HHS rescinds rule protecting faith-based foster care, adoption agencies

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Nov. 18 rescinded a Trump administration rule that ensured faith-based social service agencies that provide adoption and foster care would continue receiving federal funding for services that follow their religious beliefs.

Synodality described as an opportunity to hear God’s call to the church

Laypeople deserve to be heard and Pope Francis is inviting the church to hear their voices through the synodal process now underway, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, told a webinar audience.

Church can’t just ignore new questions about meaning of life, pope says

The classical Christian understanding of what it means to be human provides a clear affirmation of the sacredness and uniqueness of human life, but to answer new questions posed by modern culture and technology, dialogue and compassion are needed, Pope Francis said.

Youths urged to rely on Holy Spirit to rise above fear and transform world

In the middle of one of his powerful, pulsating songs that rocked Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis the night of Nov. 18, Lecrae suddenly stopped singing to talk to the nearly 11,000 youths from across the United States who had come together for the National Catholic Youth Conference.

Archbishop says eucharistic revival, congress will be ‘occasion of grace’

Before their Nov. 17 vote to approve a National Eucharistic Congress for 2024 and their choice of the city to host it, Indianapolis Archbishop Charles C. Thompson told his fellow prelates gathered in Baltimore, "If you give us the green flag to this project, we'll be ready with the checkered flag."

Polish priest killed by Nazis takes step closer to sainthood

A young Catholic priest has been beatified as a martyr in Poland, nearly eight decades after he was guillotined by wartime Nazi occupiers for clandestine charity work.

Wisconsin parishes pray for victims after SUV plows through parade crowd

Church leaders and parishes offered prayers for the five people who died and dozens more who were injured, including a Catholic priest, church parishioners and Catholic school students, when an SUV plowed through spectators watching a Christmas parade.

Advent during pandemic remains a season of compassion, pope says

With Advent coming during an ongoing pandemic, Christians are called to hold on to hope and foster a season of compassion and tenderness, Pope Francis said.

Imitate Mary by listening to God, pope tells consecrated women

Be confident in God like Mary and imitate her by listening and accepting his will, Pope Francis told members of the secular institute of the Missionary Oblate Cooperators of the Immaculate Conception.

Pope encourages young people to be the critical conscience of society

Pope Francis told young people that, with Jesus, people can find the courage to swim against the current, to be free and authentic, and to stand up for their dreams and ideals of truth, love, justice and peace.