A permanent deacon in the Diocese of Lafayette, La., whose then-teenage son was molested by the priest he once served alongside, is now excommunicated after leaving his ministry, because he formally left the Catholic Church, according to the recent decree written by his bishop.

Russia’s Catholic archbishop has echoed condemnations of a March 22 terror assault which left dozens dead and injured at a Moscow concert venue, although a bishop from war-torn Ukraine warned the atrocity should also remind Russians of what his country was suffering at their hands.

Catholic communities across the U.S. have been supporting migrant families arriving in the United States fleeing crisis situations by participating in the Welcome Circles, a program developed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services.

If there can be said to be a vanishing population in the United States, one demographic immediately stands out: people living with Down syndrome.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities that left 1,200 dead and over 250 kidnapped, Lo’ay Ayyad, 48, a father of two and a successful veteran tour guide in the region, has been largely unemployed as the tourism industry has come to a halt and he has used up almost all his savings.

Daryl Grigsby, the well-known African American commentator, author and convert to Catholicism 25 years ago, hosted a March 7 webinar on the thorny subject of racism, apparent indifference to it and what can be done about it in the Catholic Church.

The Paulist Fathers, a missionary society of Catholic priests, announced March 13 that it would wind down its presence at two universities and three parishes in the U.S., while folding three other initiatives.

As Poles commemorate the 80th anniversary of the death of Blessed Józef and Wiktoria Ulma with their seven children, the world, six months into their beatification, is stunned to learn about the martyrs from the village of Markowa, who are already working little miracles in peoples’ lives.

The church has a crucial role in combating the rise of polarization, panelists said at a March 20 webinar organized by the U.S. bishops’ conference and other Catholic groups.

The Gospels have a lot to contribute to current discussions about the role of women and men in the life of the church, three Italian theologians said during a panel discussion in Rome.