World News
Mexican priest stabbed in his parish
Father Ruben Alcantara Diaz was attacked April 18, just prior to the 7 p.m. Mass at Our Lady of Carmen Parish in Cuautitlan Izcalli, the Diocese of Izcalli said in a short statement.
Motion fails: Parliament wanted to direct CCCB on papal abuse apology
A conservative member of Parliament blocked a motion calling on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to invite Pope Francis to apologize for the Catholic Church's role in abuse at Indian residential schools.
Pope calls German cardinal to Rome to discuss eucharistic sharing
Cardinal Reinhard Marx said that "we recognize a challenging and urgent pastoral task" to determine if and under what circumstances couples of different denominations who regularly go to church together can receive the Eucharist together.
Caritas Syria: Air strikes reopened wounds, but agency still able to help
Caritas Syria said the recent massive missile strikes by the United States, Britain and France, intended to weaken Syria's chemical weapons capability, have not hindered its assistance to the country's poor and internally displaced.
Benedictine abbeys can offer hectic world oasis of peace, pope says
Pope Francis asked the world's Benedictines to continue to offer oases of peace and silence to a busy and distracted world.
Irish pro-lifers launch ‘vote no’ campaign for referendum on unborn
The Love Both campaign group warned that if the Irish Constitution is amended, "Ireland will go from being a country that protects unborn babies to one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world."
In Henan, Chinese Catholics warned to follow rules on religious affairs
A clampdown on religious freedom has intensified in recent months, with crosses removed from churches, minors banned from entering churches, church-run kindergartens closed and children expelled from Mass.
Name given at baptism gives sense of identity, belonging, pope says
"Without a name, we remain unknown, without rights and duties. God calls each one of us by name, loving us individually in the concreteness of our history," the pope said.
Church’s social teaching always a ‘work in progress,’ archbishop says
While some fundamental principles of the Catholic Church's social teaching are permanent, there are ever-changing social and political conditions that can change how it is applied, said Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.
In Vatican visit, pope invites Villanova to be ‘workshop of encounter’
While Pope Francis did not discuss basketball with Villanova coach Jay Wright and officials of the Augustinian-run university, he did offer words of encouragement and praise for the school April 14.