A prominent Catholic humanitarian agency in the Middle East has expressed concern over sudden cuts to U.S. financial assistance affecting its ministries aiding the displaced, refugees and the impoverished.

Pope Francis has raised the status of the Vatican’s diplomatic academy to an institute of higher learning that will issue academic degrees while also strengthening its focus on evangelization.

Pope Francis has ordered the suppression of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Peru-based lay movement active across Latin America and the United States, and three related lay movements following decades of abuse allegations and internal investigations.

Pope Francis is going without supplemental oxygen for longer periods and is continuing therapy to recover his voice and to recover his physical strength, the Vatican press office said, but he also is increasing the number of private meetings he is holding with the heads of Vatican offices.

Catholic leaders and public officials condemned violence and called for peace after an alleged arson attack on the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Catholic faithful do not “buy” Masses, but when a priest accepts an offering and promises to celebrate a Mass for that person’s loved one or other special intention he must do so, the Vatican said.

Police and paramilitaries maintained a heavy presence outside the Nicaraguan Managua cathedral on Palm Sunday, ensuring celebrations occurred entirely on church property — and sending a not-so-subtle message of intimidation.

For the second year in a row, few foreign pilgrims were in attendance at the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives into the Old City of Jerusalem due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. But even the gray skies that threatened rain didn’t dampen the spirit of the 4,000 participants.

Catholic and other religious leaders are condemning a Palm Sunday attack by Russia on a Ukrainian city that killed 34 — including two children — and injured 119.

Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of one woman and five men, including Antoni Gaudí, the Spanish architect who designed the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain.