Catholic News Service

A House subcommittee hearing on a U.S. law to improve U.S. religious freedom diplomacy efforts globally prompted a discussion on how to expand those freedoms for religious minorities, particularly for those in Muslim-majority countries.

Pope Francis picked a longtime ally to lead the world's largest archdiocese, where many professing the Catholic faith have fallen away from the church.

The blistering cold did not stop a group of 35 people from gathering in front of Sen. Cory Booker's office in Camden Dec. 6 to stand in solidarity with a couple facing deportation.

A Nativity scene and Christmas tree, like those displayed in St. Peter's Square, are visible reminders of God's benevolence and closeness to all men and women, Pope Francis said.

In a new letter to members of Congress, Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Florida, outlined a sweeping package of changes in pending tax reform legislation to ensure the final bill is "morally acceptable."

Young people in Myanmar and Bangladesh are a source of hope for a peaceful future in their countries after years of war and suffering, Pope Francis said.

The U.S. Supreme Court seemed equally divided in the long-anticipated oral arguments Dec. 5 about the baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple because of his religious beliefs.

Following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump planned to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Pope Francis expressed his concern that such a move would further destabilize the Middle East.

Pope Francis has named Washington Auxiliary Bishop Barry Knestout, 55, as the 13th bishop of Richmond, Virginia.

Pope Francis ordered the official publication of his letter to a group of Argentine bishops and their guidelines for the interpretation of "Amoris Laetitia."

Although Christmas this year is the day after the fourth Sunday of Advent, Catholics  looking to count a Sunday evening Mass Dec. 24 for both that Sunday obligation and Monday's Christmas Mass obligation will have to think again.

Gunmen killed a 72-year-old Catholic priest on the main Philippine island of Luzon Dec. 4, a day after police killed a pastor they tagged as a member of the communist New People's Army.

Church leaders seeking peace on the Korean Peninsula emphasized the need for "repentance and atonement" between North Korea and South Korea.

Like a sprout, humility needs to be nourished so that the Holy Spirit may grow within all Christians, Pope Francis said. 

The president of Croatia's bishops' conference condemned "unjust verdicts" at a United Nations war crimes trial, after a general publicly committed suicide when his appeal was rejected.

Oblate Father Alexis Joveneau was said to have inappropriately touched women and girls in the Innu community in Quebec where he ministered from 1953 until his death in 1992.

A typhoon that rapidly developed on the southern Indian coast claimed the lives of at least 32 poor Catholic fishermen who were at sea and another 200 more were missing.

Supposed miracles in the Legio Maria sect have raised concerns among Catholic parish leaders in western Kenya. Thousands of Catholics have joined the sect in search of healing.

Catholic leaders are calling for calm in Honduras as an unexpectedly close election careens toward a contentious outcome.

More than 2,400 religious faith leaders, including hundreds of Catholic women religious and dozens of priests, asked the U.S. Senate to vote down tax cut legislation.