Catholic News Service

Everyone who goes to Mass has the right to hear the word of God in all its fullness, which means it must be read well and explained well with "fervor," Pope Francis said.

As Syria's war soon enters its eighth year, many decry the recent escalation in the conflict in the country's north, between Turkey and the Kurds and in the south, between Iran and Israel.

A Trump administration report on its reinstatement of the "Mexico City Policy" shows that nongovernmental organizations "are willing and able to comply with this policy," said the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee chairman.

The case involving the transfer of the remains of Archbishop Fulton Sheen from New York to Peoria, Illinois, has been sent back to the original court for an evidentiary hearing.

Formalizing their unity in the intimate setting of the chapel of the papal residence, Pope Francis and Melkite Patriarch Joseph Absi concelebrated Mass together.

Waiting for a verdict on allegations that he sexually abused several boys, Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana, Guam, attended one of Pope Francis' weekly general audiences in February.

Prosperous nations where foreign women are forced into prostitution need to drop their hypocrisy and "face the idea that they are part of the problem, rather than turning away, proclaiming their innocence," Pope Francis said.

For the first time in six years, Pax Christi USA has a bishop president.

Just as people are "struggling to survive" in Congo, aid agencies are struggling to meet their needs, said Chiara Nava, an advisor to an agency focusing on education and child protection.

An Indiana bishop said he supports the University of Notre Dame's Feb. 7 decision to stop coverage of abortion-inducing drugs and add natural family planning services to the school's health plan, but he said coverage of artificial birth control by a Catholic institution is unacceptable.

A devotion to and meditation on the five wounds of Christ "may sound a bit medieval," but anyone who recognizes he or she is wounded will find mercy and healing in the passion of Christ, Pope Francis said.

Even though the Catholic Church has all the necessary norms and laws in place to safeguard minors from abuse by clergy, the problem continues to be a lack in understanding or caring about those rules and guidelines and applying them effectively, said one Jesuit expert.

Since China's new regulations for religious affairs took effect Feb. 1, minors have been banned from entering places of worship in several regions.

The arrest of a retired Boise Catholic priest on multiple charges of sexual exploitation of a child, distribution of child pornography and drug possession has shocked Catholics in the statewide Diocese of Boise.

Though not as fast as a speeding bullet, Superpope will fly across the world, gathering autographs of sports stars and eventually being auctioned off to raise money for the pope's charity. 

A bishop in South Sudan has won an award that recognizes the peace village he founded as the visible embodiment of his peacemaking efforts.

"I am on a pilgrimage toward Home," retired Pope Benedict XVI wrote in a letter to a journalist, five years after announcing his intention to be the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign.

A Vatican court found two former top managers of the Vatican bank liable for mismanagement and ordered an injunction for them to pay damages.

Highlighting the Feb. 8 World Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, the pope noted this year's theme was dedicated to ending the trafficking of migrants.

Catholic priests must deliver good homilies so the "good news" of the Gospel can take root in people's hearts and help them live holier lives, Pope Francis said.