WASHINGTON – The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace joined 27 other Christian leaders in welcoming the renewal of direct peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders brokered by the United States.Read More

VATICAN CITY – A bishop can turn to Catholic lay movements not only when he needs an organized group to implement his pastoral plans, but also when he needs to care for his own soul, Pope Benedict XVI said. When a movement gathers its “bishop-friends” together, it helps them experience “a more intense communion of...Read More

WASHINGTON – One of the Vatican’s top education officials Feb. 4 urged U.S. Catholic college and university presidents to examine how they can provide “creative and effective support” to Catholic academic institutions in the developing world that are struggling with inadequate resources.Read More

HAVANA – A young man knocked on the door of the Catholic parish and asked for soap.Read More

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Catholic schools and orphanages in the Haitian countryside that took in thousands of children displaced by the January earthquake are buckling under the increased financial strain, administrators say.Read More

LIMA, Peru – When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told Archbishop Roberto Luckert Leon recently that he would “see him in hell,” he was fanning the coals of an ongoing war of words with Catholic leaders. And when Bolivian President Evo Morales’ government picked a fight with that country’s bishops shortly after his inauguration, he seemed...Read More

At the age of 22, Jason Bamburg had his own Baltimore City business called Jay’s Rental until he got “caught up in the wrong group” and lost it all, he said. He is now homeless, jobless and waiting to see if he can move to Louisiana to be with his family while still on parole....Read More

WASHINGTON – When most provisions of the new health reform legislation take effect in 2014, an estimated 32 million people who had been without health insurance when the reform effort began will be insured. But who will be caring for them?Read More