Focolare Members Elect New President Maria Voce, a longtime close collaborator of the late Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement, has been elected the new president of the movement to foster worldwide unity. Almost 500 delegates from five continents voted nearly unanimously for Voce July 7

Washington Funeral Mass for Tim Russert The presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees were among the scores of mourners at the private funeral Mass on June 18 for the NBC News Washington bureau chief and “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert, who died suddenly June 13

Few Iraqi Refugees Resettled in U.S. More than 1,000 refugees from Iraq arrived in the United States in May, the most in recent months, bringing the fiscal-year total to 4,742 so far, the State Department reported June 3. But with just four months left in the fiscal year, the administration’s

Meeting the Food Crisis Greater support for the world’s small farmers would enable them to produce more food in a sustainable manner and help address chronic hunger and malnutrition around the globe, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations said during a meeting of the worl

Caritas Increases Relief Efforts in Myanmar Caritas Internationalis is offering emergency response efforts in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Division and the Yangon District, two of the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis. An estimated 40,000 people will receive vital relief, including food, shelter, wat

Deep Sadness Over Destruction in Myanmar Pope Benedict XVI expressed deep sadness and offered “heartfelt sympathy” after hearing news of “the tragic aftermath” of Cyclone Nargis, which killed tens of thousands in Myanmar. News agencies reported May 6 that more than 22,000 peo

Paraguayans Elect Retired Bishop Lugo as President Retired Bishop Fernando Lugo was elected president of Paraguay April 20, ending the six-decade rule of the Colorado Party. Bishop Lugo took an early lead in the pre-election polls despite official disapproval from the Vatican and, initially, from th

White House Welcome Pope Benedict XVI, meeting at the White House with President George W. Bush, said it was important to preserve the traditional role of religion in American political and social life. Religious values helped forge “the soul of the nation” and should continue to inspire

U.S. Urged to Share Iraqi Refugee Burden The ambassadors of Syria and Jordan called on the United States to share the burden of the unprecedented Iraqi refugee crisis. “The situation is terrible, and the burden on Syria’s resources and population is horrendous,” said Imad Moustaph

Bishops Urge Bill to Protect Farm Workers Expressing “deep concern for the men and women” who labor in the fields of southwestern Arizona and northern Mexico, the bishops of Tucson, Ariz., and Mexicali, Mexico, have issued a joint statement calling for legislation to end “exploitat