On Sept. 16, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl celebrated a Mass for consolation and healing, praying for the victims of the rampage at the Washington Navy Yard and asking God to “heal the wounds in our society so that we can prevent tragedies such as we have just witnessed.” • Sister Angél

Bishop Paul Nguyen Thai Hop of Vinh Diocese on Vietnam’s north-central coast, has appealed for “international support and solidarity” following violent attacks against Catholics in Nghe An Province on Sept. 4 that left at least 40 people seriously injured. Bishop Nguyen Thai Hop ha

The pope gave the cardinals a mandate to advise him in the “government of the universal church.”

Writing in one of Italy’s major secular newspapers, Pope Francis called for a “sincere and rigorous dialogue” between the church and nonbelievers as an “intimate and indispensable expression” of Christian love. An “open and unprejudiced dialogue” between Chr

Avid readers of U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of colleges and universities will find the names of dozens of Catholic schools on the lists. The University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, Ind., is the top-ranked national Catholic institution, placing 18th. Georgetown University, i

In the United States, hearing the words “it’s a girl,” is a cause for enormous joy and celebration for most people, said Rep. Chris Smith, Republican of New Jersey. “Today, the three most dangerous words in China and India are: It’s a girl,” Smith told a congressi

Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., described in detail the financial situation of the diocese in two recent letters to parishioners that were read during weekend Masses. The most recent letter, read during weekend Masses on Sept. 7 and 8, announced the diocese’s plans to consider fi

An international panel of cardinals charged in April with preparing recommendations for the pope on reforming the Curia will issue their report and meet with Pope Francis on Oct. 1-3. • According to reports from the Sudan Catholic Radio Network in September, the Sudanese air force continues to

U.S. and Russian negotiators hammered out a deal on the cataloging, securing and disposal of Syria’s 1,000 tons of chemical weapons on Sept. 14, side-stepping a confrontation with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad that could have ended with a U.S. missile strike. The question now is whet

Some 70 high-ranking Arab church leaders, together with their Western counterparts and Muslim clerics gathered in Amman, Jordan, on Sept. 3-4 for a meeting to deal with the challenges facing Arab Christians. The Christian and Muslims leaders aimed to find a way to end the sectarian strife threatenin