Catholic News Service

Amid a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus epidemic, Pope Francis soldiered on with his weekly general audience and called on people to not forget those who suffer from war and violence.

Pope Francis dedicated his third livestreamed morning Mass to prisoners suffering because Italian government measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus have included the suspension of visits by family and friends.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith says he is ready to launch street protests if Sri Lanka's government does not find and arrest the culprits behind last year's Easter bombings.

Fordham University in New York announced March 9 that it was suspending public classes on all of its New York-area campuses and would continue these courses online March 11.

Catholics in Northwest Indiana are organizing to raise awareness about the ongoing efforts in the state Legislature to legalize assisted suicide.

Catholic leaders paid tribute to Archbishop Peter Smith, vice president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, who died March 6 after a short illness.

During a live broadcast of his daily morning Mass, Pope Francis prayed for victims of the coronavirus epidemic and the many health care workers fighting its spread.

Pope Francis did not recite the Sunday Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square March 8, but he did go to the window to wave and to bless the pilgrims who showed up anyway.

Pope Francis has decided the next world Synod of Bishops at the Vatican, which will take place in October 2022, will have the theme: "For a synodal church: Communion, participation and mission."

Nathaniel Woods, a 43-year-old inmate in Alabama was executed by lethal injection March 5 after the U.S. Supreme Court, which initially granted a temporary stay, denied the inmate's petition to put his execution on hold.

Chief Justice John Roberts, accustomed to writing in-depth opinions on court cases, penned a rare statement March 4 denouncing remarks made earlier that day by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, at a rally outside the Supreme Court.

The fast-paced nature of the digital age can cause young men and women to focus more on capturing moments for their social media rather than experiencing them, Pope Francis told Catholic young people.

A lack of faith and a misunderstanding of marriage can mean no sacramental marriage occurred, even if both the husband and wife had been baptized, said a new document.

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Savannah, Georgia, to be the archbishop of Atlanta.

He succeeds Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, who was Atlanta's archbishop from 2005 until he was appointed to head the Archdiocese of Washington in 2019.

In oral arguments March 4, the Supreme Court justices expressed mixed views about a Louisiana law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital and if the abortion providers have the legal standing to challenge the state law on behalf of their patients.

Catholic aid agencies are protecting their staff's safety as they increase their worldwide efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. Catholic dioceses, too, are following protocols issued by their government health ministries.

Catholic educators have a charge to teach that a person's sexual identity is a gift from God that cannot change and resist cultural tides toward "gender theory," according to new guiding principles released by Minnesota's bishops.

The bishop serving as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Buffalo said he regretted the "pain and further disillusionment" of clergy sexual abuse survivors caused by the participation of priests credibly accused of abuse in a private Lenten Mass at which he presided.

Catholic groups in Colombia took to the streets in February to voice their discontent with a proposal that sought to drastically expand access to abortion in the South American country. But although official Catholic teaching condemns the intentional killing of the unborn at any time after the ovum is fertilized, some Catholics also backed the proposal.

Dioceses nationwide are taking precautions to guard against the spread of the coronavirus and reminding parishioners to take commonsense steps related to hygiene in their personal lives.