As the end of a memorable and historic visit with the neighboring people of the United States and Cuba, Pope Francis closed out the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia on Sept. 27 with a Mass along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway that was attended by hundreds of thousands.It had been a

In the face of rising religious persecution of people on the grounds of faith or belief, over 100 parliamentarians from almost 50 countries met in New York City on Sept. 18 and 19 to discuss ways to advance freedom of religion or belief. The event was cosponsored by the International Panel of Parlia

The leadership of the Catholic Church in the United States has introduced its first mobile application, called “USA Catholic Church.” Designed to draw Catholics closer to their faith by providing access to church information on all screens and devices, this is the only app that brings to

People discover their worth when they discover their true identity as created in God’s image and called to an eternal destiny with him, said Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, O.F.M.Cap., archbishop of Boston and chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholi

Pope Francis named Brother Guy Consolmagno, a Jesuit from the United States, to be the new director of the Vatican Observatory on Sept. 18. • The Archdiocese of Cincinnati is one of the latest U.S. dioceses to heed the call of Pope Francis, announcing that annulment fees would be eliminated eff

Seeking to create awareness about poverty in the United States and to stand in solidarity with Pope Francis’ commitment to the poor, Catholic Charities USA has launched a new national campaign. Donna Markham, a Dominican sister, discussed the effort on Sept. 10 in her first address as presiden

Religious leaders from different faith traditions urged President Obama in a letter on Sept. 10 to continue to permit government-funded faith groups to employ people with like beliefs. Their request comes less than a month after a coalition of religious and secular organizations sent the president a

Pope Francis’ reformed rules for marriage annulment cases, making the process simpler, quicker and less expensive, respond to calls that bishops from around the world have been making since before the 1980 meeting of the Synod of Bishops on the family convoked by St. John Paul II. With the new

As Israeli students began their second week of classes on Sept. 6, thousands of students and teachers from Christian schools converged in front of the Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s office to protest government budget cuts to their schools. • During his homily on Sept. 10, Pope Francis s

California Catholic leaders plan to revamp church curriculum and museum programs on the California mission system to present more accurately the history, the perspective of California Indians and the missions’ impact on Indian life. The initiative is part of a larger program of the California