A smiling and standing pope patted the children on their heads as their parents held them, according to photos of the encounter released by the Vatican.

Washington, Colorado and Oregon are now among the U.S. states that have legalized the process of converting human bodies into soil, a procedure the Catholic Church said fails to show “respect for the body of the deceased.”

With violent crime rising in a number of U.S. cities, Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich is urging Catholics to consider how they might contribute to a more just and peaceful society.

Pope Francis “is continuing his planned treatment and rehabilitation, which will allow him to return to the Vatican as soon as possible.”

The Haitian people are resourceful enough and resilient enough to find Haitian solutions to Haitian problems, if allowed to do so.

Given all the challenges facing the Catholic Church in our country, we are far overdue for a moment in which the bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful of our country can discern together how to be the people of God in our time and place.

One way through grief is service. And as many of us know, from the tips of our fingers through the depths of our hearts to the bottom of our wallets, there are many ways to serve.

“You go through a lot of emotions visiting a plantation, walking in the same steps as your ancestors,” said Angela Wilson, a descendent. “It can be eerie. It can be exhilarating.”

Pope Francis continues to make progress after his operation but will remain in hospital for to “optimize in the best way possible the medical and rehabilitation therapy.”

The pope looked well and spoke strongly one week after surgery, reports Gerard O’Connell. In addition to thanking people for their prayers, he called for universal health care and condemned violence in Haiti.

Pope Francis continues to make progress in his post-surgery recovery and celebrated Mass in a private chapel on Friday. America’s Vatican correspondent, Gerard O'Connell, reports.

The best essays in 'The God Beat' are quietly reflective, deeply informed, subjective but not solipsistic.

“Everyone is in a waiting mode,” waiting to find out what happened and why, and “what will happen,” Father Saint-Félix said. He asked the Jesuits in Haiti and the lay people who work with them to stay off the streets.

A Wisconsin bishop has taken the unusual step of removing a priest from the ministry after he made a series of divisive remarks about politics and the pandemic.

Pope Francis, Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the Rev. Jim Wallace, moderator of the Church of Scotland, marked the 10th anniversary of South Sudan’s independence and again promised to visit the country when it has a stable peace.

Did the singer-songwriter era come about specifically to fill a demand by retreat directors for a poignant soundtrack to accompany the spiritual epiphanies of 16-year-olds?

Conan never did quite fit in, and I mean that in the best possible way.

What if instead of a few philosopher-kings magnanimously steering the unruly mob, we focused on building a democracy full of philosopher folks?

Missing for decades, the university’s long-rumored possession of the blue gingham dress worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” showed up in a white trash bag stashed high in a theater department’s office.

Pope Francis continues to recover well from the intestinal operation he underwent on July 4. He has walked in the corridor, resumed work, celebrated Mass, and is eating regularly.