Catholic News Service

Everyone, including the pope, experiences trials that can shake his or her faith; the key to survival is to call out to the Lord for help, Pope Francis said.

A small group of deacon formation classmates, parishioners and family members stood across the road from Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Columbus Junction July 24 and prayed Morning Prayer (Lauds). "We did so remembering those who have been affected by COVID-19, those who have died and now those who return to work," said Kent Ferris, diocesan director of Social Action and of Catholic Charities. "While we prayed, a gentleman approached us. One from our group shared why we gathered. The gentleman responded, 'I assumed you were Catholic.'"

Archbishop Joseph Mitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki, said, "I have the impression that most Americans believe that arms are necessary to protect oneself, one's families and the nation. The history, however, demonstrates how arms brought about tragedies. I want the Americans to work for peace without the possession and use of weapons."

Every day Knights of Columbus live out the principles of charity, unity and fraternity, and through this daily witness in society, they must redouble their efforts to combat racism, violence and hatred, the top Knight told his confreres. "Living these principles," Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said, "is the highest expression of patriotism today."

Americans, by a 4-to-1 margin, said houses of worship should be subject to the same social-distancing rules as other organizations. The ratio backing this view was 3-to-1 for Christians, 4-to-1 for Jews, and 9-to-1 for those who are religiously unaffiliated.

Fr. Michael McGivney's beatification will take place at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford Oct. 31.

Some of the country's most prominent church leaders appealed to congressional negotiators to include financial support for families to continue to send their children to Catholic and non-public schools in a coronavirus relief bill currently being negotiated.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop John M. LeVoir of New Ulm, Minnesota. He has headed the diocese since 2008.

For peace to flourish, weapons of war must be set aside, especially nuclear weapons that can obliterate entire cities and countries, Pope Francis said on the 75th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima.

Citing the toll COVID-19 is taking on school enrollments and finances, the Archdiocese of Newark's Office of Schools announced Aug. 4 that five elementary schools will not reopen this fall and three elementary schools will consolidate with nearby school communities.

Changing the words of the formula for baptism renders the sacrament invalid, said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Catholic churches, schools and other properties were spared serious damage by a mid-season tropical storm that raced up the East Coast in early August.

The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by atomic bomb explosions 75 years ago this August, hastening the end of World War II. And while a nuclear arms race emerged during the 1960s, such weapons have not been deployed in warfare since. Nuclear disarmament advocates want to keep it that way.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and social and environmental crises worldwide, Pope Francis announced he would begin a new series of general audience talks aimed at helping build "the future that we need."

Hospitals in the Lebanese capital are overwhelmed with those suffering injuries from a massive explosion in Beirut's port, causing widespread damage the city and rocking the tiny Mediterranean nation already devastated by the coronavirus and its worst financial crisis since the 1975–1990 civil war.

The Archdiocese of Washington and its Catholic Schools Office hailed the Aug. 3 emergency order by Maryland's governor to override a Montgomery County Health Department blanket directive that would have kept nonpublic schools from reopening for in-person instruction through at least Oct. 1.

The path to true peace requires the world to abolish nuclear weapons, an American bishop and a Japanese archbishop said as the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings at the end of World War II approached.

Pope Francis has named a U.S.-based executive from Spain to be general secretary of the Secretariat for the Economy.

He was surrounded by photos of fellow El Pasoans, who spent the last moments of their lives one summer evening a year ago, running for safety while shopping at superstore.

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Northern Ireland, has hailed political leader John Hume as a "paragon of peace" for his key role in bringing an end to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Hume, 83, died early Aug. 3, his family said in a statement.