Catholic News Service

Catholic communicators need to use extra care and educational efforts to combat a situation where some media "become places of toxicity, hate speech and fake news," Pope Francis said.

Despite their pro-life bona fides, a five-member panel at a July 14 Georgetown University forum voiced their hesitancies with the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision that overturned the court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling 49 years earlier.

Meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, July 10–18 under the shadow of some of the worst recorded ecological disasters in the region, the bishops from the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa are examining ways to help communities that are struggling to adapt to the effects of a changing climate.

The U.S. bishops' annual report on compliance with the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" shows that 2,930 victim survivors came forward with 3,103 allegations during the audit year of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

Immigration supporters expressed a mix of gratitude and disappointment with a Biden administration decision on Temporary Protected Status with regard to Venezuelans.

Saying they feel anguish that the Holy Land continues to be riled in "turmoil, bloodshed and fear," New Zealand's Catholic bishops called for a renewed effort to achieve lasting peace for "ordinary Palestinian peoples" and others living in the troubled land.

Religious orders must never tolerate the abuse of children or vulnerable persons, and they must end the practice of moving alleged abusers to other countries, Pope Francis said.

Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, thinks it's time for serious conversations about how to achieve nuclear disarmament — not just for the United States but for all countries of the world.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it is investigating a possible crime after an image of Pope Francis was burned in a bonfire.

As South Sudan marked its 11th anniversary of independence, a Catholic bishop lamented that Africa's newest nation continued to face numerous challenges that threaten peace and unity and block opportunities for long-term reconciliation.

The care of the environment and the fight against climate change is not a lofty goal for humanity but a moral imperative, Pope Francis said during a July 13–14 conference, titled "Resilience of People and Ecosystems under Climate Stress," sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Pope Francis said he plans to meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in September at an interreligious meeting in Kazakhstan. The pope confirmed the meeting in an interview that aired in the United States July 11 on Univision, the Spanish-language network.

President Biden should consult with his bishop or parish priest about his stance on abortion, Pope Francis said during an interview on Univision, adding that the primary concern of bishops should be pastoral care.

A Catholic church in the Washington suburb of Bethesda was one of three houses of worship along the same road to be victimized by vandalism the weekend of July 9-10.

Pope Francis called on authorities in Sri Lanka to listen to the cries of their people after months of civil unrest culminated with protesters storming the residences of the country's president and prime minister.

The University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary has received a $5 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to support the Cor Iuxta Meum ("After My Own Heart") Project, a collaborative seminary formation program.  

The Vatican is now a formal party to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and has declared it intends also to formally join the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The July 4 mass shooting brought devastation to another community in the U.S., and such a tragic situation "has become shockingly commonplace in our country," said the chairmen of three bishops' conference committees.

Pope Francis will make back-to-back pastoral visits to two Italian cities at the end of September: Assisi for an Economy of Francesco event and Matera for the Italian National Eucharistic Congress.

While many people were disappointed that Pope Francis was unable to make his long-awaited visit to Congo and South Sudan, Cardinal Pietro Parolin assured the people that the pope had not given up on visiting them.