World News

Pope Leo XIV built on teachings laid out by his predecessors when he apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in slavery in his May 15 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, but the Holy Father also critiqued papal bulls issued in the late Middle Ages on the subject.“It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the ... read more

The Holy Father explained that, in antiquity and the Middle Ages, Catholic individuals and some ecclesiastical institutions participated in slavery as he apologized for the Catholic Church’s role. Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd during a general audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 27, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN ... read more

Quelimane – “It is a mortal sin and criminal complicity to know who committed this barbaric crime and not denounce it!” reads a message posted on numerous social media pages dedicated to the brutal murder of Bishop Osório Citóra Afonso of Quelimane, perpetrated on Saturday, June 6. The same message expresses full communion with the ... read more

General Santos – Profound solidarity, immediate humanitarian aid, and unceasing prayer: this is how Catholic communities in the Philippines are showing their support for the populations devastated by the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the southern archipelago. The quake, which struck on June 8, shook several provinces on the large island of Mindanao, claiming at ... read more

The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, whose theme is “One Nation Under God,” arrived in Washington this past weekend. A national blessing took place near the Washington Monument. The pilgrimage, which began in St. Augustine, Florida, on May 24, will continue to wind its way up the Eastern states to New England, and ... read more

Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, returned to his native Czech Republic to celebrate the June 6 Mass of beatification of Fathers Jan Bula and Václav Drbola. Father Drbola was martyred in 1952, and Father Bula in 1951, under the Czechoslovakian Communist regime. ... read more

Thousands of the faithful processed through the streets of Portland, Oregon, for a Corpus Christi procession on June 7. The Oregonian published 68 photographs of the procession, which followed a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Alexander Sample. ... read more

Catholic Frenchman Jules Rimet served as the president of FIFA for 33 years. Jules Rimet. | Credit: Agence de presse Mondial Photo-Presse, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons As the world prepares for the spectacle of the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the first World Cup ... read more

As the world prepares for the spectacle of the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the first World Cup jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico — billions of fans will once again gather around a game that transcends language, politics, and borders. Yet few realize that the tournament’s origins are intertwined with the ... read more

Despite the best efforts of government and mainstream media in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the shameful and horrific death of Henry Nowak back in December is now more or less world news. The English town of Southampton, where he lived, has only now begun to enjoy the sort of mostly peaceful demonstration enjoyed across ... read more

Pope Leo XIV met with six victims of clerical sexual abuse at the apostolic nunciature in Madrid on June 8. “During the conversation, which lasted almost an hour, each of those present, drawing on their own painful personal experiences, offered the Pope a number of suggestions on how to make the Church’s response to ... read more

The U.S. State Department announced a grant of over $240 million to Catholic Relief Services for humanitarian and disaster-response needs. “This support to CRS also demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to partnering with faith-based organizations that demonstrate faith in action and have proven their ability to deliver humanitarian assistance in the world’s most difficult environments,” ... read more

The Vatican newspaper published a profile of Sabastian Sawe, the Kenyan runner who shattered the world record in the marathon in April, becoming the first to run a marathon in under two hours. The runner, who attends Mass every Sunday and some weekdays, was born in a mud hut in a village without ... read more

The Myanmar civil war has displaced of the nation’s 17 bishops from their cathedrals, one of the affected bishops said in an interview with the Fides News Agency. “They are the bishops of the dioceses of Pekhon, Loikaw, Banmaw, Mindat, and Lashio,” said Bishop Felice Ba Htoo of Pekhon. “I had to leave ... read more

Jeremy Christiansen is the author of "From the Susquehanna to the Tiber: A Memoir of Conversion from Mormonism to the Roman Catholic Church", published by Ignatius Press. (Image: Twitter); right: Detail of the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City. (Image: Michael Hart/Unsplash.com) Editor’s note: This interview was first posted on December 6, ... read more