Signs Of the Times

Underscoring the geographical diversity of his selections, Pope Francis named 15 cardinal electors “from 14 nations of every continent, showing the inseparable link between the church of Rome and the particular churches present in the world.” The pope announced the names on Jan. 4 and sa

It’s your typical Hollywood story: In the late 1970s, a Jewish kid from Los Angeles answers an ad to work as secretary to a film producer. She wants to get in “the business,” but she doesn’t exactly have the pedigree. Dad’s an economist; Mom runs a bookstore. Growing up

According to the findings of a German bishops’ report released on Dec. 22, most of the country’s 66 bishops now favor allowing divorced Catholics living in new civil unions to participate in confession and receive Communion in “particular justified instances.” The report said

Pope Francis expressed his “deep sadness” and condolences on Jan. 1 to the ecclesial community of the Diocese of Altamirano in Mexico after the murder of the Rev. Gregorio López Gorostieta, before urging “the priests and other missionaries of the diocese to continue their ecclesia

In his World Day of Peace address on Jan. 1, Pope Francis continued his promotion of a world free of human trafficking and modern forms of slavery, calling for a globalization of solidarity which rejects a globalization of indifference. • The Italian coast guard took control on Jan. 1 of a carg

The number of Catholics in the world has increased, with growth registered across all five continents, according to Vatican news agency Fides. The number of Catholics in the world stood at nearly 1.23 billion people, with an overall increase of more than 15 million over the 2013 numbers. The America

Ukrainian Catholic leaders have warned that their church is being driven underground again, a quarter-century after it was re-legalized with the end of Communist rule. “In Crimea and eastern Ukraine, we’ve already effectively returned to the catacombs,” said the Rev. Ihor Yatsiv, t

Ending a year that saw a papal visit, a war in Gaza and the resumption of unrest in Jerusalem, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal’s Christmas message condemned all instances of violence. “We condemn the Gaza war and deplore its dramatic consequences, killing and destruction, but at the same time

What percentage of China’s population considers itself Christian is a question that has come to the fore here recently, in part because that number may have grown to nearly equal the membership of the Communist Party of China.The C.C.P. operates “patriotic” churches that are headed

“A barbaric, inhuman and cowardly act” is how Cecil Chaudhry, executive director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, described the attack on an army school in Peshawar on Dec. 16 that left at least 126 children and others d