As Pope Francis continued a smooth recovery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, he was back to work and shared a Sunday meal with his closest collaborators, the Vatican said.

The U.S. Catholic bishops are inviting the faithful to pray for challenges to religious liberty both within the United States and abroad during the upcoming Religious Freedom Week.

At a time when Catholic media in the United States is at a crossroads, Catholic journalists must avoid reducing the church to merely a socio-political organization, instead keeping its role as the “sacrament of salvation” at the fore, said a panelist speaking on the future of Catholic journalism June 5.

In a statement marking the first anniversary of Dobbs, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Va., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said, “We have much to celebrate.”

Melissa Ohden, who joined the Catholic Church in 2014, belongs to St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Gladstone, Mo. She leads the Abortion Survivors Network, the world’s only organization dedicated to providing “a safe place for (abortion) survivors to finally share their story, be themselves, be vulnerable, to finally heal.”

Among the many messages Pope Francis has been getting over the course of his first full day recovering from abdominal surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, his favorite, so far, was a large card from a Peruvian family he met during his last hospital stay.

Results of an annual survey on the permanent diaconate of the U.S. Catholic Church show the estimated number of deacons in active ministry was 13,695 in 2022, the lowest since 2011.

Father Dan Carson was one of 14 Catholic clergy and lay leaders to spend three days in the town where feelings are still raw and wounds of all kinds are slowly healing from a mass shooting at a grade school one year ago that claimed the lives of 19 students and two of their teachers.

Pope Francis had a restful, peaceful first night at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after a successful three-hour operation June 7 for a hernia.

The Kansas City Chiefs were honored with a June 6 invitation to the White House by President Joe Biden following their victory in this year’s Super Bowl. The visit took an unexpected turn as Harrison Butker, the kicker who secured the game-winning field goal, used the occasion to shed light on the most vulnerable.