Pope Francis has named Dominican Sister Helen Alford, dean of the faculty of social sciences at the Angelicum University in Rome, to be president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

A nation’s welfare and social service systems are a reminder that everything is connected, and everyone is interdependent on each other, especially the younger and older generations, Pope Francis said.

Just as early Christians were sustained by the words of St. Peter describing Jesus’ resurrection as offering a “new birth into a living hope,” so too should the Christians of the Holy Land today be encouraged and empowered by this knowledge as they face tumultuous times, when their own faith continues to be tested, said the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in their March 31 Easter message.

Catholic faithful turned to prayer as tornadoes carved a deadly path through the center of the United States March 31, killing at least 21, injuring dozens and devastating thousands of homes and businesses.

The unborn, migrants, the elderly and the disabled are “living icons” of Jesus that call Christians to draw close to those who feel abandoned just as Christ did on the cross, Pope Francis said.

If “liberty, equality and fraternity” are essential for human thriving, as has been generally accepted in the West since the Enlightenment, then the last element needs as much attention as the first two, including in Catholic theology, said leaders of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

An annual collection in support of missionary efforts within the United States, called the Catholic Home Missions Appeal, will be taken up at parishes around the country on April 29-30, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced March 31.

The 86-year-old pope, who had been hospitalized since March 29 for treatment of bronchitis, stopped his car and got out to greet well-wishers and reporters waiting outside the hospital.

The number of hate crimes aimed at religion or the faithful of a given religious group reached an all-time high in 2021 in Canada, after decreasing for a few years.

The reality of legalized euthanasia often doesn’t correspond to hypothetical debates over the practice, according to a panel of experts convened at The Catholic University of America.