COLUMBUS, Ohio - Participants at a diocesan listening session on racism in Columbus spoke about hurtful experiences both inside and outside the church, but also expressed optimism about efforts to recognize the problem and respond to it.

WASHINGTON - The State Department's newly released annual report on international religious freedom shows continued attacks and abuse by governments and societies against religious minorities in their respective countries.

​​​​​​​A new poll has shown that abortion is a top consideration among a large section of voters, indicating the issue may be a crucial policy battleground in the upcoming 2020 elections. 

Maybe it’s the signature bump of the baseball off her bicep before pitching the perfect curve ball. Maybe it’s that she does it all in a full black and white habit with a beaming smile on her face. Whatever it is, the pitch of baseball whiz Sister Mary Jo Sobieck, OP, that captured the hearts of many over the past year inspired a baseball card, a bobble head, and now a nomination for a national sports award.

The House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday night to provide emergency funding June 26 for the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

WASHINGTON - The House Committee on Education and Labor heard testimony June 25 on the Do No Harm Act, a proposed measure to limit the application of landmark religious freedom legislation. 

“Compared to the history of the church, this time is not worse than any other time,” Bishop Wang said. “The church is there, the foundation is a big rock but the storms always come and blow. That’s normal. If you expect nothing, that’s not normal."

LUSAKA, Zambia - Zambia's bishops have launched a campaign to raise $9 million for food to be distributed in remote parts of the country hit by drought and floods. Many households "have nothing to eat and are surviving on wild fruits or are getting by without any food," Bishop Evans Chinyemba of Mongu told a June 19 media briefing in the capital, Lusaka.

Father Kenneth Doyle shares what the catechism and Scripture teach on the existence of purgatory, and clarifies what canon law has to say about excommunicating politicians who vote to provide abortions.

The accomplishments achieved through scientific endeavors such as the moon landings can provide a glimpse into the way things work and what it means to be human, both key components of God's creation, said Franciscan Sister Ilia Delio, professor of theology at Villanova University.

ROME, Italy - In a statement June 25, Cardinal Raymond Burke issued a correction to a now-removed LifeSiteNews article, which claimed that Burke was collaborating with former President Donald Trump advisor Steven Bannon on a film exposing homosexuality in the Vatican.

LONDON, England - Following a decision by the Court of Appeals in England to overturn an order for a forced abortion on a disabled woman, new details have emerged about the case.

Amid a flurry of headlines denouncing the Vatican for releasing a document condemning “gender theory,” theology professors and Catholic educators told CNA that the document will be helpful in setting priorities for Catholic educators going forward, as Catholic schools respond to questions about LGBT issues.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - A Catholic high school in the Indianapolis archdiocese has said it will comply with the archbishop’s instructions to stop employing a teacher in a same-sex marriage.

Catholic San Francisco was named one of the best Catholic newspapers in North America on June 21 at the Catholic Press Association’s 2019 conference in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Religious Freedom Week, an annual campaign by the U.S. bishops to encourage support for religious liberty, comes as Catholics in California and across the country face challenges to their religious liberty. “Strength in Hope” is the theme of this year’s Religious Freedom Week, which takes place June 22-29.

VATICAN CITY - Marking the 100th anniversary of the declaration of Our Lady of Loreto as the patron saint of aviation and aviators, Pope Francis has authorized a special jubilee year of celebrations, especially at the Italian shrine of Our Lady of Loreto.

VATICAN CITY - At the conclusion of the International Youth Forum Saturday, Pope Francis announced the theme of World Youth Day 2022 to be held in Lisbon: “Mary arose and went with haste.”

WASHINGTON -  This Sunday, in Catholic parishes across the country, one in four women sitting in the pews will have experienced severe physical violence in their own homes from their spouses or partners - including burns, choking, beating, or the use of a weapon against them. One in nine men will have experienced the same.

The efforts of European governments to patrol the Mediterranean and prevent desperate people from reaching its northern shores raise questions "about the very concept of 'welcoming the stranger' of which Christianity is the highest expression, according to the teaching our of lord and savior," said Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.