The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church said Ukrainians were shocked when Pope Francis told Russian Catholic youths to be proud of their heritage and cited two historic Russian leaders that, the archbishop said, are “the worst example of imperialism and extreme Russian nationalism.”

Pope Francis will visit Mongolia’s 1,400 Catholics from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4. What do they expect from the pope's visit?

A Reflection for the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, by Delaney Coyne

To provide quality formation—human, academic, spiritual and pastoral—to our future priests is a sacred duty. We would be able to do this better if we had fewer seminaries, all of them excellent ones.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrated Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Ireland, marking both the church's 150th anniversary and relaying the importance of Irish Catholics in Dolan's own archdiocese of New York.

Pope Francis commented that the situation in the Catholic Church in the United States is “not easy,” where “there is a very strong reactionary attitude” that “is organized and shapes the way people belong, even emotionally.”