It’s a long-standing puzzle: If there is such a high probability of life existing elsewhere in the universe, then, as Enrico Fermi was alleged to have said, “Where is everybody?

The figure of Mary is often distorted and exploited by criminal organizations as a way to make people more submissive and “turn them into slaves,” according to Father Stefano Cecchin.

The preferential option for the poor, which includes feeding the hungry and drawing close to the excluded, “is the key criterion of Christian authenticity,” Pope Francis said Aug. 19 during his weekly general audience.

One kind of ministry, by its nature but also church mandate, shuns the limelight and remains discreet: exorcism.

"May the prophetic voices" of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki "continue to serve as a warning to us and for coming generations," Pope Francis said in a written message to Hidehiko Yuzaki, governor of the Hiroshima prefecture.

Specifically, a baptism administered with the formula "We baptize you ..." instead of "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" is not valid.

Novices and women religious, especially those who have been assigned to a country where they don’t know the language, can be particularly vulnerable to abuses of power and conscience by superiors, and sexual abuse by their formators, said an article in “La Civilta Cattolica.”

Pope Francis called on young people to reach out to their grandparents or the elderly who may be lonely or on their own.

"The kids were so stunned they stayed completely silent."

A Vatican task force considering the issues concerning the world today is urging an end to arms production in favor of tackling the problems of human health, peace and security.