Catholic News Service

The Catholic bishops of Washington state Oct. 11 applauded the unanimous decision of the state Supreme Court striking down the death penalty as unconstitutional.

The five Catholic bishops of Washington state have offered voters a "framework" by which to consider a Nov. 6 ballot initiative that would, among other measures, put a price on carbon emissions.

One U.S. observer warned Pope Francis and the Synod of Bishops that the current immigration system in the United States "blatantly threatens" and disrespects the lives and dignity of migrants.

The devil is more dangerous when he is polite and friendly, persuading people to be "lukewarm" and worldly, than when he shows his true face and blatantly pushes people to sin, Pope Francis said.

Young people can discover Jesus and find guidance more easily in small faith-based communities and networks, several observers said at the Synod of Bishops Oct. 10.

Even in far-off Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, a bishop said a young person asked him what the church is doing to prevent clerical sexual abuse.

The U.S. Supreme Court, no stranger to death penalty cases, is looking very narrowly at two aspects of capital punishment this term.

Speaking to the Synod of Bishops on behalf of Belgium's bishops' conference, a bishop said he was sure some young married men would become priests if they were asked.

At a Synod of Bishops where "cultural shift," "epochal change" and "massive challenge" are almost buzz phrases, Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg said, "I'm very optimistic."

In an action to be more transparent, the 15 Catholic dioceses in Texas will release the names of clergy who were credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor, according to an Oct. 10 statement issued by the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops.

The United Kingdom's Supreme Court has upheld the right of a bakery to refuse to make a cake emblazoned with a slogan in support of same-sex marriage.

The Catholic Church is one throughout the world, and Pope Francis' agreement with the communist government of China is a sign of that, Bishop John Baptist Yang Xiaoting of Yan'an told members of a Rome parish.

"One can say that all the evil done in the world can be boiled down to this: contempt for life," Pope Francis said at his general audience Oct. 10.

The South Korean president's office said that when the president meets Pope Francis Oct. 18, he will pass on an invitation for the pope to visit North Korea.

Aid agencies and Catholic officials are sounding the alarm on Yemen's spiraling humanitarian crisis, calling on the combatants to end the war and make badly need assistance available.

Late Oct. 6, despite the interruptions of screaming protesters who had to be escorted from the gallery that oversees the Senate chamber, U.S. senators voted 50-48 to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh as the newest justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Even the greatest sinners can find a loving mother in Mary while those who are corrupt find refuge only in their own blind and selfish desires, Pope Francis said.

A court in Pakistan has reached a decision on whether a Catholic woman will become the first person to hang to death under the country's controversial blasphemy laws.

With songs, poetry and dance -- including hip-hop -- young people shared with Pope Francis and members of the Synod of Bishops some of their life stories, hopes, dreams and, especially, questions.

The Vatican is investigating an accusation of abuse against a controversial Chilean archbishop, the Schonstatt Fathers confirmed.