Catholic News Service

Though they can't gather to eat together, some Minnesota parishes are serving up Lenten fish fries curbisde! 

As Perseverance, the latest probe on Mars, gears up to send to Earth high-definition images, video and audio of its surroundings, one papal astronomer said he hoped the fresh new discoveries will inspire future explorers.

In the wake of the economic fallout due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy said it expects a multimillion-dollar deficit in its budget for 2021.

The Biden administration's U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, introduced in Congress Feb. 18, seeks to legalize some 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently in the U.S., with a special focus on reunification of families.

A change in wording to the concluding doxology of orations in the Roman Missal, from "one God, for ever and ever" to "God, for ever and ever," took effect on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Promoting sincere ecumenical dialogue can be achieved only when Christians are committed to loving their neighbors rather than viewing them with doubt or suspicion, Pope Francis said.

The Vatican will sanction employees who refuse to get a vaccine, unless they have "proven health reasons" not to, according to a new Vatican decree.

Catholic Charities agencies adopted emergency measures as below-zero temperatures left families without heat and electricity in Texas and Oklahoma.

Pope Francis approved a number of changes to Vatican City State's penal code and criminal justice proceedings, including the possibilities of reduced sentences, rehabilitation programs and community service sentencing, as well as no longer allowing trials "in absentia."

"Lent is not just about the little sacrifices we make, but about discerning where our hearts are directed," Pope Francis said, "toward God or toward myself?"

The Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, has reached a $21.5 million settlement with a creditors' committee representing 145 survivors of clergy sexual abuse, the diocese said in a Feb. 10 statement.

Catholics working with migrants are welcoming U.S. President Joe Biden's posture toward Central America, but warn push factors are mounting. 

The Gospel story of Jesus healing the leper illustrates how nothing will stop God from tenderly and compassionately drawing close to people who want to be healed and saved, Pope Francis said.

As part of COVID-19 precautions, the Iraqi government has ordered the closure of mosques and churches "until further notice" ahead of Pope Francis' scheduled visit March 5-8.

As Christians pray, fast and give alms during Lent, they also should consider giving a smile and offering a kind word to people feeling alone or frightened because of the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis said.

A Catholic panel analyzing a path forward during moments of strife or of social sin said the only way to move ahead as a society toward healing is to recognize the damage done to a person or communities, to lay the truth out for everyone to see.

U.S. President Joe Biden ordered new sanctions against the military regime in Myanmar to prevent six generals from accessing $1 billion in Myanmar government funds in the United States.

The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need said it found "very plausible" the claim of a former employee that the late Norbertine Fr. Werenfried van Straaten, founder of the charity, had sexually assaulted her in the 1970s.

Two U.S. bishops' committee chairmen and the head of Catholics Relief Services asked the Biden administration Feb. 10 to grant Temporary Protected Status for 18 months to people from Central America in the United States and to provide aid to their hurricane-ravaged countries.

El Salvador's bishops urged citizens to show faith, hard work and solidarity — not the violence on display during one of the most contentious political campaigns in the country's recent history.