Catholic News

Mideast Christians pray for Syrian bishops' release a month after abduction
Christians gathered in the Jordanian capital of Amman to pray for the release of the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo, who were kidnapped one month ago by Syrian ...
Protestant pastor arrested in Iran
Amid intensified persecution of Protestant churches in recent years, authorities in the Iranian capital of Tehran have arrested Rev. Robert Asserian, pastor of the Central Assemblies of ...
Court strikes down Arizona law against late-term abortions
The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an Arizona law banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy is unconstitutional. In August, the court had blocked enforcement of the ...
For 2nd time, Missouri Benedictine nuns have top classical album
"Angels and Saints at Ephesus," a new album released by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, has debuted at the top position on the Billboard traditional classical albums ...
Interreligious dialogue center hosts conference on �image of the other'
The King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), an organization established by Austria, Saudi Arabia, and Spain and named ...
Vatican's Financial Information Authority issues report, cites strides toward transparency
The Vatican's Financial Information Authority (FIA) has released its first annual report, documenting the effort to tighten controls on financial transactions and to guard against ...
Holy Spirit powers evangelization, Pope explains at audience
"Evangelization is the Church mission," Pope Francis told his public audience on May 22. "Not just of a few, but my, your, our mission." In a talk on the working of the Holy Spirit, the ...
Crowd attacks Pakistani village; 1,500 Christians flee
Residents of the Muslim village of Chak 30 attacked the Christian village of Chak 31 in the Pakistani province of Punjab after local Christians were accused of being disrespectful towards ...
Pope urges Friday prayers for Church in China
On May 22, Pope Francis reminded his weekly public audience that the coming Friday, May 24, would be the feast of Our Lady of Sheshan, the day set aside by Pope Benedict XVI for prayer for ...
USCCB questions Obama administration's use of drones
The chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has invoked just-war criteria to question the moral legitimacy of the ...
Vermont legalizes assisted suicide
Following votes of 75-65 in the state house and 17-13 in the state senate, Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize assisted suicide. Oregon and Washington legalized the practice by ...
After settling child-porn complaint, Kansas City diocese hit with two more lawsuits
Less than a week after the Diocese of Kansas City, Missouri, reached a $600,000 settlement with the family of a girl involved in a child-porn case against a local priest, two other ...
Pope praises Missionaries of Charity for making love concrete
Pope Francis visited a home run by the Missionaries of Charity on Tuesday evening, offering "a heartfelt thank-you" to the sisters for their service to the poor. The Holy Father visited ...
Chicago Jesuit province makes record settlement in abuse lawsuit
The Chicago province of the Society of Jesus has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to settle a lawsuit brought by men who were sexually abused by Donald McGuire, a former Jesuit who has ...
Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop Coakley on Oklahoma tornado disaster
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City expressed gratitude for prayers for the archdiocese and disaster victims following the tornadoes that ravaged parts of Oklahoma on May 19 and ...
Never use faith as a barrier, Pope tells congregation
In his homily at a daily Mass on Wednesday, May 22, Pope Francis warned against the impulse to exclude others, citing the words of Jesus that "he that is not against us is for us." (Mk ...
Conference at Vatican Museums recalls attack on Pietà
The Vatican Museums hosted a conference on May 21 devoted to the 1972 attack on Michelangelo's Pietà and the sculpture's subsequent restoration. On May 21, 1972, a mentally disturbed ...
Tunisia: feminist arrested for defacing mosque
A young woman was arrested in Tunisia on May 19 after she spray-painted the name of a feminist group on the wall of a mosque. Amina Tyler was jailed when she wrote "Femen" on the ...
Reporters interpret papal blessing as an exorcism
The Vatican was forced to deny that Pope Francis had performed an impromptu exorcism on Sunday, after reporters misinterpreted the Pontiff's blessing of a sick man in St. Peter's ...
Suicide in Notre Dame cathedral in Paris
A French man committed suicide inside Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on May 21. Dominique Venner, a 78-year-old historian and activist with a long history of involvement in ...