Catholic News Service

The organization of the universal Catholic Church has a precise hierarchy, but there is no such thing as a "vice pope," who steps in when the reigning pontiff is traveling abroad, ill or under anesthesia.

The day after issuing its final opinions for the current term, the Supreme Court announced it was taking up one religious rights case and rejecting another for its next term. Both cases sound somewhat familiar based on previous court rulings.

Nearly 400 religious leaders have signed on as public supporters of a statement calling for passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, currently pending in Congress. Known as the PRO Act, the bill proposes the most significant overhaul of labor law in decades.

A Honduran court ruled that a former executive of a hydroelectric dam was a co-collaborator in the the 2016 murder of Berta Cáceres, an environmental leader and Indigenous rights advocate.

Activists who oppose the death penalty said the Justice Department's temporary stop of federal executions is a step in the right direction, but not enough.

Jesuit Fr. Stan Swamy, 84, jailed on dubious terrorism charges since October, died July 5 at Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai. He had been moved to the hospital from jail in late May, under orders from a local court.

The Diocese of Fargo said July 2 it has added the late Bishop James S. Sullivan, sixth bishop of Fargo, to its list of clergy with credible accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor.

More churches across Canada have been destroyed or damaged by fires that police are describing as suspicious or suspected arson.

Bishops seek to encourage local churches to commit to protecting world's second-largest tropical forest from destruction while 'taking into account the dignity of the people' who live there.

With the approval of Pope Francis, the Vatican has ordered the dissolution of an Italy-based lay movement, citing problems with the group's origins, catechesis, governance and finances.

Business leaders must invest more in the common good and less in lining their own pockets, Pope Francis said.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, urged German Catholics to put aside visions and individual needs, noting, "the community must take precedence."

After girding themselves with eucharistic adoration, rosary, songs and reflections, the teens, young adults and parish community of St. Joseph stepped out into the night air to solemnly walk to Surfside's new ground zero.

Pope Francis is moving closer to a broad embrace of nonviolence and a declaration that modern warfare is so deadly and sophisticated that the traditional "just war" theories cannot apply.

Pope Francis congratulated retired Pope Benedict XVI on the 70th anniversary of his priestly ordination.

Sts. Peter and Paul were great not just because of their zeal for the Gospel, but because they allowed Christ to enter their hearts and change their lives, Pope Francis said.

Religious freedom advocates released a charter declaring the right of every person around the world to freely believe -- or not believe -- religious tenets and join with others in a religious community and for believers and religious communities to live peacefully in society.

It is an understatement to say the people and staff of St. Joseph Parish will be living the crisis of the Surfside condominium collapse in a most intimate way for some time to come. No other Christian house of worship is so close to the ground zero of Champlain Towers South as St. Joseph.

Two more Catholic churches on First Nations land have been destroyed by fire, while fire damaged an Anglican church on First Nations land in northern British Columbia. Police are calling all the blazes "suspicious."

The U.S. Catholic Church may be missing out on an opportunity to increase and enrich its ranks if dioceses and parishes don't reach out to refugees, migrants, and people whose work demands that they travel.