A bill that would require clergy to report child abuse or neglect in Washington state is under consideration by the Legislature, but some have expressed concern that this bill could force Catholic priests to violate the civil law in order to uphold church law regarding the seal of confession.

Catholics need to help guard against anti-Jewish interpretations of Christ’s passion, particularly during Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum, said experts on Jewish-Catholic relations.

The Florida Senate April 3 approved a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, a proposal supported by the state’s Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination soon.

Pope Francis has named Dominican Sister Helen Alford, dean of the faculty of social sciences at the Angelicum University in Rome, to be president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

A nation’s welfare and social service systems are a reminder that everything is connected, and everyone is interdependent on each other, especially the younger and older generations, Pope Francis said.

Just as early Christians were sustained by the words of St. Peter describing Jesus’ resurrection as offering a “new birth into a living hope,” so too should the Christians of the Holy Land today be encouraged and empowered by this knowledge as they face tumultuous times, when their own faith continues to be tested, said the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in their March 31 Easter message.

Catholic faithful turned to prayer as tornadoes carved a deadly path through the center of the United States March 31, killing at least 21, injuring dozens and devastating thousands of homes and businesses.

The unborn, migrants, the elderly and the disabled are “living icons” of Jesus that call Christians to draw close to those who feel abandoned just as Christ did on the cross, Pope Francis said.

An annual collection in support of missionary efforts within the United States, called the Catholic Home Missions Appeal, will be taken up at parishes around the country on April 29-30, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced March 31.

If “liberty, equality and fraternity” are essential for human thriving, as has been generally accepted in the West since the Enlightenment, then the last element needs as much attention as the first two, including in Catholic theology, said leaders of the Pontifical Academy for Life.