Pope Francis and the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, together charged 19 pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops to return to their home countries and work together to promote joint prayer, joint proclamation of the Gospel and especially joint works of charity and justice.

Pope Francis made a surprise visit on Oct. 4 to the town of Amatrice in Italy, recently devastated by an earthquake, and told survivors there: “From the first moment” of the tremblor on Aug. 24, “I felt the need to be here.”

Catholic Extension plans to expand its outreach in the Caribbean region, funding church reconstruction in Cuba and expanding its century-long involvement in Puerto Rico in response to the island’s ongoing debt crisis, the Rev. Jack Wall, president of Catholic Extension, said during a news conf

Flying back to Rome on Oct. 2 after a visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan, the pope was asked how, given his criticism on Oct. 1 of “gender theory” and of what he calls “ideological colonization,” he would provide pastoral care to a person who felt his or her sexuality did not co

The stunning defeat of a referendum on Oct. 2 for a peace deal with leftist rebels leaves Colombians with no Plan B to save an accord that sought to bring an end to a half century of hostilities. Instead of winning by an almost two-to-one margin on Sunday, as polls had predicted, those favoring the

Jeanne Mancini, executive director of the March for Life, observed the 40th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal Medicaid funding of abortions, by warning that Hyde was at risk because the Democratic Party platform and the presidential standard-bearer, Hillary Clinton, have said the

Subtly acknowledging Georgia’s ongoing territorial dispute with Russia, Pope Francis urged greater efforts to sow peace throughout the Caucasus region shortly after arriving in Tbilisi on Sept. 30. • On Sept. 27 Catholics joined a group of other faith leaders as part of the “We Stan

The Nigerian government reported on Sept. 22 that President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking U.N. assistance in negotiations to exchange the kidnapped schoolgirls from Chibok for captured leaders of Boko Haram. • Catholic Extension officials announced on Sept. 19 that Melva Arbelo, director of the S

A missing priest was found shot dead off the side of a highway in western Mexico days after he was kidnapped from his parish residence, state prosecutors said on Sept. 25. He was the third Roman Catholic priest to be slain in Mexico in the last week.The Michoacan state Attorney General's Office

In August, the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research, based in the United Kingdom, published a report in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of “Humanae Vitae,” the papal encyclical that upheld the ban on the use of contraceptives. The statement, signed by more than 150 Catholic sc