Like St. John Paul II, Pope Francis knows the “cross of Christ is never abandoned” and that everything is in God’s hands, said Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was the late pope’s personal secretary for 39 years.

The infinite and inalienable dignity inherent in every human being has practical consequences which include protecting everyone’s right to life from conception to a natural end and opposing the “technocratic” ideology of gender, said the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office.

In what is billed as a first in history, India’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal seeking to end discrimination against socially poor Dalit Catholics in a parish in southern India.

Less than a week before he will be officially installed as the eighth archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy celebrated Ash Wednesday Mass March 5 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington.

Participants in the event, “Understanding Migration from a Catholic Perspective” held at The Catholic University of America, examined current and historical narratives around U.S. immigration, seeking new ways to dialogue with those skeptical about the church’s work in this area, including some Trump administration officials.

Pope Francis asked Christians to help protect nature from human greed and exploitation during the Holy Year.

Pope Francis marked Ash Wednesday on his 20th day in Rome’s Gemelli hospital by taking part in the rite of the blessing of the ashes and receiving them in a short prayer service, the Vatican said.

Lent marks a call to live out God’s love by supporting those in desperate need across the globe, said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace.

Pope Francis has expressed his gratitude for the outpouring of prayers from all over the world, said Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, who has visited the pope twice in the hospital.

The Supreme Court on March 5 rejected the Trump administration’s request to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid payments, directing the White House to abide by a lower court order. Catholic nongovernmental organizations are among those impacted by the freeze.