleh Mohammad al Ghamdi. The Vatican disclosed that the Saudi envoy was acting as "bearer of a message from King...

Pope Francis received a soccer jersey from the Argentine superstar Lionel Messi. The jersey, with the insignia of Messi's Barcelona club as well as the player's name and number 10, was presented...

Bishop Bernard Fellay, the superior of the Society of St. Pius X (SPPX), has acknowledged that the traditionalist group has made no major progress toward reconciliation with the Holy See, despite...

Nigeria’s leading prelate has welcomed a government proposal to explore amnesty negotiations with Boko Haram, but made clear that he supports amnesty only if members of the militant Islamist...

The number of refugees who have fled Syria for Lebanon has surged to 1.2 million and threatens to overwhelm Lebanese institutions, according to the president of Caritas Lebanon. “Please listen to...

Armed with stones and sticks, a group of men in Srinagar, a largely Muslim city of 1.3 million in northern India, attacked and attempted to set fire to a Christian children’s home. The men beat...

Vocations to the priesthood and religious life continue to rise in England and Wales. Thirty men and 23 women entered religious life in 2012, the highest number of new religious since 1996. In...

Only three of the 447 contested seats in upcoming local Iraqi elections have been reserved for Christians, who make up 3% of the nation’s population. Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako, head of the...

Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the Committee on Migration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has welcomed the introduction of comprehensive immigration...

Pope Francis has sent a message of support to the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the group of women formed in 1977 to protest the disappearance of political dissidents during the Argentine...

In a break with tradition, Pope Francis has decided not to issue a special bonus to Vatican employees at the beginning of his pontificate. It has been customary for Vatican workers to receive a...

Pope Francis has asked the faithful to join him in prayer for the victims of a fertilizer-plant explosition in Texas. The Pope posted on his Twitter account: "Please join me in praying for the...

Faith in Christ means belief in a real person, not a theoretical being, Pope Francis said in his homily at an April 18 Mass for Italian police serving around the Vatican. The Pope contrasted the...

In a message to the bishops of Argentina, who are meeting in Pilar this week, Pope Francis joked that “recent commitments” made it impossible for him to attend the gathering. The Pope, a former...

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC, has signaled his full support for a priest who had been the object of protests by homosexual activists. Celebrating Mass at George Washington University,...

An Ohio nun has escaped jail time after pleading guilty to voter fraud. Sister Marguerite Kloos admitted to forging her name on an absentee ballot that was sent to a recently deceased member of...

A German financial firm has named the director of the Vatican press office as recipient of its "Communicator of the Year" award. The Allianz Group honored Father Federico Lombardi, saying that he...

An Italian man who faces murder charges after beating a Catholic priest to death says that he was provoked by the priest’s bad sermons. Antonio Incandela told police that he could not tolerate...

Following a 77-44 legislative vote, New Zealand has become the twelfth nation to redefine marriage to include homosexual couples. The law goes into effect in August. “We find it bizarre that what...

A dialogue that took place in 2010 between the future Pope Francis and the rector of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary has been released in English with the title On Heaven and Earth: Pope...

President Barack Obama and other political leaders joined Cardinal Seán O’Malley and Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim religious leaders in speaking an interfaith prayer service at Boston’s...

Writing in L’Osservatore Romano, the Benedictine historian Father Mariano Dell’Omo compares the episcopal lineage of Pope Francis to that of other recent popes. “Pope Francis shares with the...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has asked Catholics to pray, fast, and abstain from meat on April 19 “for the approval of laws which will protect health care professionals...

In France, a parliamentary debate on same-sex marriage was cut off when a lawmaker accused supporters of the measure of “murdering children.” The resulting uproar prompted the speaker to end the...

The leaders of the Boy Scouts of America will recommend dropping a ban on openly homosexual members, a spokesman for the organization has announced. The national board of the Boy Scouts will meet...

The sister of a Jesuit priest who was kidnapped by Argentina's military dictatorship in 1976 has charged that Father Jorge Bergoglio--who was then the Jesuit provincial in Argentina, and is now Pope...

Pope Francis met on April 19 with President Rafael Correa Delgado of Ecuador. The Pope’s conversation with the South American leader centered on the need for solidarity with the poor, respect...

The Vatican Museums have announced a series of musical performances, to be held on Friday evenings from May 3 through the end of October. The concerts will be held in different rooms within the...

The bishops of Venezuela are appealing for calm after the head of the National Electoral Council announced an audit of the recent presidential election vote. According to initial results, Nicolás...

As the United Nations Security Council discussed sexual violence in armed conflict, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations repeatedly deplored rape and said that a subsequent...

As Iraqis participated in the first elections since the United States withdrew its troops, the leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church told Vatican Radio that he has observed an improvement in the...

The chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development has expressed “deep disappointment in the Senate’s failure to support reasonable...

Pakistan’s Christians are deeply concerned about a surge of Taliban attacks ahead of the upcoming Pakistani presidential election, according to a Dominican priest. The attacks include the April...

Writing in his archdiocesan newspaper, Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles called immigration reform “the civil rights test of our generation.” “It’s true that many immigrants crossed our...

“You are pastors, not functionaries,” Pope Francis told a group of 10 men after ordaining them to the priesthood on Sunday, April 21. In his homily for the ordination Mass, the Pope urged the...

A Catholic archdiocese in the Philippines plans to inform voters about the political candidates favored by the archdiocese in the country’s May 13 elections. “The people are asking to be told,”...

Archbishop Eamon Martin was installed on April 21 as the coadjutor of the Armagh archdiocese, with the right of succession. He will succeed Cardinal Sean Brady as the successor to St. Patrick and...

Pope Francis observed the annual day of prayer for vocations on April 21 by challenging young people to respond if they hear a calling. At his Angelus audience the Pope addressed his challenge to...

Pope Francis warned against people who use religion for their own personal gain, as he celebrated Mass on April 22 at the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Commenting on the day's Gospel, in which Jesus...

The path toward beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero has been “unblocked,” according to the postulator for the cause of the slain Salvadoran prelate. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia reported that...

Archbishop Piero Marini, the president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, has voiced his support for legal recognition of same-sex unions. “It is necessary to...

A panel of doctors has confirmed that there is no medical explanation for a healing attributed to the intercession of Blessed John Paul II, according to Andrea Tornielli of La Stampa. If theologians...

Pope Francis has canceled a special financial bonus paid to the cardinals who supervise the Vatican bank, the ANSA news service reports. Following an announcement last week that the Vatican would...

Jewish settlers briefly occupied a hermitage on land owned by the Latin-rite Patriarchate of Jerusalem, before moving away after protests by local Christians and Muslims. The Jewish settlers...

Pope Francis has written to congratulate Giorgio Napolitano on his re-election to the Italian presidency. After Napolitano was chosen to serve a new term, ending a long stalemate in the Italian...

The Vatican has reached agreement with the Lutheran World Federation on a joint statement to be released for the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s theses, the president of the Pontifical Council...

Syrian rebels have kidnapped two prominent Orthodox prelates while they were traveling outside Aleppo, the nation’s largest city. The abductions, which took place April 22, highlighted the...

At a teleconference hosted by staff of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), three prelates spoke in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. “Now is the time to address...

A US district court judge in western Pennsylvania has granted a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of the HHS mandate against the Seneca Hardwood Lumber Company. The for-profit company...

Church officials in Nigeria lamented the flow of weapons into Nigeria following the death of at least 185 people, many of them civilians, during a gun battle between Nigerian forces and members of...

Following the murder of the rector of St. Peter’s Pontifical Seminary in Bangalore, the 15 bishops who serve on the seminary board are demanding that “the government of Karnataka and the...

The National Committee for a Human Life Amendment (NCHLA), which works closely with the US bishops’ conference on pro-life issues, is calling for a renewed effort to lobby members of the House of...

Catholic Church officials in Great Britain have reportedly assured lawmakers that Catholics who marry into the royal family would not be expected to raise their children in the Catholic...

Cardinal Roger Mahony, the retired Archbishop of Los Angeles, fought against an extensive study of sex-abuse problems in American dioceses, newly released documents show. Cardinal Mahony strongly...

Pope Francis said that “it is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church,” in his homily at a Mass on April 23. For his name day on the feast of St. George, the Pope (who was born Jorge...

The panel of 8 cardinals assembled by Pope Francis to advise him on Vatican administration will only provide suggestions, not set policies, emphasized one member of the new panel. "We are not a...

French lawmakers formally approved same-sex marriage on April 23, but the debate on the issue, which has provoked massive demonstrations across the country, seems unlikely to end soon. The...

A federal district court judge has upheld the constitutionality of the Missouri House of Worship Protection Act, a 2012 law declaring that “a person commits the crime of disrupting a house of...

Father Nicolò Rusca (1563-1618), a priest who was tortured and killed at the instigation of Calvinists, was beatified on April 21 in Sondrio, the northern Italian city of 20,000 where he served for...

Following the kidnapping and (reported) release of two Orthodox prelates, a parish priest in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, discussed his ministry there. “Car bombs have been found near churches,”...

Since 2001, the number of priests who serve as military chaplains has fallen from 400 to fewer than 260. “We are a country at war, and the need for military chaplains is very grave,” said...

The New York Times has published a lengthy profile of Father Robert Coogan, a Brooklyn-born priest who serves as a prison chaplain in Saltillo, a northeastern Mexican city of 725,000 that is...

Contrary to early reports, two Orthodox bishops who were kidnapped in Syria on April 22 have not been released. "Archbishop Ibrahim and Metropolitan Boulos al-Yaziji until last night were still...

L’Osservatore Romano has criticized French President Francois Hollande for pushing forward with legal recognition of same-sex marriage despite popular protests. The French government “did not pay...

“The Catholic Church in Ireland had for far too long felt that it was safely ensconced in a ‘Catholic country,’” Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin told a New York audience in an April 24 lecture....

At the Last Judgment, Pope Francis told his general audience on April 24, “we will be judged by God on charity: on how we have loved our brothers and sisters, especially the weakest and neediest of...

The Catholic Church is not an organization, but a love story, Pope Francis told the congregation as he celebrated Mass on Wednesday, April 24. In his homily the Pope repeated the warning, which...

Four bare-breasted feminist demonstrators interrupted a lecture by Archbishop André-Marie Leonard of Brussels on April 23, and soaked the prelate with water. The topless protesters, members of...

An appeals court in Edinburgh, Scotland, has ruled that two Catholic midwives have the right to refuse involvement in abortions. Health-care officials in Glasgow had ruled last year that the two...

The Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization has announced the details of two upcoming initiatives for the Year of Faith. The Day of Confirmands will take place April 27-28. “Already...

Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, chairman of the...

The Chaldean Catholic bishop of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, has told the Fides news agency that money, rather than religion, is motivating those who have kidnapped Christians. The Greek...

The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations has told a UN working group that the poor should be included in designing anti-poverty programs. “The eradication of poverty must be...

Eden Foods, which describes itself as “the oldest natural and organic food company in North America and the largest independent manufacturer of dry grocery organic foods,” has filed suit against the...

A July visit to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day (WYD) will probably be the only foreign trip by Pope Francis in 2013, the Vatican has announced. At an April 25 briefing, the director of the...

Two Orthodox bishops who were kidnapped in Syria on April 22 remain in custody, Church officials have confirmed. Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos...

An audit of sex-abuse complaints in Irish dioceses has criticized officials in the Diocese of Clogher for their failure to take action against known abusers. The National Board for Safekeeping...

A Vatican dicastery has taken the unusual step of issuing a public denial that it is preparing a document on the reception of Communion by divorced and remarried Catholics. The Pontifical...

As the Vatican announced the early resignation of a French archbishop, the prelate reminded his flock of health problems that have troubled him for several years. On April 25 the Vatican...

The kidnapping of Orthodox bishops in Syria, and the possible involvement of rebels supported by the US government, have spurred new calls for an emphasis on religious freedom in American foreign...

Access to the web site of the Southern Baptist Convention has been blocked on US military bases, because of an official judgment that the site carries "hostile content," Fox News has reported. It...

A Serbian Orthodox bishop who was accused of sexual abuse of children has been removed from his post and sent to live in a monastery. Bishop Vasilije Kacavenda of Zvornik, who had been living in...

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has issued a report that recounts violations of religious freedom in the strife-torn nation. The report also calls upon...

Speaking at a meeting of the United Nations’ Commission on Population and Development, a leading Holy See diplomat decried population control measures aimed at immigrants. “We cannot fail to...

A working group of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences met from April 19-21 to discuss the evolution of man. “In this first transcendent origin of the human being we should in fact admit the...

The bishops of the Philippines will reconsecrate the nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on June 8. The bishops’ conference has directed “all our dioceses and parishes, schools and other...

French citizens in Jerusalem who are protesting the legalization of same-sex marriage in their native land have received praise from a local prelate. Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali of Jerusalem...

In an address to a Planned Parenthood fundraiser, US President Barack Obama charged that pro-life activists are engaged in "an assault on women's rights." Hailing Planned Parenthood's work, Obama...

Pope Francis met on April 26 with Andry Nirina Rajoelina, the president of the transitional government of Madagascar. A brief Vatican statement released after the meeting indicated that the...

Colombian lawmakers rejected a bid for legal recognition of same-sex marriage, with an overwhelming 51- 17 vote in the nation's Senate. The decisive defeat came after several hours of debate. The...

Health officials in Australia have recommended a heavy government subsidy for the abortifacient drug RU-486. Ignoring evidence regarding the health risks caused by the “abortion pill,” the...

Sheik Ahmed el Tayyeb, the head of Egypt's influential Al Azhar university, will visit Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II this weekend, to convey his greetings to Egypt's Christians as they celebrate...

A Catholic priest from Canada was killed in Port au Prince, Haiti, on April 24. Father Richard Joyal, a missionary of the Society of Mary, was fatally shot in the back as he left a bank,...

The Catholic bishops of South Korea have asked the Vatican to open a cause for the beatification of Bishop Francis Hong Yong-ho of Pyongyang. But the suggestion will encounter complications...

A German court has ruled against a man who had claimed that he had a right to work for a Catholic charity even after he legally renounced his Catholic faith. The plaintiff in the case had been...

An Israeli court has affirmed the government’s decision to confiscate most of the land owned by a Salesian convent as the Israeli West Bank barrier through the Cremisan Valley, which is located near...

A Bangladeshi Islamist group is threatening a massive May 5 march on Dhaka, the nation’s capital, unless the government agrees to 13 demands, including the death penalty for blasphemy and the...

A man rushed at the church choir during the final hymn at Mass at a large parish in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After stabbing four people, including the choir director and the flutist, the man was...

Christian Peschken, a convert to Catholicism who once served as chairman of the Social Awareness Committee of the Producers Guild of America, has secured $25 million in financial backing for a film...

The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement lamenting the abduction of the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo. “The kidnappings...

In an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, Argentine soccer star Javier Zanetti discussed an hour-long meeting that Pope Francis had with him, his wife, and his three children on April 25. “He...

Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian of Shanghai, one of the key figures in the struggle for control of the Catholic Church in China, died on April 17 at the age of 96 after a long struggle with cancer. In...

A New Jersey priest who was once convicted of molesting a young boy has been given pastoral assignments in which he had access to children, according to a report by the Newark Star-Ledger. If...

Pope Francis encouraged young people to “swim against the tide,” as he confirmed 44 young Catholics in an April 28 ceremony in St. Peter’s basilica. In his homily at the Confirmation Mass, the...

Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI will return to the Vatican on Wednesday, May 1, reports Andrea Tornielli of La Stampa. The retired Pontiff has been staying at the papal summer residence in Castel...

In a new exposé of the American abortion industry, the pro-life group Live Action has released video footage in which an abortionists in Washington, DC, says that he would do his best to assure the...

The president of the German Catholic bishops’ conference has expressed a willingness to discuss the ordination of women as deacons. Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg said that the question...

Pope Frances underlined the importance of sacramental Confession in his homily at a weekday Mass on April 29. The Pope told his congregation that in Argentina, there is a term for “the...

A week after they were kidnapped, two Syrian Orthodox prelates remained in captivity on April 29, with Church leaders unable to identify the kidnappers or their motives. Meanwhile a Christian...

The Vatican is still investigating charges of sexual misconduct that were lodged against Cardinal Keith O’Brien, and will not appoint any new bishops in Scotland until that investigation is...

Experts at the Vatican Museums believe that they have discovered the earliest representation of Native Americans by a European artist. During restoration work in the Borgia apartments, experts...

President Evo Morales of Bolivia, a socialist who has often clashed with the Church’s hierarchy, has accused the nation’s bishops of cooperating in a rash of thefts of jewels from churches. Six...

Representatives from 20 of the member nations of the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) will gather in London from May 1-3 to discuss relations with Islam. The theme of the...

As Toronto city council members debate whether to approve a major new casino, Cardinal Thomas Collins has issued a pastoral letter warning of the “grievous suffering experienced by individuals and...

The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview has given its Wilberforce Award to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York for his efforts to oppose the HHS mandate. “Thanks be to God, evangelicals...

The Vatican has announced the prayer intentions of Pope Francis for May 2013. The Pope’s general intention is “that administrators of justice may act always with integrity and right...

The Archdiocese of St. Louis recently hosted a conference devoted to door-to-door evangelization. “We’ve been tricked into thinking faith is a private matter,” said Kenneth Livengood, a...

Pope Francis met on April 30 with Israel’s President Shimon Peres, for talks that centered on the prospects for peace in the Middle East. During the meeting, Peres invited the Pontiff to visit...

Kim Daniels, a prominent conservative Catholic activist, has been hired as spokeswoman for the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Daniels has been...

The historic 2012 conviction of a Philadelphia archdiocesan official for endangering children was based on the testimony of a thoroughly untrustworthy witness, and driven by prosecutors determined...

Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI will move into his new residence at the Vatican on May 2, rather than May 1, the Vatican has announced. Correcting earlier reports about the retired Pope's plans,...

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco provided a strong defense of Church teaching on marriage in an interview with USA Today. “To legalize marriage between two people of the same sex...

Amid increasingly angry protests, the Archdiocese of Newark is defending a priest who has engaged in youth ministry in apparent violation of an agreement with prosecutors. Father Michael Fugee,...

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami is urging undocumented immigrants in the Miami region to become US citizens. The archbishop told a news conference that an estimated 300,000 people in the region...

The Vatican and the government of Argentina, in an unusual joint venture, have produced a series of stamps to celebrate the election of the first Argentine Pontiff. The 4-stamp series, featuring...