News/International

The faithful gather in front of the Bishops' Palace in Krakow, Poland, on Franciszkanska Street April 2, 2023. Cardinal Karol Wojtyla lived there as archbishop of Krakow and as Pope John Paul II, he used to have informal meetings there with the faithful at the so called "Papal Window." Huge crowds gathered in Poland to mark the 18th anniversary of the pope's death and to show their support of him in the wake of a recent TV report claiming that as Krakow's archbishop he covered up abuse. Critics of the report say it was based on unreliable sources.

Poland remembers, defends JPII 18 years after his death

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Eighteen years after the death of St. John Paul II April 2, 2005, his native Poland remembered him with vigils and marches.

A Latin-English edition of the Code of Canon Law is pictured on a bookshelf.

Pope Francis adjusts canon law appeal period for members of religious orders

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Saying he wanted to protect the rights of members of religious orders facing expulsion, Pope Francis made small changes to canon law, giving them more time to appeal their dismissals.

Pope Francis participates in the Lac Ste. Anne pilgrimage and Liturgy of the Word in Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta, July 26, 2022.

Bishops, Indigenous Catholics welcome Vatican condemnation of 'Doctrine of Discovery,' but say 'more work to be done'

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Indigenous Catholics, along with U.S. and Canadian bishops, are welcoming the Vatican's repudiation of a legal and political doctrine by which European colonial powers and North American governments historically seized lands from Indigenous peoples -- while stressing there is more work to be done in healing Catholic-Indigenous relations.

Pope Francis greets hospital workers at Gemelli hospital in this file photo taken in Rome July 11, 2021, when the pope had been in the hospital for 10 days to recover from a scheduled colon surgery.

Pope Francis hospitalized for respiratory infection, Vatican says

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After having difficulty breathing, Pope Francis went to Rome's Gemelli hospital March 29 where he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection that will be treated in the hospital for several days, the Vatican press office said.

A family recovers belongings from their destroyed home in Rolling Fork, Miss., March 26, 2023, after a tornado swept through the town. At least 25 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in Mississippi as the massive storm ripped through more than a half-dozen towns late March 24.

'Pray for God's hand' over Mississippi: destructive tornado kills, injures dozens

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Powerful tornadoes tore through rural Mississippi the night of Friday, March 24, killing or injuring dozens and causing widespread destruction.

Franciscan Father Stéphane Milovitch, director of the Cultural Heritage Office for the Custodia Terrae Sanctae in Jerusalem,with some of its 450 earthenware pharmaceutical pots from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Holy Land Franciscans advance Jerusalem museum

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The priest-director of the Cultural Heritage Office for the Custodia Terrae Sanctae, or Custody of the Holy Land, in Jerusalem opened a drawer of vestments and casually dropped an unexpected historical tidbit about a clerical chasuble he was showing a group of foreign guests. The chasuble was part of a collection of vestments the archbishop of Paris wore for the marriage of Emperor Napoleon III of France with the Empress Eugenie, and which the empress later donated to the Church in the Holy Land.

St. John Paul II greets the crowd in Czestochowa during his 1979 trip to Poland. The country's bishops March 15, 2023, announced they will create a commission of experts to investigate cases of abuse of minors by clergy from the past -- an investigation that would cover the era that Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the future pope, governed the Archdiocese of Krakow.

Polish bishops form independent commission to investigate 'full picture' of JPII archives

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The bishops of Poland March 14 announced they will create a commission of experts to investigate cases of abuse of minors by clergy from the past in the country -- an investigation that would cover the era that St. John Paul II governed the Archdiocese of Krakow as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla.

A man puts a sign on the door of the Silicon Valley Bank as an onlooker watches at the bank’s headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., March 10, 2023.

Bank failures underscore 'obligation' for prudence

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After the failures of two banks in March, the U.S. government has taken steps to prevent similar failures and the risks such failures would present to the economy. The precarious situation illustrates what one Catholic commentator described as the need for government and banks to take seriously the "solemn obligation" of prudence in banking policy for the sake of society's common good.

People attend the fifth synodal assembly in Frankfurt March 9, 2023. The final assembly will conclude March 11 after discussing issues including blessings for homosexual couples, ordination of women, a relaxation of mandatory celibacy and more church involvement for lay people.

Resolutions of German Synodal Assembly support laity to preach at Mass, church blessings of same-sex couples

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The final assembly of the German Synodal Way took place in Frankfurt March 9-11, where 230 bishops and lay representatives discussed issues such as blessings for homosexual couples, the ordination of women, a relaxation of mandatory celibacy and greater church involvement for lay people.

Bagpipers march past St. Mary Church during the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in East Islip, N.Y., March 5. The feast of St. Patrick, patron of Ireland, is March 17.

Bishops add spiritual ‘meat’ to St. Patrick’s Day plate

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With St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Lenten Friday this year, many U.S. bishops have issued dispensations from abstinence on March 17, allowing the faithful to enjoy the American Irish tradition of eating corned beef (or ham) and cabbage in good conscience.

As bishop of Krakow in the 1960s, Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was a prolific writer. He is pictured in an undated photo.

Polish experts reject claim JPII 'covered up abuse,' urge all church records be opened

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The fact that Cardinal Karol Wojtyla -- the future Pope John Paul II -- knew about abuse when he was an archbishop of Krakow, Poland, is neither new nor surprising, experts say.

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