NEWS

Human trafficking is "a despicable activity, a disgrace for our societies, which describe themselves as civilized," Pope Francis said. Refugees, displaced and stateless people are particularly vulnerable to "the plague of human trafficking, which increasingly involves children subjected to the worst forms of exploitation and even recruitment into armed conflicts," the pope said May 24.

The Boy Scouts of America's National Council voted late May 23 to allow openly gay youths admittance as members into the 103-year-old organization, effective Jan. 1, 2014.

The Knights of Columbus, Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City are among the charitable agencies collecting donations and providing emergency services to help victims of a string of tornadoes that buffeted areas of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City May 19-20.

The director of the Vatican's Financial Intelligence Authority said the Vatican will further amend its finance-related laws in the coming months, increase screening of account holders at the Vatican bank and continue assessing the potential risk that accounts could be used for money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Advocates for comprehensive immigration reform expressed optimism and hope for a law to pass this summer after the Senate Judiciary Committee May 21 finished wading through 300 proposed amendments -- accepting about a third of them -- and passed the massive bill on to the full Senate.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted blessed St. Henry's chapel and church hall during the vigil Mass for the Feast of the Ascension. The spaces mark the first of an ongoing multi-phase effort to permanently re-locate parish activities four-miles north of what is now called the “pastoral center” or “office location.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down an Arizona law banning abortions after 20 weeks. The Mother's Health and Safety Act, passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer in 2012, was originally upheld by a federal judge but subsequently challenged.

Selfishness only brings sadness and bitterness, while stepping outside of oneself to evangelize is the ultimate "pick me up" and source of joy, Pope Francis said.

The United States' use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, to hunt down suspected terrorists deserves a wide-scale public discussion, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace.

Even after the initial death toll was cut by more than half, the human and material devastation of a string of tornadoes that buffeted areas of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City May 19-20 was incalculable.