World News
Autism conference puts focus on families
Caring for people with autism spectrum disorders is caring for families, said Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry.
Catholic defense of family means aiding migrant families, bishop says
Migrants are among the poorest, most vulnerable people in the world, and a church committed to defending strong families must be particularly engaged in assisting migrant couples and their children, a U.S. bishop told a Vatican conference.
25 years after fall of communism, some still don’t recognize church role
Czech government officials and former dissidents marking the 25th anniversary of their country's "Velvet Revolution" gathered with church leaders in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral Nov. 15.
25 years later, the Salvadoran Jesuits’ legacy lives on
The legacy of six murdered Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter lives on in El Salvador.
Vatican lifts ban on married priests for Eastern Catholics in diaspora
The Vatican has lifted its ban on the ordination of married men to the priesthood in Eastern Catholic churches outside their traditional territories, including in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Pope says defending traditional marriage is matter of ‘human ecology’
Pope Francis called for preserving the family as an institution based on marriage between a man and a woman, which he said is not a political cause but a matter of "human ecology."
Cardinal urges pope to take hot-button issues off table for next synod
A recently reassigned Vatican official has urged Pope Francis to take the issues of Communion for the divorced and remarried, cohabitation and same-sex marriage "off the table" for next year's Synod of Bishops.
Philadelphia is first confirmed stop for pope’s North America visit
Pope Francis' confirmation of his intention to visit the city for the World Meeting of Families might coincide with visits to New York City and Washington, D.C. "Maybe the three cities together, no?" Pope Francis said last August.
Vatican public restrooms to include showers for the homeless
Homeless people in Rome can get food easily, but not a shower. Soon they can shower in St. Peter's Square, but the effort will also require volunteers and donations of soap, towels and clean underwear, said the archbishop in charge of outreach.
Seal of confession is absolute, even after penitent dies, officials say
The secrecy of a confession is so serious that a priest would be excommunicated for revealing the contents of a confession when ordered to testify by a court, said officials at a Vatican conference this week.