World News

ungvar Nearly half of Catholics (49%) say the federal government should enforce separation of church and state, and 16% say it should stop enforcing it, in a Pew Research Center study released May 14, 2026. According to Pew's research, 65% of Catholics reported they have a positive view of religion, 12% have a ... read more

Colum Leneghan Jesuit Bishop Alan McGuckian stands after Mass on May 3, 2026, at Corpus Christi chapel with relatives of the Springhill/Westrock shooting victims. Father Noel Fitzpatrick was shot and killed along with four others including three youth in Belfast on July 9, 1972. ... read more

Monsignor Hugues de Woillemont looks out over the city during a visit to Taybeh, east of Ramallah, the last entirely Christian town in the West Bank. L’Œuvre d’Orient marks 170 years with an appeal for solidarity with Christians in the East and highlights three major challenges threatening the future of Christians there. ... read more

Krista Hall Bishop Godfrey Mullen, then Father Godfrey Mullen, gives an introduction to Morning Prayer to youth and adult 'One Bread, One Cup' participants in the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel at Saint Meinrad on June 28, 2012. Loquacious and quick with a smile and a joke, the newly installed Bishop Godfrey Mullen ministers ... read more

Church leaders in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu call the election of actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay a source of pride in a country where Christians face growing persecution. Chief minister of India’s Tamil Nadu state, Joseph Vijay, an Indian film superstar, speaks after taking the oath during his swearing-in ... read more

CHENNAI, India — The Catholic Church in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu is celebrating after Joseph Vijay, an actor-turned-politician raised in the Catholic faith, was sworn in as the stateʼs chief minister on May 10.“This is a historic development. We hope it will lead to positive changes as the chief minister has already promised,” ... read more

Organizers of the Würzburg congress told EWTN News the groupʼs guidelines contain ‘no contradiction with the Catechism.’ Aerial view of the historic city of Wurzburg with Alte Mainbrucke, region of Franconia, Northern Bavaria, Germany. | Credit: canadastock / Shutterstock An ecumenical working group promoting “consensual ... read more

An ecumenical working group promoting “consensual BDSM culture” will again exhibit at Germanyʼs Catholic Congress in Würzburg this week after organizers said its guidelines pose “no contradiction with the Catechism.”BDSM is an acronym that stands for “bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.”“The Ecumenical Working Group BDSM and Christianity has been represented on ... read more

"This very spiritual malaise of many young people reminds us that we are not the sum of what we have, nor matter randomly assembled in a mute cosmos," the pope said May 14. "We are a desire, not an algorithm." ... read more

At Europe’s largest university, the pontiff denounced a culture that reduces people to numbers. Pope Leo XIV at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” on May 14, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV visited Rome’s public La Sapienza University on Thursday, the largest ... read more

Pope Leo XIV visited Rome’s public La Sapienza University on Thursday, the largest university in Europe and one of Italy’s most prestigious academic institutions, where he denounced the “great lie” he said is causing anxiety and depression among young people.Speaking in the university’s Aula Magna after a brief moment of prayer in the “Divina Sapienza” ... read more

The celebration of the Ascension is an annual opportunity for us to focus on the implications Jesus’ return to the Father means for each of his followers. The Ascension of Jesus Christ. Giotto di Bondone, 1305. | Credit: Public domain Christ’s ascension is meant to help us to grow to ... read more

The Holy Fatherʼs well-educated mom was a devout Catholic, librarian, and accomplished singer of sacred music. The home life she created helped inspire her sonʼs vocation. Mildred Martínez, mother of Pope Leo XIV, left, and Pope Leo XIV. | Credit: National Archives/Daniel Ibañez ... read more

Most Americans oppose houses of worship endorsing political candidates, a May 14 report from the Pew Research Center said. ... read more

Before he started his general audience, Pope Leo XIV stepped out of his popemobile on May 13 and walked over to pray beside a plaque marking the spot where history took a turn that shocked the world 45 years before. ... read more