World News

Officials said an undetermined number of assailants gained entrance to the bishop’s residence during the early hours of Saturday morning and opened fire, striking and killing the bishop. The late Bishop t Citora Afonso is pictured in an undated photograph. | Credit: CEM Bishop Osório ... read more

Family members killed in southern Lebanon, French lawmakers protect the seal of confession, Salesian martyrs to be beatified in Poland, and more in this week’s roundup of Catholic world news. Smoke rises from explosions during Israeli military operations in the Lebanese village of Taybeh on April 1, 2026. Lebanon was ... read more

A new tragedy struck southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike killed Dr. James George Karam and his two university-aged children, Tony and Theodosia, as they returned from university exams, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Wednesday. The family, from the Christian town of Qlayaa, were traveling back from Sidon when their ... read more

Tony Webster The J. Edgar Hoover FBI headquarters building in Washington, D.C. A field office of the federal bureau had issued a memo on investigating Catholic communities in Virginia over alleged extremism. ... read more

The Diocese of Aachen, Germany, has established a commission to investigate alleged apparitions of Our Lady (2001-2005) and Our Lord (since 2018) in the small town of Sievernich. ... read more

Only the second International Shrine in the Philippines, the Batangas sanctuary will mark its new status with a formal declaration on the saintʼs Sept. 23 memorial. Pilgrims gather at the National Shrine and Parish of St. Padre Pio in Santo Tomas, Batangas, Philippines. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Oscar ... read more

The Vatican has elevated the National Shrine and Parish of St. Padre Pio in Batangas, Philippines, to the rank of an international shrine, making it only the second shrine in the Philippines to receive the designation from the Holy See.The decree was issued by the Dicastery for Evangelization on May 25, coinciding with the 139th ... read more

A field office of the federal bureau had issued a memo on investigating Catholic communities in Virginia over alleged extremism. The J. Edgar Hoover FBI headquarters building in Washington, D.C. – Credit: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons The Federal Bureau of Investigation ... read more

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly fired several agents in connection with a controversial 2023 memo that detailed the bureauʼs plans to investigate “radical-traditionalist” Catholics in Virginia. Multiple media outlets reported on the firings on June 5, citing sources within the federal agency. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for ... read more

Q. This question might be filed under, “What are these people thinking?” My high school freshman got a ride home from a recent sporting event from a teammate’s parent. The conversation in the car turned to a high school party that took place a couple of weeks ago where teens were widely known to have ... read more

Magnifica Humanitas offers educators guidelines and tools on how to approach AI while prioritizing human dignity. A classroom. | Credit: Areipa.lt/Shutterstock Educators are weighing the benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence (AI) and exploring how to successfully integrate the technology into the classroom. As Pope ... read more

Educators are weighing the benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence (AI) and exploring how to successfully integrate the technology into the classroom.As Pope Leo XIV laid out in Magnifica Humanitas, AI must be used in a way that furthers human development, especially in the formational years of education.Educators are using AI tools to help them ... read more

Archbishop John Rodrigues of Bombay (Mumbai), India’s largest city, warned in a recent pastoral letter that the “’Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ’ is not in full communion with the Catholic Church under the leadership of the Successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV.” “In an age of confusion and misinformation, we must remain rooted ... read more

Pope Leo XIV departed this morning from Rome Fiumicino Airport for Spain on his fourth international apostolic journey (program), following previous trips to Turkey and Lebanon (November 27-December 2), Monaco (March 28), and Algeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea (April 13-23). ... read more

A Philippine cardinal today came to the defense of Father Flavie Villanueva, S.V.D., after 18 former soldiers accused the priest, a human rights activist, of receiving kickbacks. “I have known Fr. Flavie for many years and have witnessed firsthand his unwavering commitment to the human dignity of the poorest of the poor, especially ... read more