World News
German bishops urge calm after anti-immigrant party gains in election
The president of the German bishops' conference urged "verbal disarmament" after Sept. 24 elections brought a far-right party into the Bundestag, or parliament, for the first time since World War II.
Religious minorities need protection, says top Vatican official
The "revolting reality" of recent wars shows just how urgent it is that the international community act to protect religious minorities in situations of conflict, Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Vatican foreign minister, told the U.N. General Assembly.
Mexicans respond to quake with generosity, concern about politicians
Donations from Caritas chapters across Mexico started streaming into affected areas after an earthquake rocked central Mexico Sept. 19, claiming more than 300 lives, leveling homes and churches and leaving thousands homeless.
Catholic approach to maternal health needed more than ever, doctor says
Twenty years ago, Dr. Robert Walley founded MaterCare International to serve the culture of life wherever mothers and their children are neglected or abandoned, and to support Catholic health care professionals so they can promote human dignity in their work.
Mexicans’ response to quake like ‘hopping on a torrent of solidarity’
Thousands of volunteers and rescue squads have flooded Mexico City, where workers, electricians, nurses, students and others work side by side to save the last victims and bring relief to the survivors.
Trappists’ gift of silence and simplicity are gifts the world needs
As "lovers of prayer ... of sobriety, of unity in charity," Trappist monks and nuns are witnesses to today's culture that "too often leads to the desire for goods and artificial paradises," Pope Francis said in Rome.
Fired Vatican auditor says he was forced out by papal reform’s foes
The Vatican responded to the accusation of accountant Libero Milone, saying he "illegally hired an external company" to spy on church workers, and would have been prosecuted for it if he had not resigned in June.
Church group accuses pope of ‘heresies’ in papal teaching on marriage
The letter originally was signed by 40 people, including several dozen priests and scholars, and delivered to Pope Francis in August. When they did not receive a response, they released the letter publicly Sept. 24 and launched a website.
Pope makes surprise visit to Rome rehabilitation center
Pope Francis, continuing his Friday afternoon visits to people who are suffering or in need of encouragement, visited a facility for people with neurological disorders or nerve damage.
Jesuits to continue working in Vatican communications
The Vatican Secretariat for Communication and the Jesuits have signed a formal agreement ensuring a Jesuit presence in Vatican media, even after the Jesuit-run Vatican Radio no longer exists as a separate entity.