Catholic News Service

The sainthood cause of Fr. Edward Flanagan took a step forward July 22 with the presentation of the "positio" to the Vatican Congregation for Saints' Causes, along with a letter of support from Omaha Archbishop George Lucas.

The church in Africa needs courageous Catholics who will become involved in the continent's challenges, said participants at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.

Prevention is key in protecting minors from abuse, Pope Francis said.

After nearly two weeks of massive protests in the fallout of scandals involving corruption and offensive private messages, Gov. Ricardo Rossello of Puerto Rico resigned from office.

Bishop Mark Brennan, named by Pope Francis July 23 as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, acknowledged that he will face difficulties in his new post.

Pope Francis has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Mark Brennan of Baltimore to head the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia.

The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, has selected a new external auditor as part of the progress that has been made since Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael Bransfield as head of the diocese in September 2018.

Philippine church leaders said the filing of sedition charges against four Catholic bishops, three priests, and several government critics are "beyond belief."

In Harlan County, Kentucky, a priest helps hundreds of miners secure their basic needs.

During a search for the remains of a young Italian woman missing for more than 30 years, workers discovered an enormous number of bones inside two ossuaries in a building next to a Vatican cemetery.

News that officials in the Trump administration are considering "zeroing out" the number of refugees accepted by the United States brought an immediate outcry from the chairman of the U.S. bishops' migration committee and leaders of Catholic and other faith-based agencies that resettle refugees.

Pope Francis urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to put an end to his country's eight-year-long conflict and seek reconciliation for the good of the nation and its vulnerable people.

A Pennsylvania bishop has called on U.S. lawmakers "to please work as hard as you can" on legislation that "releases the unnecessary stranglehold on immigration to the United States that has caused tragic and inhumane consequences."

Change is roiling the water around Santarem. The city already has a large port where riverboats call with passengers, and freighters load soy and corn from the country's agricultural heartland.

The settlement resolves 15 lawsuits for sexual abuse claims in the northwestern Minnesota diocese filed between April 2016 and May 2017 because of the Minnesota Child Victims Act.

The July 17 vote came just two weeks after the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favor of an amendment to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill to permit both abortion and same-sex marriage in the province.

Mention of the Amazon is likely to conjure images of snaking rivers, seemingly endless forests, indigenous villagers and exotic animals. But poor harvests or a desire for jobs and an education drive people from rural areas to fast-growing cities, which generally are poorly planned and ill-equipped to deal with the influx of newcomers.

Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who served on the court for nearly 35 years, died July 16 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at age 99 after suffering complications from a stroke the previous day.

Catholic bishops in the Philippines criticized "the continuing destruction of our common home" and called for "ecological conversion" amid "climate emergency."