Pope Francis’ July trip to Canada was born out of his meetings with the nations’ Indigenous people and was planned around encounters with them, and if the pope’s words “have value elsewhere,” like throughout the Americas, all the better, said the director of the Vatican press office.

Pope Francis interrupted his traditional July break to meet with Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife, Princess Charlene, at the Vatican.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling June 24 in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned the court’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling returned the legislative authority to regulate abortion to the states.

The Vatican released a new policy consolidating the investment portfolios of all offices and keeping all current and future investments in line with the social doctrine of the Catholic Church.

For Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, Pope Francis’ consistent reminder of “the barbarism of war” is needed because “four months of war has made a lot of people around the world accustomed to this situation.”

The Texas Catholic bishops urged immigration reform, saying it is necessary to prevent what happened to 53 migrants discovered dead and dying inside a trailer June 27 from happening again.

The Gospel story of the sisters Mary and Martha, one sitting at Jesus’ feet and the other making sure their guest was served, is a lesson to Christians that every good deed done for others should flow from listening to God’s word, Pope Francis said.

Asking for prayers ahead of his visit to Canada July 24-29, Pope Francis described the trip as a “penitential pilgrimage” as part of a commitment to healing and reconciliation with the country’s Indigenous people.

Two abortion measures passed by the House July 15 “promote an extreme abortion agenda,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life.

About 350 attended the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education’s annual conference July 11-14 at The Catholic University of America in Washington. Participants represented 88 schools and organizations and 45 dioceses. Sullivan called the mood “incredibly hopeful and joyful.”