The Vatican's financial watchdog has reported a dramatic increase in suspicious transactions at the Vatican bank, but officials sought to downplay any rise in criminal activity.The Vatican's Financial Information Authority, known as the AIF, recorded a "notable" rise in shady trans

Jesuit journalist Father Thomas J. Reese is among several new members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.In a May 14 announcement, President Barack Obama named Father Reese to the organization that serves as a monitoring and advisory panel to the federal government on religiou

Vatican says no movement (yet) on sainthood for Oscar Romero.

Small group of U.S. Catholic bishops and Iranian ayatollahs begin dialogue.

If individuals and nations are serious about protecting human rights and promoting peace, they must do much more to curb the global arms trade and assist immigrants, Pope Francis told seven new ambassadors to the Vatican.There are "stories that make us weep and feel ashamed: human beings -- our

If Maxime Makom has his way, all the remaining anti-balaka fighters in the Central African Republic capital of Bangui will gather in one long line before government officials and representatives from the international community and drop their weapons into a giant pile for all to see. Makom, who desc