According to a new poll, an increasing number of Catholics believe anti-Christian persecution is a “very severe” global concern.

Sister Samia Jriej lives in Homs, a Syrian city that has been devastated by eight years of war. Sister Mari Graciana works in a hill region of Peru, where her congregation received special permission from the pope to celebrate the sacraments of baptism and marriage. Sister Cecilia is from Rwanda, a country that 20 years ago witnessed a genocidal war which led to the deaths of over a million people.

Ireland’s bishops have called the requirement that applicants to new posts at Dublins’s National Maternity Hospital be willing to carry out elective abortions, a violation of a doctor’s “constitutional and human right to freedom of conscience.”

As Syria’s civil war enters its ninth year, citizens in and outside the country find themselves in limbo. Catholic and other aid agencies are urging a swift resolution to the crisis.

The St. Addai Chaldean Catholic community in suburban Auckland felt the impact of the Christchurch mosque killings with a special poignancy, because many members have experienced the sufferings inflicted by terrorism.

When Pope Francis lands in Romania in late May, the local church hopes that he will be able to encourage a “spiritual wind” from the East into Europe and rebuild the chilled relations between the Catholic and Orthodox communities in the country.

The Catholic Church in Germany is at a point where serious debate — including on priestly celibacy and the role of women — and openness to doing things in a new way must encouraged, said the president of the German bishops’ conference.

For the first time in 300 years, the marble steps of the Holy Stairs will be free from the thick wooden panels installed in 1723 to protect the stairs and left uncovered for the public.

Pope Francis expressed “heartfelt solidarity” Friday with New Zealand and its Muslim community following shooting attacks on two mosques in the city of Christchurch that left at least 49 people dead.

New Zealand’s Catholic bishops have expressed horror and distress at a terrorist attack in two mosques in Christchurch that saw at least 49 people killed.