Browsing News Entries
Cardinal Hollerich: Big steps are being taking regarding role of women in the Church
Posted on 04/10/2026 04:35 AM ()
The publication of the Synod Study Group report on women’s participation, according to Cardinal Hollerich, marks a “big step” toward greater inclusion in the Church. He stresses, however, that any possible development in women’s access to ordained ministry requires broad ecclesial consensus to preserve unity.
Pope: Social security systems must foster economic justice and right to work
Posted on 04/10/2026 03:53 AM ()
Pope Leo XIV meets with a delegation from the Italian National Institute for Social Security, and urges national welfare systems to promote social responsibility and economic development.
Pope to Chaldean Church: Never be on side of those who wield weapons
Posted on 04/10/2026 03:24 AM ()
Meeting with members of the Chaldean Church during their Synod to elect a new Patriarch, Pope Leo XIV challenges the Chaldean Catholic Church to stay true to their long and storied mission of peace, especially “in a world marked by absurd and inhumane violence, which, in these times, is driven by greed and hatred.”
DR Congo: Comboni Missionary Sisters make common cause with most vulnerable
Posted on 04/10/2026 02:57 AM ()
The Sisters of the Comboni Missionaries Postulancy share their lives with Kisangani's street children, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, offering their services at the Saint Laurent Centre, which is not merely a refuge, but a chance for a better future.
Welcome to the 'home' for American priests in Rome
Posted on 04/9/2026 09:40 AM ()
Vatican News takes an inside look at 'Casa Santa Maria' of the Pontifical North American College, the home away from home for American priests to live and pray together during their studies in Rome, that leaves them 'tremendously enriched' and ready for their mission back home, and contributes to their always falling more in love with the faith and the Lord.
Congregation of Holy Cross lives missionary revival through new mission
Posted on 04/9/2026 08:29 AM ()
Heeding Pope Francis’ call to go to the peripheries, the Holy Family Mission in Papua New Guinea has revived the missionary charism of the Congregation of Holy Cross to cross borders in hope.
Pope Leo XIV: A pilgrim in Africa
Posted on 04/9/2026 07:57 AM ()
The Director of the Holy See Press Office presents Pope Leo’s upcoming Apostolic Journey to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea: an itinerary marked by the richness and diversity of histories, cultures and traditions.
Annual Catholic Home Missions Appeal Serves Those Who “Thirst for the Gospel”
Posted on 04/9/2026 07:30 AM (USCCB News)
WASHINGTON – The Catholic faithful who give to the annual Catholic Home Missions Appeal are imitating Jesus, who “spent little time in cities but built his ministry in fishing villages and rural areas,” said Bishop Chad W. Zielinski, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions.
The appeal supports nearly 75 Latin Rite dioceses and Eastern Catholic eparchies in the United States and its current and former territories that cannot sustain ministry without outside help due to limited financial resources, small or widely dispersed Catholic populations, or both. They are typically in rural regions or small cities with seasonal employment.
Many dioceses will take the collection in their parishes on April 25-26, though some dioceses choose a different date. Those who wish to support the appeal with an online gift can donate at www.igivecatholic.org/story/USCCB-CHM.
“The work of the Catholic Home Missions Appeal reflects Jesus’s encounter with the ‘woman at the well,’ whom Eastern Christians call St. Photina,” said Bishop Zielinski, referencing the Samaritan woman at the well. “She was an outcast in a community that was considered heretical and that many of Jesus’ followers avoided. After talking with him, Photina evangelized her neighbors (John 4).”
“Most of our mission dioceses are in remote, rural areas, or communities with economic and social challenges. Yet they are filled with people like St. Photina, who thirst for the Gospel and are eager to spread its life-changing message,” Bishop Zielinski said.
Recently, the Catholic Home Missions Appeal provided more than $8.1 million in assistance to mission dioceses. The array of needs the grants addressed ranged from fuel for the seaplanes that priests fly to island villages in Alaska to developing Spanish-language ministries in dioceses with growing Latino immigrant populations. Among the grant recipients:
- The Diocese of Steubenville strengthened its ministries to vulnerable expectant mothers by engaging its parishes in the USCCB’s “Walking with Moms in Need” initiative.
- The Diocese of Dodge City expanded its Spanish-language ministry by increasing the availability Spanish-language print resources, diocesan marriage retreats, and bilingual diocesan personnel.
- The Diocese of Belleville supported a full-time college minister who is forming students to be church leaders and has inspired new vocations to the priesthood.
- The Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago serves the people of American Samoa’s seven islands through its five Catholic schools that provide educational opportunities in a territory where unemployment rates and living costs are high.
“Your generosity shows Catholics in remote areas that the Church stands with them, and that Jesus is calling them to embrace his mercy and share his message as St. Photina did,” Bishop Zielinski said.
Information about the Catholic Home Missions Appeal may be found at: www.usccb.org/committees/catholic-home-missions.
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As U.S. Seeks a Negotiated End to War in Iran, Bishop Zaidan Calls for Peace and Humanitarian Assistance for Lebanon
Posted on 04/9/2026 07:30 AM (USCCB News)
WASHINGTON - “As the United States seeks a negotiated end to the war in Iran, I call on President Trump and the international community to ensure that the people of Lebanon receive greater access to humanitarian assistance, including food and medical supplies, especially in the south,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace.
Bishop Zaidan continued:
“I am grateful for the ceasefire between the United States, Israel, and Iran, and pray for all sides to engage in effective dialogue to end this devastating war. I am disappointed, however, to learn that the agreement does not cover Lebanon, and thus falls short of encompassing the entire region where the conflict has been raging. I acknowledge that the people of Israel have the right to live in peace, as well as the innocent Lebanese civilians who are currently suffering from lack of food, medical supplies, and from paralyzing fear. Distressingly, over one million people, including 370,000 children, have been displaced by the fighting, in what is becoming one of Lebanon’s most acute internal displacement crises in recent history.
“As the United States seeks a negotiated end to the war in Iran, I call on President Trump and the international community to ensure that the people of Lebanon receive greater access to humanitarian assistance, including food and medical supplies, especially in the south. Furthermore, as I previously stated, for peace in Lebanon to take root, it is imperative that all parties work toward the full and immediate disarming of Hezbollah, as well as the implementation of the UN resolutions concerning Lebanon. Hopefully, after that, the governments of Israel and Lebanon can sign an agreement for lasting peace.
“I join our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV’s Easter message of consolation and strength to the people of Lebanon, as they endure this ongoing tragedy: ‘May you, in the midst of feelings of pain, anxiety, and mourning, come to know in your hearts a deeper joy: Jesus has gloriously triumphed over death. It is a joy that comes from heaven and that nothing can take away.’ May Our Lady of Lebanon, Queen of Peace, pray for her children in Lebanon and for the peace of the entire world.”
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UNICEF in Iran: Despite ceasefire, violence will have lasting effects on children
Posted on 04/9/2026 03:41 AM ()
As the U.S.-Israeli ceasefire appears to hold in Iran, UNICEF outlines the ongoing danger and impact this war has and will continue to have on children as they “bear the brunt of the conflict.”