Catholic News Service

Catholic Extension announced June 21 it has established a Family Reunification Fund as "a response to the human tragedy unfolding on the nation's southern border" with Mexico.

Bipartisan disagreement on how to fix the country's immigration system led to failure once again as lawmakers on Capitol Hill turned down one immigration bill June 21 and postponed a vote on a second proposal, which also has a slim opportunity of passing.

At the end of a day dedicated to celebrating 70 years of an ecumenical fellowship forged by the World Council of Churches, Pope Francis turned to the region's Catholics, reminding them of what lies at the heart of the faith.

Many parishioners at St. Monica Church in western Kenya are unhappy after their favorite priest was suspended for misconduct by the Diocese of Homa Bay.

No periphery is far enough away to escape a pope's purview. Not even outer space.     

From Pope Gregory XIII's observational tower built in the Vatican Gardens in the 16th century so celestial studies could aid the reform of the calendar to Pope Leo XIII, who officially re-founded the Vatican Observatory in the late 19th century, popes have kept their eyes fixed on the heavens.

The Mexican bishops' conference has criticized the practice of U.S. officials separating migrant families, joining a chorus of condemnation south of the border as Mexicans react with outrage to the sight and sounds of children being confined in shelters far from their parents.

The Ten Commandments given by God are meant to protect his children from self-destruction; they are not harsh rules meant to enslave and oppress, Pope Francis said.

The U.S. bishops "cannot, in good faith, endorse" an immigration bill submitted by the House's Republican leadership, said Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Migration.

For older residents of Leon's Sutiaba neighborhood, the country's recent protests bring back vivid memories of the insurrection of 1979 that toppled the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.

The country's Catholic bishops have joined a chorus of organizations, institutions and high-profile individuals urging the Trump administration to stop separating children from their parents.

Nearly 500 British priests have signed a statement in support of the papal encyclical that forbade married couples from using contraception.

No motive "can justify these ongoing, seemingly relentless acts of gun violence plaguing our cities," Bishop David O'Connell of Trenton said after a mass shooting took place in the early morning hours of June 17 during a city arts festival.

All dictatorships begin the same way: media outlets are put in the hands of "unscrupulous" people who spread lies and weaken democracy, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis denounced using prenatal tests to determine birth defects that often lead to abortions, comparing it to the Nazi-era eugenics program that determined what lives were worth keeping.

The brother of Chilean Fr. Fernando Karadima called on his brother to ask forgiveness for the hurt inflicted on those he sexually abused.

Philippine authorities announced June 15 that they had arrested their "prime suspect" in the killing of Fr. Richmond Villaflor Nilo.

"There is a rage against women," but exploiting women or treating them like objects in a sin against God, Pope Francis said in his homily June 15.

With the help of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a 15th-century copy of a letter Christopher Columbus sent to his royal patrons describing the riches of the New World has been returned to its rightful owner -- the Vatican.

A planned pastoral letter addressing racism is on schedule for a November vote by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Argentina's bishops expressed disappointment with the approval of an initiative that moves toward legal abortion while pledging to review their social ministries to better attend to youth and women.