world news
Florida law prohibiting abortion after 6 weeks gestation goes into effect
A law prohibiting elective abortions after six weeks of pregnancy went into effect May 1 in Florida, as that state also faces a ballot measure on abortion in November.
Caritas Baby Hospital in Bethlehem remains a ray of hope in war-torn Holy Land
Caritas Baby Hospital is now the only exclusively pediatric hospital in the West Bank serving about 50,000 children a year. Caritas in Switzerland and Germany were the first donors to the hospital, but since 1963 the hospital has been affiliated with the Swiss NGO Children’s Relief Bethlehem.
Cardinal says church shouldn’t expect ‘miracle’ of peace in Holy Land
Sudden peace negotiations or an intervention by the United States will not deliver Israelis and Palestinians from the suffering caused by the war in Gaza, a Jerusalem-based cardinal said.
Pope Francis appoints first Catholic bishop with Anglican heritage for UK ordinariate
Catholics in the United Kingdom that are part of the personal ordinariate, a kind of diocese originally set up to receive groups of Anglican Christians into full communion with the Catholic Church, have welcomed Pope Francis’ appointment of their first bishop — and the first ordinariate bishop to hail from their Anglican heritage.
Kansas Legislature successfully overrides governor’s vetoes of 4 pro-life measures
Kansas lawmakers voted to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s vetoes on pro-life legislation, a victory hailed by Catholic and pro-life advocates that comes just two years after voters in Kansas rejected a push to remove abortion protections from their state constitution.
Fear is the great nemesis of faith, pope says at general audience
The greatest enemy of faith is fear, Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience.
Methodist minister, partner receive same-sex blessing from Chicago parish in video
A former Methodist minister has sought a blessing on her same-sex union from a priest at a parish within the Archdiocese of Chicago, months after the Vatican issued a document on the possibility of giving spontaneous, non-liturgical pastoral blessings to couples in irregular situations.
Ukrainian archbishop meets with military officials on missing priests, detained civilians
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church recently met with Ukrainian military officials to discuss a range of issues, including Russia’s detention of two Ukrainian Catholic priests whose fate remains unknown.
It’s the year of the Paris Olympics. Here are the Catholic must-sees in the French capital
More than 15 million visitors are expected to descend upon the city of Paris this summer for the 2024 Olympics. The French capital will serve as the stage for over 300 events in 32 sports — including, for the first time, breakdancing — to test participants’ adherence to the time-honored Olympic creed: “The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well.”
Religious formation must also be human, ongoing, pope says
Seminarians and religious men and women need well-rounded formation throughout their lives, not only at the onset of their religious training, Pope Francis said.