World News

by Marie-Lucile KubackiRome – “Our missionaries are there, standing firm in the trenches of faith, like watchful sentinels at the outposts.”On 19 October 1940, as the war was also devastating Catholic communities in mission territories, Archbishop Celso Costantini, then Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith replied as follows to the ... read more

A leading Vatican diplomat said that “while women and men have equal dignity, equality does not mean sameness. In fact, equity cannot be achieved without recognizing the unique characteristics of each sex.” Addressing a UN committee meeting on the advancement of women, Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy ... read more

Pope Leo XIV thanked the Louisiana Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums for their generosity and told them that “beauty possesses the power to awaken the noblest desires of the human heart, calling us beyond ourselves and opening our souls to the gratuity of God’s gifts.” ... read more

Pope Leo XIV named Archbishop Jan Romeo Pawlowski, the current apostolic nuncio to Greece, as the new apostolic nuncio to Ireland. ... read more

The permanent council of the Conference of Bishops of France emphasized gratitude and joy in a message on Pope Leo XIV’s recent apostolic journey there. ... read more

Pope Leo XIV embarked on his fifth international Apostolic Journey since the beginning of his pontificate recently when he went to France. While many hailed the trip as a success, certain Catholic online journals criticized him for “celebrating a motto of the French Revolution used by Freemasons—“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”—as “universal ethical imperatives.” The pontiff told ... read more

The Church has always taught that the Gospel bears social implications, shaping how Christians live in the world. Catholic Social Teaching (CST), however, developed only when the fabric of Christendom — the legacy of Christian [...] ... read more

Ten years ago, as Canada legalized medical assistance in dying (MAID), I had a conversation with a friend about assisted suicide. After I sent him an article on the subject, he asked why someone should not be allowed to kill herself if she wanted to, particularly if she was physically incapable of doing so. He ... read more

Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV devoted his October 7 audience (video) to the mission of the Church in the contemporary world. ... read more

Pope Leo XIV opened the extraordinary meeting on the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia and called upon participants to speak with “evangelical freedom” about “what has brought joy in our Churches, what has challenged us and what questions have emerged more clearly through experience.” ... read more

At the conclusion of his October 7 general audience, Pope Leo XIV highlighted the importance of the Rosary. ... read more

by Marta ZhaoRome – In 1998, when Pope John Paul II invited two bishops from the People’s Republic of China to Rome to participate in the Synod on Asia, their seats remained empty. The two invitees, Matthias Duan Yinming and Joseph Xu Zhixuan, were unable to travel to the Eternal City and thus demonstrate, through ... read more

Letters to the editor: NCR readers respond to stories about multilateralism, diocesan restrictions of the reception of communion under both kinds and the culture of the Roman Catholic hierarchy.  ... read more

The Leo Chronicles: Brother Leo misses Gabby and worries she may be in trouble somewhere in Somalia. ... read more

A hospital run by the Daughters of Divine Love faces challenges from heavy rains and floods, which have damaged sections of the road leading to their community. ... read more