Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, Quebec, said the Synod of Bishops on the family should reflect on the possibility of allowing female deacons as it seeks ways to open up more opportunities for women in church life. Where possible, qualified women should be given higher positions and decis

St. Joseph Parish in Roseburg, Ore., hosted an emotional Mass the evening of Oct. 1 to remember 10 people who died in a shooting that morning at Umpqua Community College. Authorities in Roseburg, a small town in green rolling hills 180 miles south of Portland, report that nine others were wounded.F.

Concerned that Puerto Rico’s debt crisis is inflicting hardship on poor and middle-class households, Archbishop Robert González Nieves of San Juan met with congressional leaders and the White House to push for a resolution in September. The crisis has led to school closings, cuts in social se

An Ethiopian priest, Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie, became the first African to be elected superior general of the Comboni Missionaries on Sept. 30. • The Vatican denounced the decision by Msgr. Krzysztof Charamsa of Poland on the eve of the Synod of Bishops’ meeting on the family to annou

Church leaders in the southern Philippines said the killing of tribal leaders and the harassment suffered by indigenous peoples in Mindanao are related to mining operations in the area. The tribal people “who firmly stand against mining activities were the ones being intimidated by paramilitar

Attempting to stamp out a controversy that threatened to overshadow the many historic moments of the pope’s first visit to the United States, the Vatican issued a statement on Oct. 2 to clarify the circumstances of the pope’s meeting with embattled Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis. Accord

Francis, the first pope ever to address the United States Congress, provoked sustained applause by his very first words, expressing his gratitude for the invitation to address this joint session of Congress in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”Many veteran politicians, inc

Pope Francis urged the hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families on Sept. 27 to serve and care for each other as freely as God loves the human family.The pope called upon the faithful to embrace signs that the Holy Spirit can work through everyone

‘We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing,” Pope Francis told hundreds of homeless people in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24. He met them in the 220-year-old Church of Saint Patrick and told them, “There are many unjust situations

Whether they are dealing with war, development, the economy or environmental concerns, bureaucrats and diplomats must always remember that the lives of real children, women and men are at stake, Pope Francis told the United Nations. Helping to celebrate the organization’s 70th anniversary, Pop