World News
Key Spanish archdiocese to combine parishes amid falling numbers
The Barcelona Archdiocese will group three to six smaller parishes together, resulting in 48 larger pastoral communities. Priests are now "pushed to the limit," and one priest currently was running 40 parishes single-handedly.
Nuncio to Mexico says sex abuse cases were ‘covered up’
Although the crimes of clerical abuse had long been downplayed in Mexico or seen as a problem of "Anglo" dioceses, Catholic leaders increasingly follow a zero-tolerance policy promoted by Pope Francis.
Migration, climate, debt crises must not be ignored, pope tells diplomats
As the COVID-19 pandemic has made people more aware of their interdependence, countries must take courageous steps to develop a global "culture of care," Pope Francis told diplomats to the Vatican.
Pope calls for prayers for forgiveness, coexistence in Holy Land
Pope Francis has called on the world's Catholics to pray May 22 on the vigil of Pentecost to "implore the gift of peace" and dialogue in the Holy Land.
Vatican revises synod process, emphasizing local consultation
Approving the revision of the entire process of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis has asked that it begin with serious, widespread consultations with laypeople on the diocesan level.
Pope appeals for peace in Holy Land, says death of children ‘unacceptable’
The injury and death of so many innocent people caused by escalating violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip is "terrible" said Pope Francis, who warned it risked sinking the region into "a spiral of death and destruction."
World Youth Day guidelines focus on diocesan celebrations
The Vatican issued pastoral guidelines for local WYD celebrations "to ensure that younger generations feel that they are at the center of the church's attention and pastoral concern."
Petition launched to show Catholic support for healthy planet, people
The Global Catholic Climate Movement is sponsoring an online petition calling on global leaders, before their U.N. conferences in the fall, to take action on climate change and biodiversity.
U.S. climate envoy meets pope, speaks at Vatican conference
John Kerry met privately with Pope Francis May 15, the day after giving a keynote address at a closed-door meeting of two Vatican science academies. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jenet Yellen spoke in a related conference, saying, "The cost of inaction is too great."
‘Old habit’ of covering up abuse must stop everywhere, pope says
"Even today, we see how often in families the first reaction is to cover everything up," Pope Francis told an association fighting against child abuse. He added that it has always been the first reaction by other institutions, too, including the church.