Catholic News Service

"When Jesus wants to teach us how a Christian should be, he tells us very little," the pope said, but he shows people by feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger.

"My dream is that from this crisis, we are able to learn and renew the church, I want the laity in Chile to help to make a new, better church."

Laws requiring Catholic priests to break the seal of confession in some cases passed the Australian Capital Territory's Legislative Assembly in Canberra June 7.

The public comment period on the Protect Life Rule, a proposed revision to Title X regulations to prevent taxpayer funding of abortion-related services, opened June 1 and will close July 31.

None of the stories were pretty. The three panelists at a Tucson workshop on "Perspectives on Border Life" told stories from three perspectives during a workshop held June 1, the last day of CLINIC's annual meeting.

The bishop of Toledo said of a recent immigration raid that "no matter our political persuasion, when families are broken apart, as in this raid, we should all recognize that the common good is not served."

Fr. Rey Urmeneta, a Catholic priest who once served as chaplain of the Philippine National Police, was wounded after a gun attack June 6 in Calamba City, about 25 miles from Manila.

People who receive and give the sign of peace "should be men and women of peace" and not ruin "the peace made by the Holy Spirit with your tongue," the pope said during his general audience.

President Michael Higgins of Ireland described the treatment of women and children in state-controlled institutions managed by the Catholic Church as a "deep stain on Ireland's past."

Pope Francis sent condolences to Guatemala after a horrific volcanic eruption buried entire towns in a thick blanket of ash and debris, causing hundreds to flee toxic fumes and killing nearly 70.

At a conference sponsored by the Catholic Women's Forum and the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, panelists offered their "second thoughts" on the consequences of the sexual revolution.

The U.S. Supreme Court June 4 threw out a lower court's ruling that allowed a 17-year-old last year to obtain an abortion while she was in a detention center after an illegal border crossing.

In a 7-2 decision June 4, the Supreme Court sided with a Colorado baker in a case that put anti-discrimination laws up against freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression.

Vatican officials have denied protecting the founder of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Peru-based religious movement, who is accused of sexual, physical and psychological abuse of minors and young adults.

Pope Francis has asked the Catholic bishops' conference of Germany not to publish nationwide guidelines for allowing Protestants married to Catholics to receive Communion at Mass.

Pope Francis has appointed Vincenzo Buonomo, 57, rector of Rome's Pontifical Lateran University. He will be the first layperson to hold the job.

Jesus asks all Christians to prepare a place for him, not in "exclusive, selective places" but in uncomfortable places that are "untouched by love, untouched by hope," Pope Francis said.

After meeting with Pope Francis for more than four hours, a Chilean priest who suffered abuse and a priest who ministers to survivors said they felt comforted and hopeful for the church's future.

A new Vatican document cautions against the dangers of highly competitive children's sports, political and economic pressures on athletes to win '"at all costs" and fans' violent behavior.

The Catholic Church does not have "a product to sell, but a life to communicate: God, his divine life, his merciful love, his holiness," Pope Francis told national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies.