Catholic News Service

Begging Pope Francis to help his son, Alfie, Tom Evans met with the pontiff, pleading for "asylum" in Italy so his seriously ill son may receive care and not be euthanized in England.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Stefan Soroka of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Andriy Rabiy of the same archeparchy to be apostolic administrator.

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chairman of the board of Catholic Near East Welfare Association, led a delegation from the organization on a trip to Lebanon.

While globalization at its best can enable the sharing of spiritual and material riches, it also can lead to huge destruction, the bishops of Europe and Africa said after a meeting in Portugal.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI had a "peaceful and familial" 91st birthday April 16, celebrating with his 94-year-old brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, who was visiting from Germany, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis met with members of the preparatory council for the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon region, which will take place in Rome in October 2019.

After circling a massive, crumbling public housing complex on the outskirts of Rome, Pope Francis had an emotional encounter with the neighborhood's children.

Catholic Church leaders and immigration advocates say President Donald Trump's recent moves to clamp down on immigration are extreme and unnecessary.

The Gospel requires Christians to "denounce personal and social sins committed against God and neighbor in the name of the god money and of power for its own sake," Pope Francis wrote.

A court in central Vietnam has jailed a Catholic activist after convicting her of subverting the communist state, ucanews.com reported.

Invoking a Salvadoran who's about to become the country's first Catholic saint, the man who now occupies his old post asked immigrants and their children during an April 11 Mass in Washington to pray for Blessed Oscar Romero's intercession, a "miracle," that would allow U.S. lawmakers to grant immigration relief to thousands of Salvadorans and other immigrants to the United States.

The June 4-6 gathering is meant to be a starting point to bring about Pope Francis' vision of the church responding to human hurts and social challenges by living out the joy of the Gospel, organizers said.

Citing "alarming concerns" related to an ongoing investigation, at least eight dioceses across Canada are withholding funds from the overseas development agency of the Canadian bishops' conference.

The chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration committee said April 11 he agrees with concerns raised issued by U.S. bishops on the southern border about President Donald Trump's call to deploy National Guard troops to the region.

During an April 11 homily in Washington, Salvadoran Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas said the canonization of Blessed Oscar Romero will "probably" be in Rome and "probably" take place at end of October.

The Catholic Church in Latin America must recognize and appreciate the role of women and end the practice of using them solely as submissive laborers in the parish, said members of a pontifical commission.

Not long after he was booed and heckled while speaking in favor of an open housing bill before the Baltimore City Council in 1966, Cardinal Lawrence Shehan calmly and confidently read his testimony.

Parents who prefer not to baptize their children in the hopes that they will "understand and ask for baptism" as adults lack faith that the Holy Spirit will act in their child's life, Pope Francis said.

U.N. radio in Congo reported April 9 that Father Etienne Nsengiunva, a priest in Kitchanga, was shot at point-blank range April 8.

Priests must give hope to men and women seeking forgiveness, encouraging them in their struggle away from the slippery slope of sin, Pope Francis said.