A file photo shows students at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., receiving Communion during a Mass and rally for the opening of the school year. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter July 31, 2026, to the Catholic bishops of Florida demanding that Catholic schools in the Sunshine State adopt religious exemptions to vaccine requirements or risk their ability to participate in the state's school voucher program.

Catholic schools and childhood vaccines: A showdown between Florida’s attorney general and bishops

by Kevin Clarke August 5, 2026August 6, 2026

A showdown over vaccines between Catholic school officials in Florida and the state’s attorney general this week revived debate over the morality and efficacy of vaccinations.

The Weekly Dispatch

Archbishop Wenski condemns Catholic governor Ron DeSantis’s execution rampage

by Kevin Clarke July 31, 2026July 31, 2026

“I can’t explain the thinking other than that [Ron DeSantis] wants to come across as a tough guy,” the Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski said.

The scene from the back of a small boat fleeing Namaygoosisagagun First Nation.

The Weekly Dispatch

Canada’s First Nations communities grapple with historic Ontario wildfires

by Kevin Clarke July 24, 2026July 27, 2026

Smoky air from Canada forest fires triggered air-quality alerts across the U.S.—but for some First Nations people the fires represented an existential catastrophe.

Dispatches

Meet Britain’s first Catholic prime minister in 500 years

by Paul Vallely July 16, 2026July 16, 2026

No Roman Catholic has occupied the role of chief minister to the English crown since the 1550s. Andy Burnham is about to change that.

Carrying the flag of Haiti and baskets with fruits and vegetables that are grown in the country, girls and young women lead an offertory procession during a Mass on June 28, 2026, for the feast day of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the patroness of Haiti. at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Takoma Park, Md. The was celebrated for the Haitian Catholic community of Washington.

The Weekly Dispatch

Will the Trump administration accept a more humane policy for Haitian migrants?

by Kevin Clarke July 9, 2026July 11, 2026

“Ending TPS for Haitians and Syrians is neither merciful nor just. These are our neighbors, parishioners, coworkers and longtime members of our communities who have built lives here lawfully while conditions in their home countries remain extraordinarily dangerous.”

Father Rafael Troconis and the San Sebastián community celebrate Mass on July 5 alongside their badly damaged church.

Dispatches

Venezuela’s Catholic Church leads post-earthquake humanitarian efforts

by Estefanía Salazar July 9, 2026July 9, 2026

Despite the earthquake desolation all around him, Mr. Omaña has no intention of abandoning his community. “I love La Guaira,” he says. “I was raised here…. We have to start over again.”

A girl cools off in a public fountain in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, June 26, 2026.

Dispatches

How churches can respond to Europe’s historic heatwave

by Kevin Hargaden July 7, 2026July 7, 2026

Europe is heating up faster than any other region on the planet. As many as 150 million people have now been trapped under the “heat dome.” Adaptation to these changing climate circumstances will have to be rapid.