On July 26, nine men were ordained at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville, Tenn., the largest group ordained together in the diocese’s 177-year history. • Pope Francis celebrated the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola in Rome on July 31 by meeting the family of Paolo Dall’Oglio,

As people in Sierra Leone lose hope and worldwide fear grows over the worst Ebola outbreak on record, “Our situation is desperate,” says the Rev. Peter Konteh, executive director of Caritas in the Archdiocese of Freetown.On July 30 Father Konteh described the mood of the West African cou

On July 17 the convicted murderer David Paul Hammer succeeded in an appeal against his death penalty sentence. A federal judge in Pennsylvania agreed to commute his sentence to life without parole. In April 1996 at a penitentiary in Allenwood, Pa., Hammer strangled his cellmate, 27-year-old Andrew H

As an Israeli Defense Forces operation into the Gaza Strip entered its second day on July 18, the head of Caritas Jerusalem said he would launch an international appeal for assistance in Gaza and would not wait until the end of the Israel-Hamas hostilities, as he has done in the past. The Rev. Raed

When Pope Francis visits South Korea on Aug. 14 to 18, he will find a Catholic Church that exemplifies much of what he hopes for the church around the world, including a highly active laity, extensive efforts to help the needy and strong relations with non-Christian communities. [America will provid

Two weeks after protesters in Murrieta, Calif., made national news by attempting to prevent busloads of mostly unaccompanied children from reaching an emergency detention facility, the bishops of California have issued a statement calling on Catholics to support these refugees. “These children

The fate of the 1,700-year-old Christian community of Mosul in Iraq seems to have been sealed as the city’s remaining Christians, heeding a warning from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, fled the city on July 17. • The Knights of Columbus pledged $1.4 million on July 14 to help cover c

Sudanese government authorities demolished the Church of Christ in Thiba Al Hamyida in North Khartoum on June 30 after giving the church’s leaders just 24 hours notice, evidence of increasing pressure in Sudan against minority Christians. · Six years after reaching a $10 million settlem

Religious and civic leaders urged President Obama to include a religious exemption in the planned White House executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In a letter on July 1, the group of 14 faith leaders, including the Rev. Larr

‘Justice has prevailed,” said two U.S. archbishops, commenting on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Hobby Lobby case on June 30. The court determined that certain “closely held” private businesses can be exempted from a government requirement to include contraceptives in t