Expressions of regret and horror, prayer services and moments of silence across the country followed in the aftermath of a shooting in a historic church in Charleston, S.C. The rampage on June 17 claimed the lives of nine people. Once again the nation faced the grim, inexplicable spectacle of a mass

Addressing “every person on the planet” in a groundbreaking encyclical, “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis speaks frankly and passionately about the “global environmental deterioration” of “our common home,” appealing “for a new dialogue about how

Pope Francis accepted the resignations on June 15 of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee A. Piche of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In a statement, Archbishop Nienstedt said he hopes his resignation might “give the archdiocese a new beginning amidst the many cha

From the beginning of his pontificate the Argentine pope has given particular attention to “the peripheries” of the world. Bosnia-Herzegovina, with its capital city Sarajevo, is one of them. Life is hard there. The economy is weak, unemployment is high and ethnic tensions are never far f

At St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, Del., on June 6, President Obama delivered the eulogy for Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden. • Pope Francis sent “heartfelt condolences” to the citizens of Ghana after at least 150 people were killed in an explosion at a ga

A Canadian government investigation used the term “cultural genocide” to describe the experience of aboriginal people, advising that reconciliation within the country “is going to take hard work.” Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on June 2 called for changes