Catholic News Service

The Tokyo Archdiocese suspended public Masses until Sept. 12 as COVID-19 cases continue to spread in Japan, especially in the capital and adjacent areas.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in a ruling late Aug. 13 blocked Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security from implementing a June 1 memo in which he formally ended the Trump administration's Migration Protection Protocols, known as MPP or the "Remain in Mexico" policy.

A Catholic shelter on the Mexico-Guatemala border has been assisting busloads of migrants who are being expelled from the United States to southern Mexico, then transported to Guatemala and dropped in a jungle town.

Many Polish Catholics are mourning the death of Archbishop Henryk Hoser, a former Vatican envoy who helped rebuild the church in post-genocide Rwanda and later represented the pope at the Marian shrine in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Relief workers say recovery will be complicated in Haiti because the Aug. 14 quake came on the heels of July's presidential assassination, of an economic and ongoing political crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and an active storm season now underway.

Mary's assumption into heaven reminds people that they are also called by God to eternal life in heaven through humility and serving him, Pope Francis said. After reciting the Angelus prayer on the feast of the Assumption Aug. 15, Pope Francis also prayed that those enjoying the summer holiday would find "serenity and peace." 

People are sleeping outdoors because of aftershocks, and an approaching tropical storm is expected to bring heavy rains, flooding and landslides, causing more hardship.

Advocates, political leaders and a Maronite Catholic bishop gathered on Zoom for a virtual seminar to express support for Lebanon's Maronite patriarch, who came under pressure after calling for the Lebanese army to take control of the southern part of Lebanon, where Hezbollah is engaging in skirmishes with Israel.

In amicus brief declaration, Catholic Charities director says agency is responding to church teaching of upholding human dignity.

The U.S. bishops' migration chair said Aug. 12 that the Catholic leaders were pleased the $3.5 trillion spending plan passed by the Senate a day earlier would provide "lawful permanent status to qualified immigrants."

The Supreme Court announced Aug. 12 that it will not hear an appeal from a group of students at Indiana University who are opposed to the university's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

While the Holy See continues to dialogue with the Chinese government, the church is proud of Catholics who have held on to their faith in the country, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

A native of Czechoslovakia who fled persecution by that country's communist regime and served in Minnesota for nearly 30 years before being appointed a bishop in the Czech Republic died Aug. 10 in California. Retired Bishop Peter Esterka was 85.

In Greece, nearly 600 fires have gutted hundreds of homes and scorched at least 200,000 acres of land.

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago offered prayers for slain police officer Ella French and her family and friends "as they cope with the terrible reality that their loved one was taken from them in another act of senseless violence."

A federal judge sided with an Indianapolis archdiocesan high school and the Indianapolis Archdiocese in a lawsuit filed against them by a former guidance counselor whose contract was not renewed because of her same-sex marriage.

More than 100 people walked about 6 miles from the Onondaga Nation to Columbus Circle in downtown Syracuse to honor victims and survivors of residential schools for Indigenous children.

When U.S. service members were in a foreign land, unsure of the way and unable to speak the language, brave locals came to their assistance. Now, the Afghans who served as interpreters and guides for the U.S. military need help adjusting to a new country.

Prosecutors asked Vatican judges to revoke an order to give lawyers representing Cardinal Angelo Becciu video and audio depositions of their main witness.

Young people have a key role to play in bringing about transformations needed to slow global temperature rise, Catholic leaders say.