The chalice was handcrafted primarily with wood from a refugee boat that landed upon the beaches of Lampedusa.

The yearbook tracks the Catholic population, both by a head count of the baptized in each country and as a percentage of the world's population.

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory made the comments in the homily at an evening Mass said to commemorate a "Day of Prayer and Penance" for victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

Catholic bishops pledged to be more proactive in laying out a vision for comprehensive immigration reform.

Some of the issues on the bishops’ agenda—immigration and health care specifically—have already caused a great deal of tension between the White House and Catholic leaders.