Faith, News

Pope Francis and Donald Trump to meet. Here’s what you need to know.

by Michael J. O’Loughlin May 19, 2017

The pope and the president have something of a history, but do not expect fireworks.

News, Politics & Society

Bishops to Congress: Decrease military spending and focus on the poor

by Rhina Guidos - Catholic News Service May 19, 2017

Decrease military spending and help the poor, said the U.S. bishops in a May 19 letter addressed to Congress, before lawmakers prepare to work on the federal budget for the upcoming 2018 fiscal year.

Pope Francis greets a resident as he arrives to give an Easter blessing to a home in a public housing complex in Ostia, a Rome suburb on the Mediterranean Sea, on May 19. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

Faith, News

Pope Francis takes blessings door to door

by Cindy Wooden - Catholic News Service May 19, 2017

“It was a great surprise today when, instead of the pastor, the one ringing the door bells was Pope Francis.”

A mother feeds her child as she waits outside of a SAMAN nutrition clinic in Caracas, Venezuela. (CNS photo/Cody Weddle, GSR)

News, Politics & Society

Malnutrition in Venezuela is now a crisis

by Junno Arocho Esteves - Catholic News Service May 19, 2017

With soaring food prices and a free-falling economy, child malnutrition in Venezuela has crossed the threshold of a humanitarian crisis.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs a revised executive order for a U.S. travel ban on March 6 at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. (CNS photo/Carlos Barria, Reuters)

News, Politics & Society

Trump’s new travel ban is before the court. Here’s what you need to know.

by Rhina Guidos - Catholic News Service May 19, 2017

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments for and against a revised version of Trump’s executive order on immigration.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence addresses a July 16, 2016 news conference in New York where he was introduced as the vice presidential running mate of Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump (CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters).

News, Politics & Society

Students plan to protest Mike Pence’s Notre Dame commencement address

by Michael J. O’Loughlin May 18, 2017

The protest is not designed to shut down conversation, but to prompt reflection on policies championed by Mr. Pence.

A statue of Mary is seen outside St. James Church in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in this Feb. 26, 2011, file photo. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Faith, News

What’s going on with Medjugorje? An interview with a priest assigned to investigate it.

by Cindy Wooden - Catholic News Service May 18, 2017

“The commission held as credible the first apparitions,” he said. “Afterward, things became a little more complicated.”

A girl looks at a Bible during Mass in 2016 at a Beijing cathedral. As young people move to cities, Catholic grandparents in rural areas are passing on the faith to their grandchildren. (CNS photo/How Hwee Young, EPA)

Faith, News

The once officially atheist China is booming with religion

by Kimberly Winston - Religion News Service May 18, 2017

When Ian Johnson first went to China as a student three decades ago, he pronounced religion there “dead.” But Johnson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist now based in Berlin and Beijing, has witnessed a transformation, one he documents in “The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao,” published in April. China is experiencing “one of the great […]

Australian Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican's Secretariat for the Economy, attends the presentation of the book, "Connected World," at the Vatican on March 28. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Faith, News

Vatican cardinal could soon be charged with sexual assault, Australian police say

by Associated Press May 18, 2017

Australian police said they were a step closer to deciding whether to charge a top Vatican cardinal over allegations of sexual assault dating back decades.