The debate on the first day of the virtual assembly focused on amending the meeting’s agenda to add time to the next day’s debate so as many bishops’ voices could be heard over the “action item” on drafting the document.

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops urged unity in an address June 16, the first day of the prelates’ three-day spring plenary assembly, held virtually because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The papal nuncio to the United States told the U.S. bishops that dialogue is a key step on the path to unity as the country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.

The violent death of Father Orozco — known as Padre Juanito — marks the latest killing of a priest in Mexico. At least 29 priests have been killed in Mexico since 2012, according to the Catholic Multimedia Center.

The Argentine bishops’ pastoral team for aboriginal peoples rebuked comments from the country’s president that perpetuated the viewpoint that the population predominantly arrived “on ships” from Europe.

The new CEO of the Knights of Columbus said the international fraternal organization’s members “are poised to lead the way toward recovery and a future of renewal.”

Poverty is the result of people’s selfishness; it is not “fate” or the fault of the poor, Pope Francis said.

In an ongoing effort to promote Catholic lay movements and associations and protect their members from possible abuse by the groups’ leaders, the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life has imposed term limits on leadership and ordered the groups to ensure all members have a voice in choosing their leaders.

A delegation of Indigenous people from Canada will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican before the end of the year, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said.

O’Donnell has devoted the bulk of her work to studying Flannery O’Connor as a Catholic artist.