Catholic News Service

In a wide-ranging interview with top staff of America magazine, Pope Francis decried increased polarization within the Catholic Church, affirmed the need to involve more women in church administration but ruled out women priests and emphasized the importance of the ministry of individual bishops over the role of a bishops' conference.

The centuries' old silver fir tree that had been destined to become the centerpiece Christmas decoration in St. Peter's Square will now live, perhaps to see another century.

A sensory-friendly celebration of the Mass was part of the annual conference of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, held last month in Spring, Texas. 

Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Virginia called for prayers after a second mass shooting in the state in just 10 days.

At his weekly general audience, Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine, remembered victims of famine and described how spiritual consolation can motivate people to do good.  

People who work for the Catholic Church in Germany and live in a second marriage or in a same-sex partnership will in most cases no longer have to brace for their dismissal under new employment guidelines being discussed by the country's bishops.

The Diocese of Oakland, California, issued a statement of support for those suffering after a Nov. 19 attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado. The diocese also clarified that comments made by one of its deacons on Twitter following the shooting are "not representative of the church's teachings."

Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin has lashed out at the "pathetic responses" to victims of clergy sexual abuse and the "whitewashing" of crimes in the wake of the latest abuse scandal to rock the Irish Church.

Christians and Jews are called to give witness to their faith by "working to make the world more fraternal, combating forms of inequality and promoting greater justice," Pope Francis told members of the World Jewish Congress.

Catholic leaders have condemned the Nov. 19 attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that killed at least five people and injured at least 25.

Meeting the U.S.-born patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Pope Francis expressed his hope that Christians of the East and West could finally agree on a common date for celebrating Easter.

Pope Francis has chosen Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, his ambassador to Great Britain, to be the new prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches, a Vatican office where he had served as undersecretary until 2001.

With several of his cousins and their children and grandchildren present, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the Asti cathedral, giving a nod to his family roots and drawing people's attention to the root of Christian faith: the cross of Jesus.

Nigeria is currently experiencing severe flooding that has destroyed homes and farmlands, especially in communities along the floodplains of two major rivers — the Niger and the Benue.

The "ad limina" visits of the bishops of Germany were unusual in several respects and were dominated by discussion of the German church's Synodal Path.

The Vatican is willing to do whatever it takes to broker a cease-fire and bring an end to the war on Ukraine, Pope Francis said.

Italian diocesan "listening centers" for victims of abuse took reports from 89 people against 68 priests or other church personnel in 2020 and 2021, the Italian bishops' conference reported.

A Ukrainian Catholic archbishop asked his fellow U.S. bishops Nov. 16 to pray for Ukraine, and, if possible, to go to Ukraine and pray there for its people, inviting them on a trip he is embarking on in February.

The March for Life will take place Jan. 20, but the Youth Rally and Mass for Life, which have taken place ahead of every march for more than two decades, have been canceled by the Washington archdiocese.

The Vatican has advanced the sainthood cause of the late Archbishop Hélder Câmara of Olinda and Recife, who may soon be called "venerable."