The Council of Nicaea 1,700 years ago recognized that Christian unity had to be based on a common faith and should be demonstrated by a common celebration of Easter, the most sacred feast of the Christian year, said speakers at a Rome conference.

Because of its universal character and outlook, the Catholic Church can be a driving force for building communion between the church of Rome and the local churches as well as fostering friendly relationships in the world community, Pope Leo XIV told members of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

One thing seems certain about the exorcism-themed movie “The Ritual” (XYZ); it is not intended as the first installment in a franchise.

New data shows that the number of immigrants lacking permanent legal status in the U.S. “is much lower than the Trump administration claims,” and “talk of an invasion is overblown,” said J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy and communications at the Center for Migration Studies of New York.

As Pope Leo XIV highlights the need for interreligious dialogue and diplomacy, religious liberty in Russia continues to decline, with the U.S. International Religious Freedom Commission citing that nation’s intensified use of blasphemy laws to silence freedom of expression.

A video of Brazilian nuns beatboxing and dancing hip-hop, a scene taken from a local TV show and defined by celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg as “a real life ‘Sister Act,'” went viral on May 28, with millions of views all over the world.

While the world is still just getting to know him, first impressions appear to hint that Pope Leo XIV doesn’t seem like a pontiff to say, “I told you so.”

Pope Leo XIV and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held their first telephone conversation June 4 with the pope encouraging Putin to make a gesture to show he is serious about peace with Ukraine, the Vatican press office said.

Amid an investigation into a controversial and retracted FBI memo that suggested some “radical traditionalist” Catholics pose threats of racial or ethnically motivated violence, a GOP senator alleged the FBI distributed the memo that “used anti-Catholic terminology” more widely than previously known.

The announcement of the discovery of a body believed to be that of Jesuit Father Paolo Dall’Oglio has prompted church officials in Syria, including the apostolic nuncio, to urge prudence as investigations continue.