UPDATED ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO BRAZIL – On the plane taking him to Brazil, Pope Benedict XVI called Latin America “the continent of life and hope” and said the church must keep up the fight against abortion, poverty and injustice. Speaking to reporters aboard his chartered Alitalia jet May 9, the pope spent more...Read More

Junko Ito, a reporter for the Tokyo-based Catholic Weekly, filed this first-person report. TOKYO – March 11, when we had the earthquake, I was in Nasu, Tochigi prefecture, which is in an inland area of northeastern Japan. It is 100 miles away from the area that was seriously damaged by the tsunami and earthquake.Read More

DODGE CITY, Kan. – With his church believed to be destroyed by a powerful tornado and his parishioners “scattered to the four winds,” Father Gregory LeBlanc, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Greensburg, spent part of May 6 visiting the displaced in local shelters. “St. Joseph Church seems to have been one of the structures...Read More

SPRINGIELD, Ill. – The repeal of the death penalty “advances the development of a culture of life in our state,” the Catholic Conference of Illinois said March 9.Read More

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican signaled its support for the international meeting on Iraq that took place in Egypt in early May, and Iraq’s Chaldean bishops asked participating countries to do more to end violence and protect Christians in the country. After former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami met Pope Benedict XVI May 4, the Vatican...Read More

Richard Biancone Jr., a parishioner of Ss. Peter and Paul in Cumberland, went to Mass a year ago wearing a Hooley Plunge sweatshirt. A priest asked if he participated in the fundraiser for special needs people the previous day.Read More

LONDON –The Catholic Church must do more to dispel “mistaken prejudices” about its attitudes to people with HIV/AIDS, said a Scottish archbishop. “It needs to be said again and again that the Catholic Church is committed to those works of mercy in the field of HIV/AIDS,” said Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow, Scotland. The archbishop...Read More

Two members of a family whose son was killed in Iraq had different reactions to a March 2 Supreme Court decision upholding the First Amendment rights of members of the Westboro Baptist Church to protest outside the 2006 funeral of Matthew Snyder at St. John Parish in Westminster.Read More