The Chinese government has temporarily closed all of the country's places of worship in an effort to contain the COVID-19 respiratory coronavirus that has now killed almost 3,000 people, with more than 80,000 around the world verified with infections.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, by a 7-4 vote has upheld the Trump administration's "Protect Life Rule" which enforces the Title X rule banning taxpayer funds for abortion and or abortion as family planning.

Lent is a time to remove all distractions and bitterness from one's life in order to better hear God and those who suffer silently and need help, Pope Francis said.

While Ash Wednesday Masses were canceled in several northern Italian dioceses to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, bishops composed special prayers for their people and offered alternative ways to begin the celebration of Lent.

Mexico's bishops called for action after a spate of slayings of women and girls -- crimes known as femicide -- that have provoked anger and protests, but also highlighted the country's machismo culture and deep-seated problems such as impunity.

Few people might have noticed it, but Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, conducted a series of rural roundtables in 2018 and 2019 to take the pulse of Americans living in the heartland.