Catholic News Service

Being faithful to God means taking the risk of setting aside one's own needs and plans in order to serve others, Pope Francis said, celebrating Mass for the World Day of the Poor.

The U.N. migration agency renewed its call for increased search and rescue efforts after another tragic shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea claimed the lives of 74 migrant men, women and children.

Even during a global pandemic, the World Day of the Poor will be an important opportunity for parishes to highlight the importance of charity and spiritual comfort for those in need, said a Vatican official.

Two of the seven Kings Bay Plowshares peace activists received prison sentences Nov. 12 for entering a Georgia naval base and symbolically damaging weapons systems in 2018.

As part of its long-running efforts to respect the environment and reduce its use of resources, the Vatican said it was gradually trying to replace all its service vehicles with an all-electric fleet.

As the consistory to create 13 new cardinals approached, the coronavirus pandemic forced two cardinals-designate to cancel their trips to Rome while one was placed in quarantine upon arrival.

After the Vatican released its extensive report on Theodore E. McCarrick, Pope Francis renewed the Catholic Church's pledge to uproot the scourge of sexual abuse.

Christians top the list for countries where they face either governmental or social hostility, according to a new report issued Nov. 10 by the Pew Research Center. Christians have topped the list each year since Pew started collecting data in 2007.

The Catholic Church in England and Wales and the Vatican failed to show compassion or leadership in the fight against child abuse, a U.K. inquiry concluded.

In Nov. 10 oral arguments, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh stressed that they didn't see how it was necessary to strike down the entire health care law even if its individual mandate, requiring each person to buy health insurance, was invalidated.

"Pope Francis was questioned closely" about the two 2013 meetings during which Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, former nuncio to the United States, claimed he told Pope Francis about McCarrick's history of sexual misconduct, said the Nov. 10 report. 

Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of Hurricane Eta, which deluged Central America, claimed at least 50 lives and caused widespread flooding and property damage.

The reprieve for Pervis Payne was granted "due to the challenges and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," Gov. Lee said. Payne, a 53-year-old Black man, has always claimed his innocence in the 1987 murder of a mother and daughter, for which he was convicted and sentenced to death.

 The Knights of Malta have elected Fra' Marco Luzzago, a native of Brescia, Italy, and a member of the order since 1975, as its interim head.

Vigano, who served as apostolic nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016, published his testimony in August 2018 calling on Pope Francis to resign, claiming the pope knew about McCarrick's sexual misconduct and yet eased restrictions on McCarrick's ministry and travel.

Fr. Michael Joncas was watching President-elect Joe Biden's victory speech Nov. 7, but not even he was expecting Biden to quote from his well-known hymn "On Eagle's Wings."

The bishop of the Delaware Catholic diocese where Joe Biden has worshipped for decades offered congratulations and his hopes that voters heed the Gospel's call for unity.

When the death of Alex Trebek — beloved longtime host of "Jeopardy!" — was announced, celebrities and fans around the country took to social media to express their grief.

After armed men abducted Cardinal Christian Tumi along with a dozen other people in the northwest region of Cameroon Nov. 5, local reports said he was released Nov. 6.

The Election Day defeat of Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minnesota, will shrink the number of pro-life Democrats in the House of Representatives by two when the 117th Congress is seated in January.