A new civilization rooted in human dignity and capable of overcoming division is needed to ensure the peace, stability and prosperity of all people, speakers said at a Vatican conference on promoting peace.

University students today need an education that not only prepares them for a career but helps them face personal challenges and learn how to contribute to the good of their communities, Pope Francis said.

Blind, unbridled consumerism and selfishness — not the number of people on the planet and having children — are the root causes of the world’s problems, Pope Francis said.

Because faith in God is not abstract but impacts the way people live and interact with others, theologians must engage with experts in other fields of knowledge as they investigate and explain the Christian faith, Pope Francis wrote.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton revived his attempt to shut down El Paso’s Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants, just a couple of months after his previous effort was blocked by a state judge.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom called on the U.S. government May 6 to implement additional sanctions on Iranian authorities and security officials amid their increased crackdown on women and girls for “defying” that country’s mandatory hijab laws.

For more than 700 years, the Catholic Church has celebrated “jubilee” or “holy” years as special times to renew people’s faith and experience God’s forgiveness, particularly by going on pilgrimage.

When Katie Chihoski walked the graduation stage at the University of Mary April 27, she was holding both her hard-earned bachelor’s degree in social work and her 18-month-old daughter Lucia.

Pope Francis’ document proclaiming the Holy Year 2025 draws special attention to the ecumenical possibilities of the celebration, especially since the jubilee coincides with celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

The document, called a “bull of indiction,” specifies that the holy year will open at the Vatican Dec. 24 this year and close Jan. 6, 2026, the feast of Epiphany. Pope Francis also asked bishops around the world to inaugurate the Holy Year in their dioceses Dec. 29 this year and celebrate the conclusion of the Jubilee locally Dec. 28, 2025.