Catholic News Service

A U.S. District Court judge in Maryland has ruled that Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops' overseas relief and development agency, must offer health care coverage to the spouses of gay employees as long as the employees' jobs are nonreligious in nature.

The arrest of Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez marks another escalation in the repression against the Catholic Church in the Central American country.

An independent commission investigating sexual abuse in Portugal's Catholic Church urged more victims to submit testimonies, especially during summer home visits by citizens living abroad.

A preliminary Vatican investigation into allegations against Cardinal Marc Ouellet concluded there was not sufficient evidence to warrant opening up formal proceedings against the cardinal for sexual assault, a Vatican spokesman said.

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan met with migrants bussed from Texas by Gov. Greg Abbott and said the church's perspective is to see them "with the eyes of Jesus." 

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops, is named in a list of alleged abusers filed in support of a class-action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Quebec.

A recent report on the public relations strategy used by Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki during a clerical sex abuse scandal has provoked renewed controversy, even after the cardinal's March return from his six-month sabbatical initiated by Pope Francis.

Pope Francis called on the international community to help the people of Somalia who are at risk of famine due to severe drought.

Detained Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando José Álvarez appeared in a video Aug. 11, a week into his de facto house arrest by government authorities, saying that he and the companions who are with him have hearts full of forgiveness and love.

Catholic advocates hailed the landmark legislation, once thought dead but now on its way to President Joe Biden's desk after it passed the House on Friday, to address climate change, reduce prescription drug costs and establish a minimum tax on large corporations.

Nuclear-weapon-free zones model a way forward toward a world free of nuclear weapons, said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations.

One canon lawyer and consultor of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts said the "obvious symbolism" of visiting L'Aquila would be the perfect opportunity for the pope to finally promulgate legislation needed to fill many gaps regarding a pope who resigns.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who toured hard-hit Breathitt County with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden Aug. 8, said the mission in eastern Kentucky is moving from emergency response to stabilization.

Nigerian officials identified six suspects arrested in connection with the June 5 attack that killed 40 people at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo.

At a pre-trial hearing in Hong Kong, a judge set a five-day trial for Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and four other defendants who face charges of failing to properly register a now-defunct fund to help anti-government protesters.

A New Mexico archbishop whose archdiocese is home to two major federal nuclear weapons research facilities and an Air Force base apologized for the atomic bombings of Japan and to Indigenous New Mexicans, uranium miners and scientists suffering from ill health related to the nuclear weapons industry.

An Aug. 9 event outside the White House by Catholics to promote peace in the world was interrupted by what the U.S. Secret Service said was an unprovoked assault on one of its officers.

Myanmar's military junta has committed crimes against humanity amid ongoing conflicts in the country following the coup last year, said a new report by the United Nations.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops' domestic policy committee praised the Senate for tackling environmental concerns and lowering drug prices by passing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

During a Mass for peace, Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe decried the killings of four Muslim men in New Mexico since last November.