Catholic News Service

The Francis Chronicles: Redemption is the work of God, not of human beings, so be careful and do not listen to "fundamentalists" who claim holiness comes through following certain laws, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience.

In his first interview since undergoing surgery in July, Pope Francis criticized the Western attempts to impose democracy on other countries in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal in Afghanistan.

The chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan was due in part to a lack of foreseeing all possible eventualities, Pope Francis said in a new interview.

Pope Francis appointed Argentine theologian Emilce Cuda as the new head of office of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a position she assumes Sept. 1. 

Mexican church leaders expressed solidarity with a caravan of migrants that was disrupted by security forces. Their reaction came after videos that surfaced showing an immigration agent kicking a migrant in the head.

Cardinal Raymond Burke thanked health care workers as well as people who have been praying for him as he continues  "intensive rehabilitation" from COVID-19.

Dioceses close schools as they assess damage and prepare to help those affected by one of the most powerful storms to hit the continental U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Pope Francis has approved a brief set of new norms for the Chapter of St. Peter's Basilica — whose priest-members provide liturgical and pastoral service in the basilica — that will only be in effect for one year while its statutes are being revised.

When people sincerely ask God "to purify our heart, that is when we will start making the world cleaner" because the best way to defeat evil is "by starting to conquer it within yourself," the pope said.

El Salvador has set a Jan. 22, 2022, date for the beatifications of Jesuit Fr. Rutilio Grande, Franciscan Fr. Cosme Spessotto and two laymen, the Salvadoran bishops' conference announced Aug. 27.

 Pope Francis held a private audience with Nadia Murad, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and survivor of the Islamic State-led genocide in Iraq, Aug. 26 at the Vatican.

Lawmakers need to regulate and develop sound policies regarding today's digital technology, specifically targeting the problems of child pornography, personal data violations, cyber attacks on critical infrastructures and fake news, Pope Francis told Catholic and Christian legislators.

20 people died and hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed after record-breaking rainfall of as much as 18 inches in 24 hours.

The U.S. Supreme Court late Aug. 24 said the Biden administration must restore a Trump-era immigration policy known as "Remain in Mexico."

Hypocrites are afraid of the truth, fearful of who they really are and incapable of truly loving, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience.

Leaders from the world's 20 largest economies are facing "make-or-break" decisions that can boost health care, reduce poverty and address the impact of climate change in developing nations when they meet in October in Italy, said the executive director of an alliance of faith-based development and debt relief advocacy organizations.

Retired Auxiliary Bishop Guy A. Sansaricq of Brooklyn, who had ministered in the Diocese of Brooklyn since 1971, died at the rectory at St. Gregory the Great Church in the Crown Heights neighborhood Aug. 21. He was 86.

The record number of encounters between Customs and Border Protection agents and people attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border doesn't tell the full story of how some migrants, desperate to enter, are increasingly making multiple attempts. They also don't tell the full story of the added dangers of making the journey in the age of COVID-19.

COVID-19, which slammed Iquitos, Peru, early in the pandemic, supercharged Fr. Raymond Portelli's already jampacked life as a priest, professor and medical doctor.

Pope Francis encouraged new courses of action for parishes to help people understand the importance of Sunday Mass and parish ministries, a top Vatican official wrote in a message.