Catholic News Service

Bishops from the northwestern United States spent more than two and half hours with Pope Francis and came away talking about his small gestures and, especially, his understanding and encouragement.

Mary Higgins Clark, known as the "queen of suspense" to her millions of readers throughout the world, died of natural causes in Naples, Florida, Jan. 31. She was 92.

An effort is underway through nongovernmental channels to bring U.S. and Russian negotiators together to discuss new reductions in the countries' nuclear weapons arsenals, an official with the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said during a visit to The Catholic University of America.

Three Sydney priests have swapped clericals for camouflage.

Pope Francis met Argentina's new president, Alberto Fernandez, amid widespread speculation that they would talk about the pope finally returning to his homeland for a visit.

Old age "is not a disease, it's a privilege," and Catholic dioceses and parishes miss a huge and growing resource if they ignore their senior members, Pope Francis said.

Catholics who work in the Amazon say members of small, isolated villages believe the church could be more present in their lives if it allowed the ordination of married men — a plan being considered on a limited basis for the Amazon region.

A Minnesota pastor has apologized after remarks he made about Muslim immigration and Islam being "the greatest threat in the world" sparked controversy.

Christian doctrine is not modified to keep up with passing times nor is it rigidly closed in on itself, Pope Francis told members and advisers of the doctrinal congregation.

After 142 years, the Knights of Columbus is pulling down a veil of secrecy that has surrounded its initiation ceremonies in an effort to better showcase the order's core principles and its drive to help Catholic men become disciples.

A Jan. 28 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington said the National Labor Relations Board could not order a Pittsburgh Catholic university to approve an adjunct faculty union.

The beatitudes are a path to joy and true happiness mapped out by Jesus for all of humanity, Pope Francis said.

A Jan. 28 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington reversed a 2017 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board ordering a Pittsburgh Catholic university to bargain with its adjunct faculty group.

The Chinese respiratory coronavirus has spread to almost every province in mainland China, which extended its Spring Festival holiday by three days to delay travel by up to 500 million people.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities USA and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, known as CLINIC, expressed disappointment with the Supreme Court's Jan. 27 order allowing the Trump administration to go forward with a new rule meant to limit immigrants' use of government benefit programs.

A lawsuit to force the University of Notre Dame to provide free contraceptives and abortifacient drugs in its health plans will proceed after receiving a green light from a federal district court in South Bend.

Pope Francis has approved the election of Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals and of Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri as the subdean.

As Christians work and pray for the restoration of full unity among them, they must be willing to learn from one another, even from the smallest of the Christian communities, Pope Francis said.

The University of Notre Dame's O. Carter Snead said it was "a good thing when the president of the United States —whomever he or she may be — attends an event meant to celebrate and defend the intrinsic equal dignity of all persons, born and unborn."

The Trump administration announced Jan. 24 it is taking steps to enforce the Weldon Amendment, a federal law that prohibits discrimination by states against health insurance plans that do not cover abortion.