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The call to end a U.S. policy that keeps migrants out because of COVID-19 fears has been a constant rallying cry among immigrant advocate circles this summer.

Bishop William P. Callahan of La Crosse July 9 removed a pastor who has been stirring controversy since last fall when he criticized Catholic Democrats from the pulpit, saying they must "repent" because of the party's support for legal abortion or "face the fires of hell."

Father Juan Sosa, pastor of the Catholic church that is close to the now-demolished condominium building in Surfside, held up a photo of 11-year-old Lucia Guara's first Communion in 2019.

Despite initial estimates of requiring a week of inpatient care, Pope Francis will continue his recovery as a patient at Rome's Gemelli hospital after undergoing colon surgery, the Vatican press office said.

Congolese Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, retired archbishop of Kinshasa, a biblical scholar and an activist for justice and peace, died July 11 near Paris where he had been rushed five days earlier for medical care.

Christians and ethnic minorities in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar are facing increased oppression under the junta that overthrew the civilian government on Feb. 1, experts said during an online forum.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency involved in deportations and other immigration-related detention proceedings, announced July 9 it would not detain, arrest or take into custody pregnant or nursing migrants for violating immigration laws except in exceptional circumstances.

A federal appeals court July 9 dismissed a lawsuit filed against a Chicago Catholic parish and the Chicago Archdiocese by a former parish music director.

Members of the general chapter of the Order of Friars Minor elected Rome-born Father Massimo Fusarelli as the new minister general of the worldwide Franciscan order.

Ten days after undergoing intestinal surgery, Pope Francis was released from Rome's Gemelli hospital, the Vatican confirmed.