Catholic News Service

Protecting "our common home for present and future generations is one of the most urgent demands of our time," Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations, said Oct. 13.

The Supreme Court, in an unsigned order Oct. 13, has cleared the path for the Trump administration to end the census count early by blocking a lower court order that had required the government to continue with the U.S. count until the end of October.

Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals met virtually Oct. 13, discussing the updated draft of a constitution reorganizing the Roman Curia and steps to implement it, the Vatican press office said.

A predicted return of desert locusts in East Africa is triggering concerns among Catholic leaders and experts in the region, where communities are still recovering from the destruction by the first wave early this year.

Thousands of people are once again leaving Venezuela as neighboring countries like Colombia, Ecuador and Peru reopen their economies and lift restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. The poorest are leaving on foot, and joining 5 million people who have already left Venezuela to escape hyperinflation, food shortages and the lowest wages in the Western Hemisphere.

The purpose of crying out to the Lord in prayer is not to get used to suffering, but to remember that God, and not humankind, is the only source of salvation and consolation, Pope Francis said.

Continuing its efforts to combat money laundering and financial mismanagement, the Vatican amended its transparency laws and expanded the role of its financial watchdog agency in monitoring financial transactions.

Before reciting the Angelus prayer Oct. 11, the pope reflected on Jesus' parable from the Gospel of Matthew about the king who prepared a wedding feast for his son; when the originally invited guests did not arrive, he sent his messengers out to invite anyone and everyone.

The treatment that President Donald Trump has received to fight COVID-19 has turned the focus on an experimental drug that shows promise in combating the coronavirus but is raising ethical questions about the cell line that helped researchers develop the medicine.

A special court in Mumbai has placed Jesuit Fr. Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist, in judicial custody until Oct. 23 amid protests in many parts of the country.

In an act of solidarity with the 350 parishioners of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Pearl River, a visibly upset New Orleans Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond celebrated Mass Oct. 10 for a second consecutive week for the parish and reconsecrated its church and its new altar. The parish had learned a week before that its 13th pastor appointed in July 2019, Father Travis Clark, was arrested Sept. 30 for alleged obscenity with two women in their church.

The predominant global economic system is "unsustainable," particularly in its impact on the environment, Pope Francis said.

The Diocese of Brooklyn filed a lawsuit in federal court Oct. 8 against the state of New York, charging that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new orders reducing church capacity violates the First Amendment's guarantee of the free exercise of religion.

Two priests connected to a minor seminary located at the Vatican will appear before a Vatican criminal court Oct. 14 on charges related to the alleged sexual abuse of students at the seminary.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food Program, the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security.

The U.S. Supreme Court is temporarily allowing drugs used to medically induce abortions to be mailed or delivered without requiring the recipient to make a doctor's visit during the coronavirus pandemic.

Catholic leaders in Nicaragua have expressed alarm at several proposed laws that could prohibit groups and individuals from receiving foreign funding and further curtail freedom of expression in the Central American country.

The latest financial transparency measures enacted at the Vatican are meant to restore order, ensuring money serves its purpose and does not become an object of idolatry, Pope Francis told European finance experts.

After a federal appeals court rejected its motion for an emergency injunction against California Gov. Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 restrictions on indoor worship, a Pasadena-based apostolic Christian church filed a brief Oct. 5 for that court to consider the "full merits" of a preliminary injunction.

The German Catholic bishops' conference and the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany plan to continue their discussions about shared Communion, reported the German Catholic news agency, KNA.