VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The substitute secretary for general affairs in the Vatican Secretariat of State said Vatican officials “were forced” into spending $17 million rather than an anticipated $2 million to $4 million to buy out an Italian broker …

Women leaders from among Canada’s Indigenous nations were at the United Nations’ New York headquarters, seeking broad support, including from Pope Francis, in their ongoing campaign to stop violence against their communities’ women and girls.

The Diocese of Santa Rosa filed for bankruptcy March 13, days after its bishop finally concluded the decision was necessary in order to address potentially 200 new claims brought against the diocese by survivors of child sexual abuse.

In a legislative development that has drawn concern from both Catholic and labor leaders, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., signed into law March 8 the Youth Hiring Act of 2023, which eliminates state age verification for children younger than 16 seeking a job.

Nicaragua’s assaults on Catholic and other educational institutions, its stripping political opponents of citizenship, and its arrest of political opponents must stop, said Human Rights Watch’s acting executive director, Tirana Hassan.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who has strongly persecuted the church in the country and jailed a prominent bishop, is “unbalanced,” Pope Francis said.