Catholic News Service

Chile and Peru, the two countries that Pope Francis will visit Jan. 15-21, have recently received thousands of migrants seeking safety and opportunities. 

Like the scribes and Pharisees of old, pastors end up leading a double life when they detach themselves from God and his people, the pope said in his homily Jan. 9.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down a Baltimore ordinance that would have forced pro-life pregnancy centers in the city to post signs stating they do not provide or refer for abortions or contraceptives.

After new Federal Communications Committee chair Ajit Pai announced his intentions in April to redo federal policy on net neutrality, the Dec. 14 vote to rewrite the rules should have seemed anticlimactic.

A lifestyle that is environmentally ethical cannot be "schizophrenic" — for example, by showing more care for animals and forests, than for the plight of people, Pope Francis said.

A border bishop pleaded with the Trump administration to think about the well-being of some Salvadoran immigrants' children who are U.S. citizens.

A bishop, seven Trappist monks and 11 other religious men and women killed by extremists in Algeria in the 1990s will soon be recognized as martyrs, the postulator for their causes said.

In late December, three bishops from Kazakhstan published a statement on "the immutable truths about sacramental marriage" in response to Amoris Laetitia.

As 2017 was drawing to a close, the horrors of war and people's yearnings for peace were on Pope Francis' mind and in his prayers.

Pope Francis' weeklong trip to Chile and Peru in January will take him to two regions where environmental issues and demands for indigenous land rights have led to sometimes-violent conflict.

Fear and the shame of admitting one's own sins leads to pointing fingers and accusing others rather than recognizing one's own faults, Pope Francis said.

The Society of Jesus has denounced threats made against an outspoken Honduran Jesuit who has highlighted accusations of widespread irregularities in the country's recent presidential election.

Church leaders in Congo expressed shock after security forces fired on Catholic protesters, leaving at least eight dead and 120 people detained.

In his ministry and in his travels, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said he is reminded of the true meaning of hope by people living in situations the world would see as hopeless.

Foreign trips, a focus on the rights and needs of migrants and refugees and a Synod of Bishops dedicated to young people all are on the 2018 calendar for Pope Francis.

The political ads that aired in the Washington metro region in the fall of 2017 made many stop in their tracks. 

While efforts by congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act over the first half of 2017 dominated the headlines on the health care stage, there were other issues that also merited attention.

In an increasingly complex world of unprecedented scientific and technological challenges, theologians must communicate what is essential about life and help Christians proclaim God's merciful, saving grace, Pope Francis told a group of Italian theologians.

The wave of accusations of sexual harassment, misconduct and assault from Hollywood to Capitol Hill and many places in between in recent months has been described as a revolution, a moment and a time for national reckoning.

While much of the focus has been on the Supreme Court, state legislatures, governors and juries in the ongoing fight to abolish capital punishment in the United States, the head of the Death Penalty Information Center suggested that counties may be key.