Marking the first anniversary of the Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and praying that God will “have mercy and save us” and “convert those who foster aggression and war,” Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory and Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, the Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia, led a March 7 ecumenical prayer service for peace at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

The Biden administration is reportedly weighing whether to reinstate a policy of detaining migrant families who cross the border without authorization, a practice President Joe Biden condemned and ended when he took office. Catholic immigration advocates have vocally opposed the policy as well.

The mission to spread the Gospel message of God’s love and of salvation in Christ is entrusted to all the baptized who are called to work together and never set out alone, Pope Francis said.

According to recently published reports and investigations, minors are toiling in some of the most dangerous conditions in American industry, such as construction, slaughterhouses and assembly lines.

The Delaware General Assembly is taking aim at a basic tenet of the Catholic Church and wants to break the seal of confession between a priest and penitent.

The Catholic Relief Services Collection, an annual fund supporting Catholic Church organizations that carry out international relief efforts, will be taken up in March, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said.

Pope Francis named five new members to his international Council of Cardinals and renewed the mandate of four current members, the Vatican announced March 7.

Pope Francis will open a Lenten prayer and penance initiative at a Rome parish March 17 rather than in St. Peter’s Basilica as in past years.

Speaking to some 25,000 visitors gathered to pray the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square March 5, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from St. Matthew of Jesus’ Transfiguration, in which he appears to the disciples in radiant glory.

Human traffickers must be stopped from risking the lives of migrants traveling in search of a better future, Pope Francis said.