NEWS

The debate about denying Communion to politicians who support abortion must be handled in a pastoral way, not by public condemnations that seek to "excommunicate" Catholics who are not in line with church teaching, Pope Francis said.

The flag-draped casket was empty during a memorial Mass in Wichita for Father Emil J. Kapaun July 29, 1953.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, and the virtues of faith and courage, we can restore and build right relationships.

The U.S. bishops' migration committee chairman Sept. 15 welcomed a move by House members to include language in the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill to provide a pathway to U.S. citizenship for beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and other immigrants.

One month after two Catholic sisters were executed on a road in South Sudan, their killers remain unidentified, and church leaders are losing patience with an apparent lack of progress in resolving the murder.

Tourism needs to protect both people and the planet as well as promote a more inclusive economy, the Vatican said.

On paper, Pope Francis' apostolic visit to Hungary and Slovakia was pretty standard as papal trips go: outdoor Masses, meeting with dignitaries, visiting poor and marginalized populations and of course, answering questions from journalists aboard the papal flight.

Walking pilgrimages to religious sites have been a popular way of expressing and building one's faith and connection to God for centuries.

Pope Francis praised Catholic lay movements and associations for living out the Gospel in their everyday lives and for promoting education, social support and evangelization in the world's peripheries.

Getting to be a ripe old age is a privilege, Pope Francis told older priests.