Catholic News Service

Two priests were gunned down as they returned from Candlemas celebrations in a corner of Mexico rife with drug cartel violence and increasingly lethal for prelates.

In the complex peace process now underway in Colombia after 52 years of violent conflict, the Catholic Church works on many levels to replace a culture of violence with one of encounter.

Catholics should use the season of Lent to look for signs and symptoms of being under the spell of false prophets and of living with cold, selfish and hateful hearts, Pope Francis said.

Usury is a grave sin that must be fought by building more just and humane economic and financial systems as well as by teaching people to live within their means, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Vatican Feb. 5 for a discussion that included the status of Jerusalem and the need to achieve peace in the Middle East.

Lift up your eyes from your smartphones and see those who share your journey of faith and those who are longing for the Word of life, Pope Francis told consecrated men and women.

Multiple news reports indicate the Vatican has made substantial progress in reaching an agreement with China's communist government on the naming of bishops for several dioceses.

Every religious leader must unmask and condemn any attempt to use God's name to perpetuate evil and to justify hatred, violence and exploitation, Pope Francis said.

The Congolese bishops' conference defended its "engagement in actions affecting politics" in a Feb. 1 website statement, following church talks with a delegation from the Southern African Development Community.

A 10 percent tariff slapped on imports of Canadian newsprint by the United States is playing havoc with newspaper budgets across the United States, and Catholic newspapers are no exception.

A provincial governor denied allegations by Catholic Church authorities that he ordered police to prevent the celebration of Mass Jan. 21.

The strenuous relationship between the Venezuelan regime and local church leaders deteriorated further in January, with President Nicolas Maduro calling two bishops "devils in a cassock."

Catholic bishops are looking to "transform" Catholic schools in response to decades of declining enrollment that has forced hundreds of schools to close since 2005.

Listening to the Scripture readings at Mass is hearing God speak directly to his people, offering spiritual sustenance and needed guidance for life's difficult journey, Pope Francis said.

The Irish government announced it will hold a referendum in late May asking citizens whether they want to retain or delete the constitutional article that provides for the equal right to life of the mother and her unborn child "with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother."

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York decried the Senate's failure to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of gestation, and called on senators to "rethink" their stance on late-term abortions.

Catholics who have accused top members of the Roman Curia of making overtures to China's communist government without the knowledge of Pope Francis are "fostering confusion and controversy," said the director of the Vatican press office.

Failure and disappointment in the Catholic Church's response to abuse should be an impetus to expand and improve healing and prevention, said a researcher at Rome's Center for Child Protection.

Smiling and singing "Amazing Grace" and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," hundreds of high school and college students led tens of thousands of pro-life supporters along San Francisco's Market Street in the 14th Annual Walk for Life West Coast.

Pope Francis' visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Basilica of Santa Sophia in Rome combined elements of his parish visits with elements of his visits to centers for migrants and refugees.