NATION/WORLD

"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."

The recent arrest of a Vatican-approved bishop, priests and seminarians in north-central China came as a shocking development, if not surprising, as religious persecution in the communist-led country has continued to intensify under President Xi Jinping.

While uncertainty in the world may deter young couples from taking the next big step in their relationships, the vocational call to marriage is a risk worth taking, Pope Francis said.

A series of laws and procedures promulgated by now-retired Pope Benedict XVI and, especially, by Pope Francis to protect children, promote the investigation of allegations of clerical sexual abuse and punish offenders are included in a heavily revised section of the Code of Canon Law.

While intellectually difficult to understand, the mystery of the Holy Trinity is understood in one's heart as the revelation of God's love for all men and women, Pope Francis said.

A real winner knows how to find victory even in losing, Pope Francis told a group of athletes.

Reaching the finish line of a monthlong rosary marathon, Pope Francis again turned to Mary, asking her to untie specific knots that have individuals and the whole world tangled in suffering and difficulty, either because of the COVID-19 pandemic or people's selfish reactions to it.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee called on Congress May 28 to preserve the Hyde Amendment in any federal budget proposal and "to work toward a budget that truly builds up the common good of all."

In his homily on Pentecost, May 23, Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oakland recounted how terrified he was when he was robbed at gunpoint the afternoon before while out walking, but he also said he had to look beyond the fear to forgive the suspect.

The first Catholic cathedral in the United States could have been a Gothic structure, but the first bishop for the Catholic Church in America wanted something forward-looking for the new country.