The Catholic Church needs people and pastors capable of walking alongside refugees to respond to the reality of forced migration across the Americas, Pope Francis said.

France’s bishops issued a joint statement March 19 in response to a draft law on “aid in dying” that French President Emmanuel Macron announced March 10 as a “law of fraternity.”

Pope Francis has not accepted an invitation to travel to Moscow in June to meet with Vladimir Putin, the director of the Holy See press office said.

“War is always a defeat,” Pope Francis said, urging people at his general audience to pray that leaders in war-torn nations would have the courage to negotiate for peace.

Five U.S. priests will travel to Rome in April to share their experiences of parish life with the ongoing Synod of Bishops on synodality.

A senior priest in Russia has said he fears uncertain conditions for local Catholics after March 15-17 presidential elections, in which Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide victory after the forced elimination of effective opponents.

A divided U.S. Supreme Court March 19 lifted a temporary pause on a controversial Texas law that makes it a state crime for unauthorized migrants to cross into Texas from Mexico, allowing the state to enforce the law while litigation proceeds.

A quick FAQ guide to Catholics’ Holy Week vocabulary and key history.

Though the global situation risks plunging people into pessimism, Christians are called to pursue their vocation of becoming “men and women of hope,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis’ envoy for peace in Ukraine asked his fellow bishops and all Catholics in Italy to continue their prayers for peace in Ukraine and in the Holy Land, but also to make those prayers concrete through acts of solidarity.