Catholic News Service

The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church said Russia's reasons for attacking Ukraine are nothing more than an excuse to justify its ultimate goal of wiping out the country and its people.

Doing nothing to overcome the divisions among Christians means allowing tensions to fester and even feed conflict, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis' secretary of state reaffirmed the pope's offer to go to Moscow personally to try to convince President Vladimir Putin to stop his war on Ukraine but said the Kremlin had yet to respond.

Taking the stand for a second time at his Vatican trial, Cardinal Angelo Becciu spent more than two hours reading a statement in which he claimed accusations of financial impropriety were an attempt to stain his reputation.

The Society of Jesus has suspended a prominent Chilean priest as it investigates accusations with a "sexual connotation," according to the Jesuits.

Days after the Salvadoran government extended emergency measures suspending some personal freedoms, a national Catholic organization of men and women religious called attention to the arbitrary detention of one of its members.

The Vatican believes Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki and his vicar general, Msgr. Markus Hofmann, did not violate canon law in their funding of investigations and hiring of communications consultants.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced to staff May 4 a dramatic reorganization of its communications department, including the closure of the Washington and New York offices of Catholic News Service.

Pope Francis expressed his opposition to nuclear weapons and the threat they pose to the world during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the Vatican said.

Elderly Christians are called to be consistent in their faith, otherwise they risk becoming a sign of hypocrisy for future generations, Pope Francis said.

Communities affected by mining — and church people working with them — draw strength from spiritualties that center on protecting what Pope Francis calls "our common home," according to members of the Churches and Mining Network, who met in Latin Ameria April 24–28.

Labor advocates were urged to follow the legacy of Msgr. George Higgins, the foremost "labor priest" of the 20th century, during a May 2 forum celebrating the Chicago priest's efforts on behalf of workers.

Retired Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle was laid to rest May 2 in the crypt of the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador, El Salvador, close to the resting place of St. Óscar Romero, whom he befriended and advised. But some human rights groups and others criticized Saenz.

A new study conducted for the bishops by Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate found that among seminarians slated for ordination this year the percentage who are white is 63%, down from 65% last year.

In a video message released May 3, Pope Francis encouraged young men and women to look to Mary as a model of courage in listening and fulfilling God's will.

The Supreme Court appears set to overturn its Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion for nearly 50 years, according to a leaked initial draft of a court opinion obtained by Politico and published online the evening of May 2.

A Mexican border diocese has issued an urgent appeal for assistance as hundreds of Haitian migrants arrive in the oft-violent city of Nuevo Laredo, hoping to apply for asylum in the United States.

The Vatican has permanently removed from priestly ministry a retired priest of the Toledo Diocese who was accused of multiple allegations of sexually abusing a minor.

Bishops and church delegates from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Afghanistan attended the meeting of the new Catholic Bishops' Conference of Central Asia in late April.

Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory wore a white hard hat instead of a bishop's miter as he processed to the altar April 26 for the second annual Building Trades' Workers Memorial Day Mass at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring.