Catholic News Service

The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on participation in religious services just as it did on workplaces, but a new survey indicates strong emotional resilience from those who consider their faith vital to their existence.

San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantú urged prayers for the victims and their families after a gunman opened fired the morning of May 26 at a rail yard north of downtown San Jose.

After receiving an unprecedented letter from 67 bishops appealing for a delay, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' president explained in a memo the procedure followed in bringing the question to a vote.

Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, requested that the May 30 Mass collections from all parishes in the diocese be donated in their entirety to Gaza's Holy Family Parish as a sign of solidarity following airstrikes from Israel.

Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, pleaded for an end to violence after a deadly mortar attack in his country claimed the lives of four people sheltering in a church.

Prayer is not a magic wand or a way to ask God to be at one's service, Pope Francis said.

Burglars have stolen a set of golden rosary beads that once belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots.

George Floyd's death while in police custody a year ago left "a hole in the hearts of his family and friends" and "a hole in the fabric of our society," said the director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd May 25, the first anniversary of Floyd's death in Minneapolis.

The Syriac Catholic patriarch said the situation in Syria "continues to be humanly unbearable and devastating" and risks emptying the war-torn country of its Christian community for good.

Welcoming the Italian bishops' decision to begin planning a national synod, Pope Francis told them that it must begin at the grassroots with "the smallest parish, the smallest diocesan institution."

Authorities in northern China have arrested a Vatican-appointed Catholic bishop, his seven priests and 10 seminarians in what is seen as part of a renewed crackdown on the underground Catholic Church in the communist country.

Pope Francis has ordered the minor seminary that is located inside the Vatican and currently at the center of a criminal sex abuse trial to move to a new location in Rome before classes begin in the fall.

Haitians with a special immigration status in the U.S. have been granted an extension so that they can continue to live and work legally in the country, or apply to do so.

Do not let a complex organizational hierarchy stifle creativity, Pope Francis told the Vatican's communications office.

Catholics around the world have their eyes on Germany as it works for change through its "Synodal Path," which is debating the issues of power, sexual morality, priestly life and the role of women in the church.

"We must use the moral strength of the U.S. to support a nonviolent and sustainable solution in the region," the six U.S. Franciscan provincials said in a letter to Joe Biden. "The U.S. is a key player in finding such a solution rooted in justice, respect for basic human rights and international law."

The Barcelona Archdiocese in Spain will combine most parishes into larger pastoral communities, amid falling church attendance and secularization.

The Holy Spirit's gift of comfort and solace is meant to unite all men and women and not take sides with any ideology, Pope Francis said on Pentecost.

Since President Joe Biden took office Jan. 20 and began shifting federal priorities toward achieving a greener country and addressing environmental justice in poor, minority and Indigenous communities, faith-based organizations see a new opening for cooperation and dialogue.

The Spanish bishops' conference expressed concern that migrants were being used to exert political pressure after a sudden influx of migrants in the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla increased tensions between Spain and Morocco.