Catholic News Service

During the closing Mass of the centennial year commemorating the 100th anniversary of the placing of the foundation stone of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory encouraged Catholics to reflect on Mary as the Mother of God and the entire church.

Without naming the president, the Salvadoran bishops' conference criticized an array of actions led by him and his loyalists, from an interpretation of El Salvador's constitution aimed at allowing his reelection bid to proposals that could legalize abortion, as well as a recent law that turned Bitcoin into legal tender in the country.

In Slovakia, Pope Francis prayed that Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the ninth-century missionary brothers who evangelized Central and Eastern Europe before the division of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, would intercede for all religious faiths in the country.  

"Little Amal," an 11-foot puppet who is on a 5,000-mile pilgrimage from the Syrian border through eight countries to the United Kingdom, got to offer Pope Francis her enormous hand, which he welcomed by grasping one finger.

The oldest record of 1,700 years of Jewish life in Germany has arrived in Cologne, on loan from the Vatican Library.

The Francis Chronicles: The Gospel should never be used as a means to an end, wielded like an ideology, Pope Francis told representatives of the Claretian Missionaries.

In his first appearance at the National Press Club as archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wilton Gregory on Sept. 8 emphasized the importance of protecting the environment and upholding the dignity of human life at all stages.

Residents of homes run by archdiocesan ministry, left without power after storm, were not evacuated earlier because there was no mandatory order, officials said.

The U.S. Catholic Church in 2020 had 18,075 permanent deacons serving in ministry, a decrease of 118 deacons, less than 1%, from the previous year, according to data collected by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate in Washington

A major arms fair in London has drawn fire from Catholic bishops and justice and peace groups who say the trade in weaponry fuels conflict around the world.

Pope Francis named a Chilean priest who had testified against his abusive mentor to be secretary of the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy.

There is no place for discrimination or divisive distinctions among people who believe in Christ, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience.

Polarization across society has prompted the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to launch an initiative that looks to bring people together to serve the common good.

After a top court in El Salvador ruled that a president can seek a second term, even though it's against the constitution, the country's only cardinal called on the world to help preserve democracy.

The Vatican has issued the preparatory document and a "handbook" for dioceses as part of the global church's preparation for the 2023 assembly of the Synod of Bishops, discussing the theme, "For a synodal church: communion, participation and mission."

Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholemew and Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury issue first-ever joint statement calling for people to 'choose to eat, travel, spend, invest and live differently'

The "present ills of our economy" invite Catholics to reflect on ways to propose new and creative responses to vital human needs in a post-pandemic world, said Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City in the U.S. bishops' annual Labor Day statement.

The Mexican bishops' migrant ministry has disavowed a proposal from Mexico's National Immigration Institute that would establish a camp for migrants and asylum-seekers stuck in the southern city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala. The issue seems to have generated some confusion.

With several Northeast states now joining major metropolitan regions in the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Ida-related disaster areas, Catholic Charities agencies are using virtual deployment systems refined during the coronavirus pandemic to maximize their outreach to those in need.

Pope Francis' social encyclical on the environment has been the spark for a growing cadre of young adults to understand the integral connection between people and the Earth, care for creation and the harmful effects of climate change on all life.