Catholic News Service

Generously caring for the sick and the marginalized is the best way to combat a culture of waste and indifference that seeks to control and manipulate life, Pope Francis said.

As U.S. bishops gathered in early January at a seminary in Illinois to pray and reflect about the American church's sex abuse crisis, reports trickled out about the possible fate of one their own being decided overseas.

A French cardinal took the stand in court Jan. 7, the first day of a civil trial for church officials accused of covering up abuse by a priest.

Jesuit Fr. Charles Currie, a social justice advocate and longtime leader in Jesuit college education, died Jan. 4 after a recent illness. He was 88.

The budget bill passed by the House of Representatives to try to end the partial government shutdown includes a provision to repeal the "Mexico City Policy" that prohibits U.S. funding of foreign nongovernmental organizations that perform or promote abortion.

Police are investigating vandalism at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport where someone painted a swastika on the cathedral doors.

People find Jesus only through humble love, and once they find him, they are called to offer him the gifts of their prayer, their adoration and their care of others, Pope Francis said.

Didn't get everything you wanted for Christmas? Neither did several Catholic organizations, despite the last-minute flurry of legislation typical of a lame-duck Congress.

A bishop from Argentina who had been working in the Vatican's real estate administration office is the object of a preliminary diocesan investigation after accusations came to light of sexual abuse.

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising called for change in long-standing church tradition as the German bishops' conference prepares for a workshop debate to "review" the issue of celibacy for priests.

A former head of the Philippines' Catholic bishops' conference has called on people to ignore President Rodrigo Duterte's repeated rants against the church.

Jesuit Fr. Samuel Rayan, a pioneer of theology with an Asian perspective that colleagues and church leaders considered a "radical interpretation of the Bible," died at age 98.

The Field Hospital: The Camp Fire devastated Paradise, California, destroying the homes of over half of the parishioners of St. Thomas More Church. Nearby parishes have rallied to help the survivors. 

Christians know that God is their father and they are called "to reflect a ray of his goodness in this world thirsting for goodness, waiting for good news," Pope Francis said.

A new year is a chance for a new start, a time to remember that all people are brothers and sisters and a time to nurture amazement that God became human to save all people, Pope Francis said.

The surprising news in November that the Vatican had asked U.S. bishops not to vote on several proposals for responding to the sexual abuse crisis was motivated by a lack of time given the Vatican to study the proposals and potential conflicts with church law.

Pope Francis' 2019 calendar includes meetings to address the clerical sexual abuse crisis, as well as foreign trips, a special Synod of Bishops and a special month devoted to the church's missionary activity.

Retired Bishop Robert Mulvee of Providence died Dec. 28 at the St. Antoine Residence in North Smithfield, following a brief illness. He was 88.

The end of one year and beginning of next naturally leads people to think about the passing of time and about love, which gives time — and everything else — real meaning, Pope Francis said.

Celebrating the feast of the Holy Family Dec. 30, the pope led a round of applause for all the families that were among an estimated 50,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square.