Catholic News Service

Pope Francis urged the bishops of Bolivia to faithfully guide their flocks as breakaway groups comprised of former priests and seminarians are gaining ground in the country.

To better prepare priests and pastoral workers to help meet the challenges they face today, Pope Francis is strengthening the Pontifical John Paul II Institute and changing its name.

Pope Francis praised the first ever "multireligious" half-marathon in Rome, which was sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture, after thousands of runners participated.

Those who govern are called to be humble and serve the good of the people God entrusts to them rather than the interests of their party or themselves, Pope Francis said.

A senior Philippine priest taken hostage by Islamic State-inspired militants in the southern city of Marawi has been freed after almost four months of captivity.

Lake Poopo dried up three years ago, and 30 million fish died almost overnight. Along with the fish went the livelihood of the residents of a few dozen Aymara and Uru communities.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster described the attempted bombing of a rush hour Tube train in London as "yet another cowardly attack." 

The process of "journeying together" during the Catholic Church's synods of bishops offers a map for the church's outreach, Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl said Sept. 12.

Updated: Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office, on the Vatican's investigation of diplomat recalled from the U.S. embassy after he becomes involved in criminal investigation involving child pornography.

Religious freedom requires tolerance of differing viewpoints in addition to the free practice of faith to assure civility in American society, speakers said during a Brookings Institution program.

Colombia's long and arduous path toward reconciliation and a lasting peace after nearly half a century of war is a sign of hope for all Christians, Pope Francis said.

Several young people attending a Vatican-sponsored seminar urged the bishops to be open to listening to youths talk and ask questions about love, sex and sexuality.

Three Catholic organizations working on sustainable development have developed a tool to measure and rank countries' efforts in human and environmental development.

A top U.S. bishops' committee urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to extend the renewal deadline for those covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program who live in Texas and Florida.

Belgium's Brothers of Charity Group, which runs 15 centers for psychiatric patients, has rejected a Vatican order to stop offering euthanasia.

Today, Greenfield in California's Salinas Valley looks and feels different because Fr. Enrique Herrera believed that the Catholic Church could make life better for the city's residents.

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked part of a lower court ruling that would have allowed more refugees to avoid Trump's travel ban. 

Indian Salesian Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted by Islamic State militants in Yemen and held captive for more than a year, was freed.

The hurricane left hardly any place near its path untouched, knocking out power to millions, flooding cities and leveling entire islands in the Caribbean.

The U.N. Refugee Agency reports as many as 350,000 Rohingya Muslims have entered Bangladesh in the past two weeks after fleeing violence in neighboring Myanmar.