Pope Francis called on the people of Colombia to work toward peace, and maintain hope that negotiations will succeed, according to the Vatican secretary of state.The pope urged them to "not lose energy or hope" at such a crucial time in the peace process and encouraged them "to contin

As the trial of Boston Marathon bombing defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went to the jury April 6, the Catholic bishops of Massachusetts released a statement reiterating the church's teaching on the death penalty.If convicted, Tsarnaev could be sentenced to death or to life without the possibility of

More than 1,000 people packed into a tent in a refugee camp in Irbil, Iraq, for the Easter vigil Mass celebrated by Italian Cardinal Fernando Filoni, former nuncio to Iraq and Pope Francis' personal representative to those forced to flee the fury of Islamic State militants.The cardinal, who brou

The president of the Kenyan bishops' conference called on Easter worshippers to commit themselves to praying for peace and security in their homeland after militants attacked a college campus days earlier.Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi also condemned the April 2 attack by the Somalia-based al-Sha

Nigerian prelates hailed the country's presidential election as a success for democracy and urged President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to make good governance, security and peace top priorities.The church leaders also said that while the election was largely peaceful, Nigerians must be patient as th

Indiana residents of all faith traditions can be assured the government will not infringe upon their constitutional right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, Gov. Mike Pence said as he signed into law a religious freedom bill passed by the Indiana General Assembly."With the passage of t

Hundreds of Christian religious leaders of various churches signed onto a Holy Week call to end the death penalty in the United States."Torture and execution is always a profound evil, made even more abhorrent when sanctioned by the government in the name of justice when other means of protecti

Catholic parishes, schools and other institutions in Illinois are called on to ring their bells for four minutes at 2:15 p.m. April 9 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army in Appomattox County, Virginia.The Catholic bishops of Illinois aske

Over 3,000 people filled L.A. cathedral to mark anniversary of assassination.

The bishops of Nebraska called for repeal of the state's death penalty and reform of the criminal justice system.Archbishop George J. Lucas of Omaha, Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln and Bishop William J. Dendinger of Grand Island said in March 17 statement that while Catholic teaching allows c