News & Commentary

Pope Leo XIV leads the recitation of the Angelus prayer with visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Aug. 24, 2025.

Pope marks Ukraine’s Independence Day with prayers for peace

Marking Ukraine's Independence Day, Pope Leo XIV pledged his prayers for the Ukrainian people in a message to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and encouraged Catholics to respond to Ukrainian religious leaders' request for prayers for peace Aug. 24.
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HHS ensures hospital patients have access to spiritual care amid pandemic

The chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Religious Liberty praised the Department of Health and Human Services for resolving discrimination complaints over two hospitals' refusal to let patients have access to the sacraments of baptism and the anointing of ...
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Pope has history of defending marriage, but being open to some civil unions

Pope Francis often has expressed openness to the idea of laws recognizing civil unions, including for gay couples, to protect their rights.
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Pope, religious leaders pray for peace, greater care for one another

The only way to end war and ensure humanity's survival is "through encounter and negotiation, setting aside our conflicts and pursuing reconciliation, moderating the language of politics and propaganda, and developing true paths of peace," Pope Francis said.
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Archbishop Sample leads rosary, exorcism to bring peace to Portland, Oregon.

Dakota Hulsey was diligently setting up tables in a downtown Portland restaurant Oct. 17. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw 225 people walking in procession behind the Eucharist on busy Northwest Everett Street. Hulsey paused for a ...
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Pope repeats call to divert funds from military to fighting hunger

Repeating a call first made by St. Paul VI, Pope Francis urged a global move to divert money from national military spending and use it to "definitely defeat hunger."
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Around world, people bear burden of climate change, says nuncio

Protecting "our common home for present and future generations is one of the most urgent demands of our time," Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations, said Oct. 13.
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