“The marginalization painfully experienced by millions of persons cannot go on for long," wrote Francis.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said more explanation was needed about ending DACA because she said it was "a choice to destroy lives."

Because of the future of the DACA program is so uncertain, an immigration counselor for Catholic Charities in Wisconsin has decided to move her family to Canada.

A student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was found injured in a parking lot Nov. 4 as police clashed with protesters. He fell into a coma while being treated at the hospital and died four days later.

The decision by the High Court of Australia comes nearly a year after a unanimous jury found Pope Francis’ former finance minister guilty of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys in Melbourne’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the late 1990s.

U.S. bishops: “The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself.... At the same time, we cannot dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty and the death penalty.”

In a Catholic preparatory school, seamstresses from the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Sisters of Bangkok are studiously snipping and sewing. They've been working tirelessly, running up the ceremonial garments Pope Francis will wear during his four-day visit to Thailand later this month.

More people have been forced to flee their homes than at any time in recorded history, writes Kevin White of Jesuit Refugee Service. But there is good news about global initiatives to address the problem.

On Nov. 12, the U.S. bishops elected Archbishop Gomez to be the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the first ballot.

Archbishop Gomez leads the largest U.S. diocese, Los Angeles, home to more than four million Catholics, and has been a vocal proponent of rights for immigrants.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann sees the day that Catholic parishes can be one of the first places a woman facing an unexpected or challenging pregnancy can turn to for assistance rather than think of seeking an abortion.

First elected in 2006, Morales' administration was marked by overseeing a resource boom and putting the proceeds into poverty reduction and infrastructure projects.

In a news conference after the presentation, Bishop Barron said he wasn't surprised by the lengthy conversation about bringing people back to church

Watch talks by James Martin, S.J., Sr. Peggy O'Neill and more here.

“Our nation made a promise to these ‘Dreamers,’” Archbishop Gomez wrote. “We have a moral obligation. It is time for the president and Congress to honor that promise and live up to this obligation.”

Cardinal O'Malley said of meeting with the Vatican secretary of state in early November: "The long wait has resulted in great frustration on the part of bishops and our people and indeed a very harsh and even cynical interpretation of the seeming silence."

Charles Taylor is a philosopher who has focused much of his work on secularism; Father Paul Bere is known particularly for his contributions to developing an African theology.

"An economic system that is fair, trustworthy and capable of addressing the most profound challenges facing humanity and our planet is urgently needed," he said in a speech addressed to members of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism during an audience at the Vatican Nov. 11.

"The South Sudanese people have suffered too much these past years and are awaiting—with great hope—a better future, especially the permanent end of conflicts and a long-lasting peace," Pope Francis said.

Proposed changes to a bishops’ letter introducing “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” reveal concerns that segments of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are not fully on board with Francis’ now six-year-old papacy.