The organization of the universal Catholic Church has a precise hierarchy, but there is no such thing as a “vice pope,” who steps in when the reigning pontiff is traveling abroad, ill or under anesthesia.

Activists who oppose the death penalty said the Justice Department’s temporary stop of federal executions is a step in the right direction, but not enough.

The day after issuing its final opinions for the current term, the Supreme Court announced it was taking up one religious rights case and rejecting another for its next term.

The second morning after undergoing colon surgery, Pope Francis was continuing to recover well and, after a restful night, he had breakfast, read the newspapers and got out of bed to walk, the Vatican press office said July 6.
His post-operative recovery is proceeding normally, the press office said, and his “routine follow-up exams are good.”

Pope Francis was hospitalized July 4 and underwent surgery on his sigmoid colon, the lowest part of the large intestine, the Vatican press office said.

In an unprecedented move, Vatican prosecutors have indicted 10 individuals and entities, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, former prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, on charges ranging from embezzlement to money laundering and abuse of office.

As the nation’ celebrates its independence on the Fourth of July, Americans should recall the country’s “other founding” by the missionaries who, beginning in the 1500s, came to proclaim “the love of Jesus Christ to Indigenous peoples,” said Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez.

In response to a late June announcement, the United States will be conducting an investigation of former federally funded boarding schools to search for graves of Native American children.

Nondenominational religious flourishes and an emphasis on the value of family offset occasionally intense showdowns and some unsavory vocabulary in “F9: The Fast Saga” (Universal).

The Tokyo Archdiocese says it will maintain infection control measures despite the Japanese government having lifted the COVID-19 state of emergency in many cities ahead of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.