World News

The Texas law “forces state-sponsored religious instruction” on public school students, the filing says. The Ten Commandments sit outside the Texas Capitol where Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law on June 21, 2025, that requires public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. | Credit: Jana Birchum/Getty Images ... read more

Religious liberty scholars at the University of Notre Dame are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Texas law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law in June 2025. The measure ordered that a “durable poster or framed copy of the ... read more

Pope Leo XIV named Irish Sr. Mary Teresa Barron to lead the Vatican's global network of missionary societies, making her the first woman to hold the post. ... read more

Vatican City - The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Sr. Mary Teresa Barron, N.S.A., superior general of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, as adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization in the Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches, with the office of president of the Pontifical Mission ... read more

Vatican City – Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Reverend Sr. Mary Teresa Barron, N.S.A., superior general of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, as adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization in the Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches, with the office of president of the Pontifical Mission ... read more

The pontiff marked the 100th anniversary of World Mission Day. [...] ... read more

VATICAN CITY — “Being a Christian ... is a life in union with Christ,” and true evangelization stems directly from this spiritual bond, Pope Leo XIV said in a special message for the 100th anniversary of World Mission Day, Oct. 18."The more united we are in Christ, the better able we will be to carry ... read more

undefined In an age of the Mass State, in which governance, communication and economics have become centralized, the Church recognizes the importance of preserving local institutions, which enable people to become directly involved in shaping the life of their own community. COMMENTARY: We cannot truly understand the human person, human relationships or ... read more

Church leaders in South Sudan have called for an immediate halt to hostilities and urgent action to protect civilians amid worsening insecurity, killings, abductions, and displacement across the country.In a statement issued Oct. 5, members of the South Sudan Council of Churches — which includes representatives of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference — said the ... read more

Recently Thomas Mirus, Editor-in-Chief of Catholic Culture, invited me (along with many other people in Catholic media) to sign a public pledge he wrote against AI content. After some consideration, I declined to sign it, so I want to explain why. To be clear, I think the motivations behind the pledge are good, and I’m ... read more

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, people of various faiths are training to serve their communities as poll chaplains — an unofficial role that seeks to offer a peaceful presence at voting locations to ease tensions and ensure every person’s voting rights are respected.Poll chaplains, sometimes called peacekeepers, volunteer outside of polling locations to help ... read more

Catholic organizations are participating in efforts to recruit and train poll chaplains, who serve an unofficial peacekeeping role at voting locations. | Cedit: vetre/Shutterstock As the 2026 midterm elections approach, people of various faiths are training to serve their communities as poll chaplains — an ... read more

by Paolo AffatatoAstana – The 24th session of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held in Astana on 7 October, provides a clear picture of the evolution taking place in interreligious dialogue: from discussion to collaboration, from mutual understanding to the search for common answers to the major issues ... read more

Addressing an international Marian conference in Rome, Cardinal Raymond Burke said on October 7 that “the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, participated in an altogether unique way in the Mystery of Faith, the Mystery of the Redemptive Incarnation, and is rightly called Co-Redemptrix.” Cardinal Burke delivered his talk, entitled “Our Lady of ... read more

Every year, Catholics are invited to pray for those struggling with mental health and reflect on how to better engage the issue, which affects many people around the world, on Mental Health Sunday, which falls on Oct. 11 this year.Mental Health Sunday is part of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ (USCCB) National Catholic ... read more