Indiana’s new law banning most abortions finally went into effect Aug. 21, almost a year after the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, Planned Parenthood and other plaintiffs filed a suit Aug. 30, 2022, charging that Indiana’s new law violated the state’s constitution.

As the Hawaii island of Maui struggles to recover from horrific wildfires that destroyed historic Lahaina, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden toured the fire-ravaged town Aug. 21.

Dorothy Day was “a great witness to faith, hope and charity in the 20th century,” a woman who loved the Catholic Church despite the flaws of its members and who knew that serving God meant serving the poor and working for justice, Pope Francis wrote.

A Christian campaigner has urged Catholic church leaders and the Vatican to condemn worsening human rights abuses in Belarus, after another Catholic priest was arrested in front of his parishioners for spreading “extremist material.”

On the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence based on Religion or Belief, observed on the United Nations’ calendar Aug. 22, Pakistan and India are among places of particular concern for Christian rights advocates.

The top-ranking U.S. military officer told reporters he and Pope Francis discussed the war in Ukraine, especially the war’s impact on the people there.

A Texas lawsuit is seeking for Planned Parenthood to pay back millions of funds it received through Medicaid, which the abortion provider says could shutter its operations in the state.

A federal judge in Georgia Aug. 20 temporarily blocked part of a state law banning certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender while a challenge to that law plays out in court.

The French army general appointed by President Emmanuel Macron to oversee the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral will not see the reopening of the pearl of France Dec. 8, 2024. Army Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin died Aug. 18 while hiking in the Pyrénées mountains.

Thanking a group of European lawyers for their attention to environmental protection laws, Pope Francis said he was preparing another document on the subject.