July 6 marks the 50th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Akita. On June 12, 1973, Sister Agnes Sasagawa of the Handmaids of the Eucharist began receiving heavenly visions in a convent located in Akita, Japan.

All wars are “utter disasters” for everyone, especially families, children, the elderly, refugees, communities and creation, Pope Francis said.

The Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches should join efforts to promote peace before threats of a “major global armed conflict,” the head of the Russian Orthodox Church told Pope Francis’ envoy on a peace mission to Moscow.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 in favor of a Christian web designer who argued she had a First Amendment right to refuse to provide services for same-sex marriages despite a Colorado law prohibiting discrimination against people who identify as LGBTQ+.

About a dozen candidates are currently seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. In a field currently dominated by an ex-president, other Republican candidates are seeking ways to break out so that they might win their party’s nomination to challenge President Joe Biden next year.

As Russia seeks to destroy Ukraine through a full-scale invasion, Ukrainians — and the West itself — must commit to building “a culture that gives life,” said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, head of Ukrainian Catholics in the U.S.

Sitting in front of a replica of Michelangelo’s Pietà — the sculpture of Mary holding her crucified son — the bishops of the Atlanta province signed a joint statement June 27 urging “decisive action” on legislation to curb gun violence.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision June 29 in favor of a former postal worker who said he was denied a religious accommodation to observe Christian precepts on keeping holy the Lord’s Day by his former employer.

After more than two dozen Catholic Democratic House lawmakers signed a “statement of principles” advocating for abortion access that cited tenets of their faith as their rationale, the U.S. bishops and other Catholics pushed back, arguing their position was contrary to church teaching.

The head of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon has refuted media reports that the archdiocese’s recent closure of its Catholic schools office is related to a gender identity theory document published by the archdiocese in January.