Catholic News Service

When Pope Francis said gay people have a right to be in a family and that gay couples need some form of civil law to protect their rights, he was not saying that gay couples should have a right to adopt children. In "Francesco," director Evgeny Afineevsky presented the statements as if Pope Francis had said them one right after the other, following a story about a gay couple with children.

A former priest who had been an early spiritual adviser to the alleged visionaries of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been excommunicated, according to an announcement by the Diocese of Brescia, Italy, where he lives.

The proof of being on a path of conversion and holiness always consists in loving one's neighbor, Pope Francis said.

A large majority of Catholic voters believe climate change is a serious or somewhat serious concern and that governments at all levels as well as corporations and individuals must take stronger action to address it, according to results of a new poll released Oct. 22.

For the second time this fall, a panel of three federal judges said President Donald Trump acted unlawfully with his order in July to exclude immigrants in the U.S. without legal documentation from being counted in the 2020 census for the redrawing of congressional districts.

The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro has launched a partnership with a Canadian company to reduce plastic disposal into the oceans.

Major opposition parties in India and a United Nations official backed an octogenarian Jesuit priest who was jailed for alleged charges of sedition and links with Maoist rebels and demanded his immediate release.

Plenary or full indulgences traditionally obtained during the first week of November for the souls of the faithful in purgatory can now be gained throughout the entire month of November, the Vatican said.

The nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court will now go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote, which could take place Oct. 29. Only 51 votes are needed for confirmation.

The president of Focolare has accepted the resignations of the lay movement's top leaders in France and announced the group will ask an independent committee to investigate how allegations of the sexual abuse of minors have been handled.

Pope Francis has named Bishop Olivier de Germay of Ajaccio, Corsica, to be the new archbishop of Lyon, France, succeeding a cardinal whose conviction on charges of failing to report clerical sex abuse was overturned.

Paying tribute to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople for his contributions to the theology and spirituality of care for the environment, the Franciscan-run Pontifical University Antonianum awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Less than two weeks before the presidential election, a new poll indicated President Donald Trump has lost the so-called "Catholic vote" and that his nomination of a Catholic to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, did nothing to change that equation.

Being indifferent to or hating others is to deny the existence of God's presence in one's neighbor, Pope Francis said.

A Caritas shelter located in Rome's Termini train station suspended activities after nearly half of its residents tested positive for COVID-19.

A Belarusian archbishop who has been denied entry back into his own country said the Vatican was doing everything in its power to resolve the situation and help him return.

After a federal judge sided with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in its court fight against the state's latest restrictions on houses of worship, the Brooklyn Diocese is considering its "appellate options."

A resident at the Casa Santa Marta, the residence where Pope Francis lives, tested positive for COVID-19, the Vatican announced.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear cases stemming from President Donald Trump's immigration policies related to financing border wall construction and the requirement that asylum-seekers remain in Mexico until their claims are processed.

The mission of the church and of all Christians is to proclaim and live the Gospel in daily life, Pope Francis said.