World News
Congo’s bishops condemn repression, demand elections
In a 24-point message after their June 19-23 plenary in Kinshasa, the bishops said they were "profoundly alarmed" by deteriorating economic, security and humanitarian conditions, as well as by rampant corruption and fiscal abuses.
Pope tells archbishops not to be ‘armchair Catholics,’ but apostles
The Catholic Church's new cardinals and new archbishops must be willing to risk everything, patiently endure evil and bear crosses like Jesus did, Pope Francis said.
Cardinal Pell will face sexual abuse charges in Australia
Now a Vatican official, Australian Cardinal George Pell will answer unspecified charges in court July 18. "I'm innocent of these charges. They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me."
Serve just like Jesus did, pope tells 5 new cardinals
Cardinals are not called to be "princes" of the church but to serve the people of God and tackle the sins of the world, Pope Francis told the new cardinals who hail from Mali, Spain, Sweden, Laos and El Salvador.
Caritas Palermo: First stop for many migrants who cross Mediterranean
The U.N.'s migration organization, the International Organization for Migration, reports that more than 1,850 migrants have lost their lives so far this year crossing between continents.
Military says priest kidnapped in southern Philippines was seen alive
Father Teresito Soganub, vicar general of the Prelature of Marawi, was taken hostage May 23 by terrorist gunmen who attacked the city of Marawi.
British doctors’ union supports campaign to decriminalize abortion
The outcome of the vote at the annual representative meeting in Bournemouth, England, means that a political campaign to allow abortion up to birth for any reason will now be seen to have the approval of Britain's doctors.
No church for old men: Cardinals called to be grandfathers, pope says
"We are grandfathers called to dream and to give our dreams to the young people of today. They need it so that from our dreams, they can draw the strength to prophesy and carry out their task," the pope told about 50 members of the College of Cardinals.
Unity is not just ‘bland uniformity,’ pope tells Orthodox delegation
The dream of restoring full unity between Catholics and Orthodox can be a prophetic sign of legitimate differences coexisting rather than just simply agreeing on everything, Pope Francis said.
Impact of legalized marijuana needs greater study, Vatican official says
Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson said that while scientific studies on the therapeutic uses of marijuana must be evaluated, the ongoing "lively" debate on its legalization for possible therapeutic uses "tends to neglect any ethical judgement of the substance, in itself negative like with any other drug."