Catholic News Service

A man dressed in black tactical-style gear and armed with an assault rifle opened fire inside a church in a small South Texas community on Sunday, killing 26 people and wounding about 20 in what the governor called the deadliest mass shooting in the state's history. The dead ranged in age from 5 to 72 years old.

Hypocrisy, like that of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' time, is not the only temptation that continues to plague religious communities, Pope Francis said. Pride also is a great danger.

As civil war escalates in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, refugees fleeing violence gather over the border in northern Uganda to ask God for peace.

Hope in the Lord's promise of everlasting life does not disappoint, Pope Francis said.

"No more, Lord, no more (war)" that shatters dreams and destroys lives, bringing a cold, cruel winter instead of some sought-after spring, Pope Francis said.

The threat of violent extremism remains in the Philippines even after the end of a five-month siege by terrorists in a southern city, said Catholic and Muslim officials.

Chief Nicholas Black Elk merged the Lakota and Catholic culture in a way "that drew him deeper into the mystery of Christ's love and the church."

The Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett, a Notre Dame law professor, to a lifetime appointment as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.

The sin of racism must be recognized, confronted and overcome, Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl said in a new pastoral letter, "The Challenge of Racism Today."

Like stained glass windows, the saints allow the light of God to permeate the darkness of sin in the world, Pope Francis said on the feast of All Saints.

The "horrendous act" by a driver in a pickup truck who mowed down pedestrians and bicyclists in New York late in the afternoon Oct. 31 "weighs on all of our hearts," said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Catholic bishops of Texas have questioned why federal immigration agents detained a 10-year-old girl -- in the United States since she was baby -- who has cerebral palsy.

A death penalty case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 30 examines whether a Texas death-row inmate was given effective counsel when he was sentenced to death in 1997.

Jesuit Fr. Joseph Parkes, president of Cristo Rey New York High School, is the 2017 recipient of Catholic Extension's Spirit of Francis Award.

Clericalism is a path taken by those who, unlike the good shepherd, concern themselves with money and power and not with people who are suffering and neglected, Pope Francis said. 

Hurricane-related deaths in Puerto Rico have been attributed to drowning and illness, but many Puerto Ricans, including local media professionals, see a link between such deaths and poverty.

Christian leaders in Philippines have banded together to help rebuild Marawi, a Muslim-majority city in southern Philippines damaged by five months of occupation by terrorists.

An Oct. 26 ceremony on Capitol Hill honored French priest Fr. Patrick Desbois for his work for nearly two decades in researching and telling the story of genocides past and present.

Kenya's low voter turnout in its Oct. 26 election re-run threatened continuing questions about an expected win by incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Above all material and financial considerations after Hurricane Maria's severe damage in Puerto Rico, one must highlight the brotherly spirit shown by the island's people during the ongoing recovery period, said the island's top Catholic pastor.