The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit June 11 heard legal challenges filed by two Catholic parishes in Michigan against the state’s definition of sexual orientation that they say prohibits them from freely hiring employees according to the tenets of their faith.

In what is described as “the largest single investment” in prekindergarten-to-grade-12 Catholic education in history, the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation is donating $150 million to the Chicago-based Big Shoulders Fund to support Catholic schools in the Diocese of Gary, Ind.

A federal judge June 11 struck down key portions of a Florida law banning certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender.

As the outcome of elections to the European Parliament became known, Catholic Church leaders voiced concern at the apparent loss of enthusiasm for European unity and the rise in support for nationalist parties.

Christians should read Scripture often, every day if possible, and look to the Spirit if reading the Gospel ever feels dry, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis encouraged priests to seek out those who are “invisible” in society and he warned against “ideologies” in the church.

On June 11 — at a breakfast before the annual spring meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Louisville, Kentucky — Pax Christi received the inaugural Dorothy Day Peacemaker Award from the Dorothy Day Guild.

Michael R. Lovell, 57, president of Marquette University, died June 9 in Italy while on a Jesuit formation pilgrimage with members of the Society of Jesus and the Jesuit university’s board of trustees.

Sweden’s Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm called on the country’s Catholics to engage others in meaningful ways to protect the lives of the unborn.

Prior to the second anniversary of a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its prior abortion precedent, pro-life activists said much of their work remains to be done.