Pope Francis is embarking this week on a five-day trip to Portugal for World Youth Day. The big Catholic rally is aimed at galvanizing the young generations in their faith.

Whether we think “they should get jobs” or “the government should take care of them,” too often we regard the poor dispassionately. The story of the good Samaritan is a better place to start.

The Mobile County District Attorney’s office is asking the public for information about a young Alabama Catholic priest who was publicly placed under restriction by the Mobile Archdiocese for walking away from his parish and reportedly leaving the country with a recent Catholic high school graduate for an exorcism.

Vietnam has formally agreed to let a Vatican representative live in the country and open an office. The Holy See announced the conclusion of an agreement during a visit to the Vatican by Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, who met with Pope Francis.

A proposal to make "the 12th" an all-Ireland holiday has not been not met with a warm reception. A former government minister described the popular response as “a mixture of diatribe and incredulity.”

Representatives of the Roman Curia and the German bishops’ conference discussed theological and disciplinary issues related to the German church’s Synodal Path in a “positive and constructive climate” during a meeting at the Vatican July 26.