Only a small number of civilians in Aleppo, Syria, are using humanitarian corridors to flee weeks of intensive bombardment; activists say people do not trust that the routes are safe.
International News
Commission to Study Women Deacons
Pope Francis appointed six men and six women, including U.S. scholar Phyllis Zagano, to a commission to study the issue of women deacons in the church.
Sister of St. Joseph Is Still Missing on Vacation in Austria
Two weeks after a recently retired nun from Long Island, N.Y., disappeared while vacationing alone in Europe, more than 200 people gathered to pray for her at an evening service July 20 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, East Northport, where she lived.
Pope Falls in Poland, Is Not Hurt
Pope Francis falls while using incense at the start of July 28 Mass to mark the 1,050th anniversary of the baptism of Poland near the Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa during his World Youth Day visit.
French Priest ‘Beheaded’ in Church
The murder of 84-year-old Father Jacques Hamel in northern France during a weekday morning Mass July 26 is another act of “absurd violence” added to too many stories of senseless violence and death, said a Vatican spokesman.
World Youth Day 2016 Patron Saints
The theme of the XXXI World Youth Day is: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy’ (Mt 5:7). St. Faustina and St. John Paul II are the patrons of the upcoming WYD in Krakow, Poland, July 26-31.
Pope Says Nice Attack Was ‘Blind Violence’
Remembering the victims of the tragic terrorist attack in Nice, France, Pope Francis prayed that God may give comfort to grieving families and foil the plans of those who wish to harm others.
New Book with Retired Pope Benedict Due in September
Retired Pope Benedict XVI has given another interview to the journalist and author Peter Seewald, and a German publisher announced it would be released worldwide Sept. 9.
German Cardinal: Christianity Is the Religion of the Future
One of Pope Francis’ top advisers said during a visit to Ireland that he believes the Christian faith is “the religion of the future” as he mapped out a role for the Church in increasingly complex pluralist societies.
Retired Benedict XVI Feels ‘Protected’ by Pope Francis
In his first public address in almost a year, retired Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sincere gratefulness to Pope Francis, saying that his goodness “in every moment of my life here, touches me deeply.”