The U.S. fertility rate has slowed to a new record low, according to an analysis recently published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But experts said there does not appear to be any one policy that could reverse a complex trend.

The world is in great need of hope and patience, Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience.

Pope Francis has appointed Father James M. Beckman, a priest of the Diocese of Nashville, Tenn., to be the bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville, Tenn..

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will publish its new norms for the discernment of apparitions and other supernatural phenomena May 17, the Vatican press office said.

As many as 1,000 people participated in prayer vigils and rallies in four Iowa cities May 1 in support of human dignity and to call for the repeal of a new state law on illegal migration that opponents say is punitive.

The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has denounced Russia’s seizure of a Catholic church in Ukraine’s Kherson region, calling the structure’s rededication for the Russian Orthodox Church a “sacrilege.”

Loneliness causes tremendous harm, including to families, Pope Francis told international leaders of the Teams of Our Lady lay movement.

Jesus calls believers not only to be servants of his kingdom, as the prophets and Mary were, but also to be his friends, Pope Francis said.

Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest who is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were among 19 Americans awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, on May 3.

Adding another distinguished medal to her already sizable collection, Katie Ledecky — the most decorated woman in swimming history — was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on May 3 in a White House ceremony.