News
Cardinal tells Australian abuse hearing he won’t defend indefensible
Cardinal Pell gave evidence at a special session convened in Rome's Hotel Quirinale via video link to the Commission in Australia, from where he was questioned for four hours by Gail Furness, senior counsel assisting the commission.
St. Louis archbishop pushes for switch to Girl Scout alternatives
The Archdiocese of St. Louis has formed a new Catholic Committee for Girls Formation that is being charged with ministry to all girls in the archdiocese.
Don’t let economic freedom trample human rights, pope tells employers
Don't allow the market to be "an absolute, but honor the requirements of justice," he said in an audience at the Vatican Feb. 27 with representatives of Confindustria -- a federation of employers and the chamber of commerce in Italy.
Persecution by ISIS draws once-divided Christians closer
"Just as in the early church," Pope Francis said, the murder of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians by Islamic State militants "has become the seed of Christian unity ... what unites us is greater than what divides us."
Court favors diocese in same-sex discrimination claim
A Missouri circuit court judge granted the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph's motion for summary judgment in a suit filed by a woman who was fired from her parish job after her same-sex marriage was publicized.
Pope calls for ‘harmonized response’ to migrant crisis in Greece
"A harmonized response can be effective and equally distribute the weight," he said Feb. 28 after reciting the Angelus with visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square.
For ‘Mercy Friday’ initiative, pope visits young addicts at rehab center
To the complete surprise of the 55 residents, Pope Francis showed up in his compact Ford Escort at the San Carlo Community Feb. 26 with just a driver.
Canadian report recommends widening access to physician-assisted suicide
The mentally ill and consenting minors should be allowed to choose physician-assisted suicide, a federal parliamentary committee recommended.
Shanahan students take on four weeks of fasting to ‘live simply’
Global Awareness Month is wrapping up at Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown, where students fasted and refrained from the Internet and other media to live in solidarity with less fortunate people.
Vatican envoys risk their lives to end ‘World War III,’ archbishop says
"Let's not be kidding ourselves: If we are going to bring peace, if we are going to secure countries and communities, particularly people who are persecuted, we are going to have to make an unprecedented effort," said Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher.