Claire Giangravé

When U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that the White House would back efforts to suspend intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, it was a victory for Vatican officials and U.S. Catholic groups that had long supported loosening vaccine patents.

As some American bishops discuss the possibility of denying Communion to Catholic politicians such as President Joe Biden for supporting abortion-rights policies, a senior Vatican prelate said decisions about administering the sacrament rest solely on the bishop giving the Eucharist.

In an online message to grassroots community organizers on April 15, Pope Francis criticized a modern form of politician that he said "turns their back on the poor," and he laid out his vision for a "politics with a capital P."

Following months of lockdown, the historic collection at the Vatican Museums reopened to the public last week but drew criticism from guides and visitors for the excessive crowds and lack of social distancing.

Germany's Catholic bishops are planning a set of conferences slated to address questions such as women's roles and LGBTQ acceptance, as the country faces another scandal of sexual abuse by clergy.

In a recent interview, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the second-highest official at the Vatican, addressed the institution's recent financial scandals, the pope's upcoming trip to Iraq and the Vatican's controversial deal with China.

Fantasy novel enthusiasts wish to turn the house of famed Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien in Oxford, where he wrote "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," into a meeting place for writers, screenwriters and filmmakers from all cultures and faith backgrounds.

Fr. Orazio Caputo's situation is complicated — while the priest is accused by Italian prosecutors of aiding and abetting a criminal conspiracy, the church has also charged him with allegedly violating the confidence assumed in the sacrament of confession. According to canon law, such a violation may result in excommunication.

Pope Francis' personal doctor, Fabrizio Soccorsi, has died of complications due to COVID-19 on Saturday, a day before the pontiff announced he will receive the vaccine this week.

The cardinal seems to have no intention of going quietly. On Nov. 16, Becciu filed charges against the Italian magazine L'Espresso, which broke most of the news about his financial dealings and his forced resignation.

With anti-Semitism on the rise globally, the Vatican and the United States partnered at a virtual conference on Nov. 19 to condemn hate crimes and violence against Jews in both Europe and the U.S. 

The Catholic Church’s most recent candidate for sainthood is also its most modern.

Catholic missions are struggling amid dwindling vocations and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released Oct. 18 by the Vatican ahead of the World Mission Day.

The sexual abuse trial of Piero Alfio Capuana, the lay leader of the 5,000-member Catholic Culture and Environment Association, began in this small Sicilian city on Sept. 15, three years after the abuse allegedly took place. 

Not every sports team can claim Pope Francis as its honorary captain. But Athletica Vaticana — a 70-member team that includes bishops, nuns and Swiss guards — is proud to claim the pontiff as one of its own.

Seven years after the disappearance of an Italian Jesuit priest in Syria, family members and Vatican officials address his legacy and demand the truth about what happened to the thousands who vanished in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

In the Central American country of Nicaragua, already faced with high poverty rates and civil unrest, the government is failing to properly address the coronavirus pandemic, according to one Catholic bishop.

One year after the Cathedral of Notre Dame was nearly destroyed by a fire, its future remains uncertain. Prominent voices in France continue to argue about what should happen to the medieval gothic structure once its complex reconstruction is completed.

In an online statement, conservative Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke said that access to Mass and the sacraments must not be denied even as the world faces the coronavirus pandemic.

One year after Pope Francis called for a summit of Catholic bishops at the Vatican, abuse survivors flocked to the Eternal City on Feb. 20 to report a lack of progress and accountability in the fight against clergy sex abuse.