Catholics will never be effective evangelizers if they are squabbling among themselves, and they cannot show the world how faith in Christ responds to the human yearning for freedom and peace if they are divided, Pope Francis said.

The outcome of May's same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland and the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on the same issue clearly show the extent to which Western society is abandoning many of its Christian legal foundations, said Australian Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican's Sec

'Everyone needs to be a messenger of love to all people.'

Declaration urges people to consider the moral dimensions of a changing climate.

Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which used the term "cultural genocide" to describe what happened to aboriginal Canadians in residential schools, said reconciliation within the country "is going to take hard work."In a 382-page report with 94 recommendations, th

A week before the parliamentary round of Burundi's elections, the Catholic bishops announced they had withdrawn permission for several priests who were serving in posts on the national electoral council.The electoral campaign has been marred by violence triggered by the announcement in April tha

Cardinal Charles Bo has asked the government of Myanmar to squelch hate speech and do more to help Rohingya refugees, many of whom have fled the country and are trapped at sea as countries refuse them entry.

Nebraska state senators overrode Gov. Pete Ricketts' veto of a bill repealing capital punishment that had been supported by the state's Catholic bishops.In a 30-19 vote May 27, the senators supported a bill that replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life in prison without parole.The

Human rights in South Sudan are abused "on the battlefield and in peaceful areas," and much of the country is without effective governance, church leaders said."People are being killed, raped and tortured," the South Sudan Council of Churches said in a May 26 statement signed by

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has said the church needs a "reality check" after Irish voters overwhelmingly supported same-sex marriage.Ireland was the first country in the world to put same-sex marriage to a popular vote and the May 22 poll was backed by 62 percent of the populatio