A new Vatican declaration on human dignity presents “clarity” in charity, amid “so much confusion,” the chair of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee told OSV News.

Philadelphia’s archbishop has called for prayer following a mass shooting at an outdoor gathering in that city marking an Islamic holiday.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office announced April 5 that among more than 100 pieces of legislation considered by the Republican governor, he had vetoed and approved a number of bills related to abortion.

Indulgences, however, are a way that the church “as minister of the Redemption” intervenes on behalf of a penitent by using its God-given authority to dispense all the temporal punishments of sin (a plenary indulgence), or a portion of them (a partial indulgence), by the application of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints.

Participants in the National Eucharistic Congress and related National Eucharistic Pilgrimage now have opportunities to receive plenary indulgences, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced April 9.

While intense feelings or drive — passions — are natural, Christians know they must be tamed and channeled toward what is good, Pope Francis said.

After announcing his position that abortion should be left to the states to legislate, former President Donald Trump attacked pro-life critics of that position on his social media platform.

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled April 9 that a 160-year-old near-total abortion ban still on the books in the state is enforceable, a move that could shutter abortion clinics in the state. But, Arizona may have the issue of abortion on its ballot in November, which could undo those restrictions.

The 116 footnotes in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s declaration on human dignity reflect the fact that most of the content of the 12,700-word text is not new Catholic teaching.

In the nation’s capital — where stress, anxiety and mental health challenges sometimes impact the lives and work of those in government service, in legal and other professions, and individuals and families — St. Joseph Church on Capitol Hill hosted a “Come as You Are” Holy Week Prayer Service for Mental Health March 26.