Seven weeks after announcing the new composition of his international Council of Cardinals, Pope Francis led a two-day meeting of the council focused on situations of conflict in the world and on progress in implementing his reform of the Roman Curia.

After a half-hour private meeting in the library of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis gave the prime minister of Ukraine a bronze plaque featuring a bird and a flower alongside the inscription, “Peace is a fragile flower.”

House Republicans on April 26 voted to pass House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s legislation to raise the debt ceiling through 2024 and cut government spending, but the bill is seen as dead on arrival in the Democratically-controlled Senate and is opposed by the White House.

Washington state enacted a new law April 25 banning the sale, manufacture and import of assault weapons, or military-style semi-automatic firearms such as the AR-15, a weapon that has been used in some of the recent mass shootings in the United States.

The life and ministry of the Catholic Church is enriched by listening to everyone, especially those who are often excluded by society, and by including their experiences and perspectives, Pope Francis said.

Ahead of an annual day of prayer for vocations, a newly released report shows what one researcher called greater “consistency of age,” more diverse educational backgrounds and a commitment to Eucharistic adoration among men preparing for priestly ordination.

At least three dozen women will be voting members of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October, Pope Francis has decided.

As part of his series of talks about “zeal” for evangelization, Pope Francis spoke about nuns and monks.

“The Lord’s call is grace, complete gift and at the same time a commitment to bring the Gospel to others,” the pope wrote in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

North Dakota has enacted a near-total ban on abortions, with limited exceptions in cases of rape and incest up until the sixth week of pregnancy.