Jonathan Luxmoore

The president of the Polish bishops' conference cautioned Polish and Hungarian political leaders against fostering nationalism and xenophobia as both countries face European Union sanctions over their alleged authoritarian direction.

Francis at Five Years: Over the five years since his March 2013 election, as the first pope of the global south, Francis has left the world in little doubt where his church stands on key contemporary issues.

Poland's leading Jewish philosopher urged the Catholic Church to condemn a wave of anti-Jewish feeling, sparked by a new law on responsibility for Holocaust crimes.

In Poland, scholars and leaders weigh in after a Catholic newspaper ran a priest's attack on leaders of both church and state, amid new data showing a drop in Mass attendance, and ongoing criticism of the church's ties with Poland's government.

Making Peace: In places like Congo and the Central African Republic, church leaders have been deeply involved in peacemaking, in a mark of the engagement fostered by Pope Francis.

The president of Croatia's bishops' conference condemned "unjust verdicts" at a United Nations war crimes trial, after a general publicly committed suicide when his appeal was rejected.

All over Europe, local leaders seek to adapt structurally and pastorally to falling numbers and dwindling participation. Elsewhere too, clustering and merging parishes have offered a potential solution; and while they have been tackled differently across the continent, those behind the changes are determined to see them in a positive light.

Though often viewed as an epoch of cultural and spiritual emptiness, Soviet rule in Russia and Eastern Europe produced profound Christian works of prose and poetry, offering vital reflections on a resilient faith.

Belgium's Brothers of Charity Group, which runs 15 centers for psychiatric patients, has rejected a Vatican order to stop offering euthanasia.

After Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, ended his official trip to Russia, there are signs that not everyone is satisfied with the tone of the four-day visit or confident about its benefits for Catholics. 

A Polish archbishop who inspected Bosnia-Herzegovina's Medjugorje shrine for the pope predicted the Vatican will soon recognize its Marian apparitions.

Thousands attended a midday vigil Aug. 18 in Barcelona's Plaza de Catalunya, attended by Spanish King Felipe VI and government and political party leaders from across the country.