World News

L’Osservatore Romano devoted a special section in its January 23 edition to the theme of “Geopolitica Artica” (Arctic Geopolitics). ... read more

There are some ideas so plainly preposterous, so spectacularly stupid, that only an astrophysicist of atheist persuasion could possibly believe them. And when will we stop listening to such people, I’d like to know—all these self-styled experts eager to tell us how little we know? Especially about the origins of the universe, concerning which they ... read more

Andrea Tornielli, the editorial director of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, hailed the late John Allen as “the journalist who explained the Vatican with expertise and wit.” “In every article, John combined rigor and careful attention to sources with interpretive frameworks, analysis, and context, and he insisted on using quotations “on the record,” ... read more

The chairmen of three committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops lent their support to the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act, sponsored by Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN). ... read more

A prelate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine called for greater unity among Ukraine’s Christians in order to “overcome the evil that has come upon our land.” “Only by being united can we overcome the evil that has come upon our land today,” said Archbishop Agapit of Vyshgorod. “I want to wish that the ... read more

Soul Seeing: Here at a Wendy's, love was patience. Here, love was kindness in the form of a carefully wrapped fish sandwich.  ... read more

Janet Rich Edwards brings historical acuity and imaginative sensitivity to Canticle, a debut novel and work of historical fiction set in 13th-century Brugge among the beguines. ... read more

Sociologist Tia Noelle Pratt's new book, Black and Catholic: Racism, Identity, and Religion, is "an unapologetic statement in scholarly form that we, Black Catholics, are here and we matter," writes Rana Irby. ... read more

Mumbai - The Society of the Divine Word missionaries are committed to walking alongside tribal people and tackling child marriage in the Indian state of Maharashtra, in central-western India. As Divine Word missionary Fr. John Singarayar SVD, anthropologist and sociologist, reports to Fides, "the Society of the Divine Word, through its Justice, Peace and Integrity ... read more

The Diocese of Rome has announced that on each of the first five Sundays of Lent, Pope Leo XIV will visit a parish in Rome: Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido, Sacred Heart of Jesus in Castro Pretorio, Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Santa Maria della Presentazione, and Sacred Heart of Jesus in ... read more

As gang violence and prison riots led Guatemala’s president to declare a state of emergency, the nation’s Primate suspended Sunday evening Masses in his archdiocese on January 18. Archbishop Gonzalo de Villa y Vásquez, SJ, also called for prayers for peace. The prelate subsequently discussed the violence in the Central American nation in ... read more

Pope Leo XIV received the bishops of Puerto Rico and encouraged them to be “bearers of fraternal communion and to strive for peace in all our dioceses,” according to a bishop who was present at the meeting. Auxiliary Bishop Tomás González made his remarks in an interview with Vatican News following the January 23 ... read more

Pope Leo XIV received Grand Duke Guillaume, Luxembourg’s head of state, and his consort, Grand Duchess Stéphanie. The Grand Duke subsequently met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. According to a ... read more

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in Pope Leo’s name to participants in a conference on Catholic social thought and peacebuilding in Europe. The conference was organized by the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice (CAPP) Foundation, named after Pope St. John Paul II’s 1991 social ... read more

The Church in Algeria has 8,740 Catholics, or 0.2% of the total Algerian population of 45,398,000, according to statistics in the new (2025) edition of the Annuario Pontificio [Pontifical Yearbook], published by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. Remarkably, one diocese reported no baptisms in 2024, and another reported only one. ... read more