Laypeople join religious order in ‘ministry of presence’ for terminally ill

For over 100 years in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Sisters Servants of Mary have kept overnight vigil with the terminally ill in their homes, a ministry of such abundant charity that families caring full time for a loved one can't begin to express their gratitude.

Richest nations urged to tackle financial turmoil worsened by pandemic

Leaders from the world's 20 largest economies are facing "make-or-break" decisions that can boost health care, reduce poverty and address the impact of climate change in developing nations when they meet in October in Italy, said the executive director of an alliance of faith-based development and debt relief advocacy organizations.

Court ruling upholding Texas abortion law called ‘long-awaited victory’

A spokeswoman with Texas Right to Life said a federal appeals court ruling upholding the Texas Dismemberment Abortion Ban is a "long-awaited victory" Texans are celebrating.

Eleven years after a massacre of migrants, a mother remembers son’s trek

Blanca Estela Garcia remembers watching the news on television: A group of migrants headed north had been shot to death by the Mexican cartel known as Los Zetas Aug. 24, 2010.

Push to ban ‘killer robots’ gets a boost from the Vatican and the pope

Among the many threats to human life and dignity, the Vatican is making sure that the widening use of lethal autonomous weapons systems worldwide is not reduced to a natural progression of technology that people learn to accept and live with.

Pope sends aid to those hit by disasters in Haiti, Bangladesh, Vietnam

Pope Francis will be sending nearly a quarter of a million dollars to help people in Haiti, who are struggling in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake during a global pandemic.

COVID-19 makes an already dangerous trek to U.S. border more perilous

July saw record encounters between Customs and Border Protection agents and people attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border -- 213,000 in total, said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas during an Aug. 12 trip to McAllen and Brownsville in Texas.

Pope accepts resignation of bishop of Phoenix-based Byzantine eparchy

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop John S. Pazak of the Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy, which is based in Phoenix.

Archbishop says SNAP increase helps people meet ‘essential human needs’

A U.S. Department of Agriculture's recalculation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and a major increase in the benefit for those in need "will be a meaningful improvement in the lives of millions of people who rely on SNAP for basic nutrition," Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said Aug. 21.

Cardinal Burke remains hospitalized, but he’s off ventilator, out of ICU

Cardinal Raymond L. Burke remained hospitalized for COVID-19 but as of Aug. 21 he was taken off a ventilator that he had been on for some days and taken out of the ICU to be returned to a regular hospital room, according to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse.