Catholic News Service

Pope Francis has asked the president of the German bishops' conference to come to Rome to discuss pastoral guidelines for possibly allowing some non-Catholics married to Catholics to receive the Eucharist, the conference spokesman said.

Christians must be willing to move where the Spirit leads them and not be benchwarmers on the sidelines of efforts to evangelize, Pope Francis said.

Bishop David Foley, retired bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham, died April 17 at the St. John Vianney Residence for Priests in Birmingham. He was 88.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich called on Illinois legislators to pass a bill that tightens restrictions on gun shop owners and helps stem the flow of illegal guns into Illinois.

Naming a child is an important task for parents, because it gives children a sense of identity and belonging to their family and to God, Pope Francis said.

While some fundamental principles of the Catholic Church's social teaching are permanent, there are ever-changing social and political conditions that can change how it is applied, said Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.

Begging Pope Francis to help his son, Alfie, Tom Evans met with the pontiff, pleading for "asylum" in Italy so his seriously ill son may receive care and not be euthanized in England.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Stefan Soroka of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Andriy Rabiy of the same archeparchy to be apostolic administrator.

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chairman of the board of Catholic Near East Welfare Association, led a delegation from the organization on a trip to Lebanon.

While globalization at its best can enable the sharing of spiritual and material riches, it also can lead to huge destruction, the bishops of Europe and Africa said after a meeting in Portugal.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI had a "peaceful and familial" 91st birthday April 16, celebrating with his 94-year-old brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, who was visiting from Germany, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis met with members of the preparatory council for the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon region, which will take place in Rome in October 2019.

After circling a massive, crumbling public housing complex on the outskirts of Rome, Pope Francis had an emotional encounter with the neighborhood's children.

Catholic Church leaders and immigration advocates say President Donald Trump's recent moves to clamp down on immigration are extreme and unnecessary.

The Gospel requires Christians to "denounce personal and social sins committed against God and neighbor in the name of the god money and of power for its own sake," Pope Francis wrote.

A court in central Vietnam has jailed a Catholic activist after convicting her of subverting the communist state, ucanews.com reported.

Invoking a Salvadoran who's about to become the country's first Catholic saint, the man who now occupies his old post asked immigrants and their children during an April 11 Mass in Washington to pray for Blessed Oscar Romero's intercession, a "miracle," that would allow U.S. lawmakers to grant immigration relief to thousands of Salvadorans and other immigrants to the United States.

The June 4-6 gathering is meant to be a starting point to bring about Pope Francis' vision of the church responding to human hurts and social challenges by living out the joy of the Gospel, organizers said.

Citing "alarming concerns" related to an ongoing investigation, at least eight dioceses across Canada are withholding funds from the overseas development agency of the Canadian bishops' conference.