The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America on Aug. 10 approved "Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry and Eucharist," a document that tracks progress over 50 years of Lutheran-Catholic dialogue and maps remaining steps to full unity. • Pope Francis hosted 21 Syrian refugees at the

In yet another sign of his strong stance against human trafficking, Pope Francis made a surprise visit to 20 women who have been rescued from sexual slavery. The pope met with the women on Aug. 12 at a refugee center in Rome, the Pope John XXIII community, which houses people rescued from prost

Terrorists want to make peace-loving Christians and Muslims believe that it is impossible for them to live side by side; it is up to Christians and Muslims to prove them wrong, said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran of France. The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, w

A small independent Catholic college in Escondido, Calif., has joined the opponents of a state law that would ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students by depriving colleges of state and federal student-aid funds. The president of John Paul the Great University, Derr

“It’s not true, it’s not right, it’s not just to say that Islam is terrorist,” Pope Francis said on the plane from Krakow to Rome on July 31. • On July 25, the leader of Egypt’s Coptic Christian Church warned of increased attacks on Christians—37 sectar

In a new document, Jesuits involved in the Middle East call on the international community to take on a “sense of responsibility” for conflicts in the region and to abandon “the Machiavellian behaviors, passive attitudes and ideological battles” that for too long have stood i

Muslims and Catholics joined in Friday prayers at the mosque in the Normandy town where an elderly priest was slain on July 26. The killing of 85-year-old Rev. Jacques Hamel as he celebrated morning Mass sent shockwaves around France and deeply touched many among the nation’s five million Musl

Msgr. Owen Campion of Nashville, Tenn., retired on June 30 after a long career in the Catholic press as an editor and associate publisher. • A few months after Donald J. Trump’s clash with Pope Francis over immigration policy, a new poll finds that most U.S. Catholics support Hillary Clin

A Vatican ceremony on June 28 marked the 65th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. It featured a rare joint appearance by Pope Francis and his predecessor that seemed aimed at tamping down speculation prompted by the unusual circumstance that there are two living pop

Rodrigo Duterte, a controversial town mayor dubbed “Dirty Harry” and “The Punisher” for his tough stance on crime—and against the Philippine Catholic Church—was sworn in as the 16th president of the Philippines on June 30. • Thousands of Syrians stranded on t