World News
Pope meets with missionary priest freed after two-year captivity
Father Pierluigi Maccalli, a member of the Society of African Missions, was speechless Nov. 9 when Pope Francis told him, "We supported you, but you supported the church."
Eta deluges Central America leaving scores dead, thousands homeless
The hurricane flooded Nicaragua and Guatemala before causing devastating mudslides in Mexico. Pope Francis prayed for those suffering from the damage "aggravated by an already difficult situation due to the pandemic."
Pope expedites oversight of Vatican secretariat’s financial assets
After the Secretariat of State missed a Nov. 1 deadline to hand over management of its holdings to two Vatican bodies, Pope Francis moved to make the transfer happen "immediately."
In Turkey, parishioners safe, but iconic cathedral damaged after quake
The magnitude 7 quake that hit Izmir, Turkey Oct. 30 killed 115 and injured more than a thousand people. St. John Cathedral is considered the most important Catholic place of worship in Turkey's Asia Minor.
Vatican approval necessary for diocesan religious orders, pope says
Bishops who want to establish a religious order must first obtain the written permission of the Holy See, Pope Francis said, announcing a change in canon law.
Vatican shuts down museums as COVID-19 cases, deaths mount in Italy
As COVID-19-related deaths reached their highest level since early May and Italy began enacting new restrictions to slow the spread, the Vatican has closed its museums through Dec. 3.
Church responds as Hurricane Eta pounds Central America
Caritas, Catholic Relief Services and other agencies are working in Nicaragua and Honduras as the Category 4 hurricane made landfall Nov. 3. Catholic facilities are being used as shelters.
Lebanese cardinal: Country’s ‘political authority has murdered its people’
At the close of the Oct. 26-31 Maronite bishops synod, Cardinal Bechara Rai said Lebanon's leaders have thrust residents into "anger, despair, revolution" as economic and social crisis deepens.
Pope, Austrian church leaders urge end to hatred after Vienna attacks
Catholic leaders urged Austrian citizens to uphold key values of tolerance and respect after a terrorist attack that left at least five dead in central Vienna near the central Jewish synagogue.
Philippine churches open doors to typhoon evacuees
Churches are sheltering some of the hundreds of thousands of people who fled Super Typhoon Goni. Some of the victims were buried alive by mudslides around a volcano.