The availability of confession, even in churches heavily frequented by tourists, presents the Catholic Church as a welcoming space for an encounter with God, Pope Francis said.

Change in the Catholic Church, including a commitment to recognizing women’s leadership gifts and being more welcoming of all people, happens slowly and deliberately, which is a good thing in a rapidly changing world, said the archbishop of Seattle.

A world that has become “heartless” and indifferent to greed and war, and a Catholic Church in need of revitalizing its missionary joy need to open themselves up to Christ’s infinite love, Pope Francis wrote.

A number of U.S. Catholic dioceses and their bishops have issued statements disavowing fake Catholic newspapers that have resurfaced in swing states ahead of the presidential election to target Catholic voters on key issues.

Beneath the nation’s fascination with horror films — which translates into a multibillion-dollar industry — lurks a hidden quest for the divine, a theologian with expertise on the genre told OSV News.

Dominican Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, known as the “father of liberation theology,” which rose to prominence in South America in the 1960s and 1970s as a way of responding to the needs of Latin America’s poor, died Oct. 22 at age 96.

Recognizing the doctrinal authority of bishops’ conferences does not mean allowing them to reject the teaching authority of the pope, but rather to apply church teaching to their unique context, said the head of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops.

Slain Father Marcelo Pérez was buried in his birthplace amid indignation and demands for justice.

The White House on Oct. 21 proposed a new regulation under the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare, that would require insurers to cover over-the-counter contraception without cost sharing.

Pope Francis has accepted the request of Indonesian Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur of Bogor to dispense him from becoming a cardinal as planned in December.