St. John Paul II’s longtime aide denied the “vile insinuations” that the former pope was maliciously involved in the case of Emanuela Orlandi, a Vatican schoolgirl whose 1983 disappearance is the focus of an ongoing Vatican investigation.

Florida lawmakers and the state’s Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination soon, approved a bill April 13 to ban abortions after six weeks.

Despite declining numbers and sometimes a lack of appreciation from clergy, women religious are called to be courageous like the women disciples who discovered Jesus’ empty tomb and rushed off to share the news of his resurrection, Pope Francis said.

A federal appeals court April 12 froze portions of a federal judge’s ruling suspending the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a medication abortion pill, ruling that the drug can remain on the market but under more strict regulations while a challenge to it plays out.

The pope met at the Vatican April 13 with members of the Religious Association of Social and Health Institutes, which represents more than 250 hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and other health care centers operated by religious institutes throughout Italy.

A proposed rule from the Biden administration would prohibit publicly funded schools and colleges from enacting outright bans on athletes from competing on sports teams corresponding with their self-perceived gender identity, rather than their biological sex.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-La., called for an end to the death penalty in Louisiana during his final State of the State address, April 10, in an impassioned call for lawmakers to adopt legislative proposals reflecting its identity as a “pro-life state.”

The end of a long-running Catholic pastoral care contract at a leading U.S. military medical center highlights broader concerns about the federal contracting process for such services, according to the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services and several lawmakers.

Just as Catholics worldwide commemorated Jesus’ resurrection and his triumph of good over evil on Easter Sunday, theaters across the United States were preparing for the release April 14 of the latest “supernatural horror thriller” of good versus evil with “The Pope’s Exorcist.”

In their discussions about the life of the church and “synodality,” or walking together, Catholics in United States and Canada noted the negative impact “polarization” is having on the church, said Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas.