When Pope Francis planned the Year of Mercy and the opening of the Holy Door, he did not mean to give the starting signal for a frenzied wave of pilgrims to Rome. More than a call to sign up for an Eternal City package tour, the pope is inviting people to strike out on a yearlong spiritual journey t

Negotiators in Paris from 195 countries agreed on Dec. 5 on a blueprint deal aimed at reducing global carbon emissions and limiting global warming. Participants at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change were poised the following week for final discussion and approval of the agreem

I.C.B.M. systems are useless against the danger that a group like ISIS represents.

Arriving in the late morning on Dec. 2 at the San Bernardino diocesan pastoral center for his job in the diocese’s Office of Worship, Chris Estrella knew something was very wrong.“I could see a police blockade of Waterman Avenue, which is where the Inland Regional Center is located,&rdqu

In El Salvador, North Americans and Salvadorans gathered in the village of San Francisco Hacienda on Dec. 2 at the precise spot where four U.S. churchwomen were killed 35 years ago. “It is important for us to remember that her work for justice and peace lives on,” Terri Keogh told the cr

The U.S. bishops approved a statement on pornography on Nov. 17 at their fall general meeting in Baltimore. “Producing or using pornography is gravely wrong. It is a mortal sin if it is committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent,” said the approved version of “Create in M