PEDRO BETANCOURT, Cuba – As a summer afternoon rainstorm brewed, nearly two dozen Cubans gathered on a friend’s covered porch to celebrate Mass.Read More

VATICAN CITY – For the Vatican, preparing a papal trip is a lengthy exercise in diplomatic skill, ecclesial collaboration and logistical fine-tuning.Read More

Forty-eight years old seems too young to die. The hole a man’s death leaves in his family never seems to shrink as they forge ahead without him.Read More

ALBANY, N.Y. – The head of the New York State Catholic Conference in Albany, on behalf of the conference and the state’s Catholic bishops, assured New York’s new governor of prayers as he “assumes his awesome responsibilities under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.”Read More

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI warned that racism is alive in modern society, and he urged the church to help overcome all forms of racial intolerance.Read More

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI urged members of a recently established Vatican commission “to continue their commitment in favor of the Catholic community in China.”Read More

WASHINGTON – In the not-too-distant future, songs such as “You Are Near,” “I Will Bless Yahweh” and “Rise, O Yahweh” will no longer be part of the Catholic worship experience in the United States.Read More

William Wells is a gentle man. He is soft spoken, and his eyes embrace you when you speak with him. This may not seem like a description of a highly successful high school basketball coach, but it is.Read More