Catholic News Service

Some border residents and organizations are speaking out against the Biden administration after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revealed plans to fill in gaps of a border wall to keep migrants out near Yuma, Arizona.

Only 18 of the 176 dioceses got a grade of 60% or better -- what the Voice of the Faithful considered a passing grade when it released the report July 13.

Massive flooding that's been called "one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky's history has destroyed hundreds of homes, wiped out entire communities, led to hundreds of rescues and at least 30 deaths.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit upheld a lower court's decision to throw out a lawsuit by a guidance counselor whose contract at an Indianapolis Catholic school was not renewed due to her same-sex marriage.

Unbridled greed for wealth and possessions is a sickness that is the driving force behind wars and conflicts in the world, Pope Francis said.

The only reasonable way to address the suffering of Ukrainians is to stop fighting and negotiate, Pope Francis said.

A member of the São Paulo archdiocesan justice and peace commission said he hoped Pope Francis' message about "walking together" with Indigenous, whose have long faced violence over land rights, will be heard throughout Brazilian society.

Meeting Indigenous survivors of residential schools in Canada, Pope Francis entrusted them and the journey of truth, healing and reconciliation to three women: St. Anne, Mary and St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

In a brief protest at a papal Mass in Canada, Indigenous women unfurled a banner that said, "Rescind the Doctrine."

When Pope Francis apologized to Canadian Indigenous for the ways in which many members of the church and of religious communities cooperated in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation at residential schools, Native Americans, like many Canadian Indigenous, said forgiveness was hard -- despite their Catholic faith.

The chairmen of four U.S. bishops committees said July 27 that proposed regulations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on abortion, transgender services and other procedures threaten the Catholic Church's ability "to carry out our healing ministries" and others' ability "to practice medicine."

As the church prepares to commemorate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees in September, Pope Francis launched a video campaign meant to highlight the spiritual and cultural contributions that migrants bring to people's lives.

New York's Catholic Charities has spoken out against what it called a "chaotic approach" to dealing with asylum-seekers coming into the country who are being sent from Texas officials by bus to cities around the nation.

Sr. Myrna Tordillo expressed her hope for the participants at the National Catholic Burmese-American Conference in Owensboro: "That they continue to live the faith, with the hierarchy and with their faith communities."

Ahead of Guatemala's upcoming election season, the country's bishops said religious gatherings in the coming months should "not fall into the temptation of mixing political propaganda with apparent prayer."

Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington promulgated liturgical norms July 22 for implementing Pope Francis' apostolic letter "Traditionis Custodes" ("Guardians of the Tradition"), which limits celebrations of the Mass according to the rite used before the Second Vatican Council.

After a flight of more than 10 hours from Rome, Pope Francis landed in Edmonton on July 24 and met briefly at the airport with Indigenous leaders, Canada's governor general and prime minister before heading to the local seminary for a rest.

Saying he wanted to highlight the spiritual gifts of Opus Dei and its contributions to the Catholic Church's evangelizing activities, Pope Francis said it will now work with and answer to the Dicastery for Clergy, rather than the Dicastery for Bishops.

The Portland-based Catholic Sentinel and El Centinela newspapers will close Oct. 1, reflecting a national transition in Catholic communications, according to a news release issued jointly July 21 by the Archdiocese of Portland and Oregon Catholic Press.

Rare documentation of the Portuguese Inquisition with detailed information about the sentencing trials which took place 500 years ago have been digitized for the first time in the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People Jerusalem's National Library of Israel.