Signs Of the Times

At a conference sponsored by the Holy See Mission to the United Nations, the message was clear: ending human trafficking and all forms of modern slavery is within global reach, but the complete abolition of these contemporary scourges remains frustrated by a lack of leadership, cross-border coordina

Commenting on the apostolic exhortation during a press discussion a few hours after its formal release on April 8, Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, N.Y., chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, said, “Amoris Laetitia” was focused

Lizzy Myers of Mansfield, Ohio, a 5-year-old girl who has a disease that is gradually rendering her blind and deaf, met the pope as part of her parents’ “visual bucket list,” during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 6. • The relics of St.

In his post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the family, “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”), Pope Francis not only strongly affirms the traditional Christian ideal of marriage; he also opens doors to the progressive integration into the life of the church of those Catholic

A new law in Indiana banning abortions based on potential disabilities, gender and race “reflects the love that God has for everyone by affirming that every human life is sacred,” Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin of Indianapolis said on March 24. • The United Nations on March 31 announced

Church leaders have issued a mixed report on the health of the nation’s Catholic schools. In 2015 Catholic schools served nearly 24,000 fewer students than in 2014, although 14 new schools opened across the country.The assessment was issued on March 29, the opening day of the National Catholic

Christian religious leaders across Asia called for Muslims to take a stand against Islamic extremists and seek reconciliation and forgiveness. They urged Muslims to pursue a peaceful interpretation of religion in the aftermath of the Easter massacre at a public park in Pakistan.“The attack is

Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, P.C.P.A., founder of the EWTN Global Catholic Network, died peacefully on Easter Sunday, March 27, surrounded by the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Ala. “This is a sorrow-filled day for the ent

In a surprise announcement on April 3, Pope Francis called on “all the Catholic churches in Europe” to hold a special collection on Sunday, April 24, to “alleviate the material needs” of all who are suffering “the consequences of the violence” in Ukraine. Issuing