Catholic News Service

Hours after Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement calling for urgent prayers "that our world's leaders will pursue dialogue and seek peace."

Bishop Alexander Pyone Cho has called for dialogue among all parties as violence escalates in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

The Chinese government has targeted unregistered Catholic and Protestant churches with a new expansion of rules and regulations governing religious organizations.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn joined about 25,000 New Yorkers who took to the streets for a Jan. 5 "Solidarity March" in protest of anti-Semitism.

The tweet early Jan. 3 from Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee, asked for prayers. It wasn't an unusual request from a church leader. Still, its significance stems from its context and its timing: a few hours after the overnight killing of Iran's top military leader, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.

As some of the worst wildfires in Australian history rage across four states, thousands of people in affected areas in New South Wales and Victoria continue to be evacuated to safety.

Caritas Indonesia (Karina) has joined the Jakarta Archdiocese in distributing aid to people hard hit by floods that have killed dozens of people in and around Indonesia's capital.

After a routine exam 16 years ago, Dr. Shawn Fibkins discovered that he had inherited polycystic kidney disease from his father.

Pope Francis led pilgrims in prayers for peace as tensions between the United States and Iran escalated following the assassination of a top Iranian general.

Iraqis fear their country, already weary from years of war, may be dragged into a conflict between the United States and Iran, following the U.S.-targeted killing in Baghdad of Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani.

Pope Francis' announcement that the Catechism of the Catholic Church would be updated to include a definition of "ecological sin" sent Catholic Twitter into a frenzy.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Richard B. Higgins, the episcopal vicar for veterans affairs of the Archdiocese for the Military Services.

An English cardinal has condemned "all expressions of hatred" after anti-Semitic graffiti was daubed across shops, cafes and a synagogue in London.

Pope Francis began the New Year with an apology for losing his patience the night before with a woman who grabbed his hand and yanked him closer to her in St. Peter's Square.

An attorney who specializes in lawsuits for victims of clergy sexual abuse has announced plans to file 12 suits in nine California dioceses under California's new Child Victims Act, which takes effect Jan. 1, extending the state's statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors.

God sent his only begotten son into the world, where he continues to dwell in the hearts of men and women, "urging them to believe, to hope despite everything, and to love by working for the good of all," Pope Francis said.

Maltese Cardinal Prosper Grech, an Augustinian priest and expert on the fathers of the early church, died Dec. 30 at the Santo Spirito Hospital near the Vatican. He was 94.

Year in review: Amid the multiple mass shootings that took place in the U.S. during 2019, Catholic leaders spoke out against them, urged legislators to make changes to put a stop to these actions and asked Catholics to pray and work toward possible solutions.

A gunman killed two people Dec. 29 during Sunday services at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, before members of the congregation fatally shot him, authorities said.

2019 was a busy year for the U.S. Supreme Court. In its new term, which began in October, the justices examined the status of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, gun ownership restrictions and, as it does most terms, the death penalty.