World News
Laypeople push a church ‘on the move’ to peripheries, pope says
The Catholic Church needs laypeople with a vision of the future and who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty, Pope Francis told members of the Vatican laity department that will merge in the curia reform.
U.S. embassy, parish in Rome gather to pray for Orlando victims
Forty-nine votive candles burned in front of the altar in a Rome church as people gathered to pray for the victims of the massacre June 12 in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub.
Approach families with respect because God is at work, pope says
Like Moses before the burning bush, those talking about the real-life situations of families must take off their sandals because they are standing on holy ground, Pope Francis said.
Too many couples do not understand marriage is for life, pope says
Because most people today do not understand that sacramental marriage really is a bond that binds them to each other for life, many marriages today can be considered invalid, Pope Francis said.
Special forces: Graduates head home armed with skills to fight abuse
Nineteen men and women from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas became the first graduates awarded special certification in the safeguarding of minors.
European bishops urge expansion of EU role in peacebuilding
A commission of Catholic bishops has called on the European Union to more actively promote peace and reconciliation to ease tensions and conflicts on country borders.
Pope thanks circus performers for bringing joy to often dark world
"You cannot imagine what good you do, the good you sow," he said June 16 during a special audience celebrating the jubilee of circus and traveling-show performers.
Last priest who was imprisoned in Dachau camp dies
He was arrested in October 1940 by German authorities because of his staunch Catholicism and taken to Dachau, near Munich, five months later.
Nuncio praises progress made on HIV/AIDS but warns against complacency
"AIDS is far from over ... despite remarkable progress," Archbishop Bernardito Auza said.
Patriarch urges leaders to attend pan-Orthodox meeting
Four of the churches -- the Antiochian, Bulgarian, Georgian and Russian Orthodox -- announced they would not attend the gathering scheduled for June 19-26 on the Greek island of Crete.