Jesus calls believers not only to be servants of his kingdom, as the prophets and Mary were, but also to be his friends, Pope Francis said.

At 83, Alex Rosin, born Elek Rebensztok, is among the youngest child survivors of the Holocaust. As fewer survivors are able to give their testimony, he feels an urgency to tell people his story, especially considering the increasing antisemitism he senses following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities and the subsequent war in Gaza.

The prophetic voices of religious leaders working to foster peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land have been largely absent as the war in Gaza rages on, a Jerusalem-based cardinal said.

Over the past year the federal government’s global religious freedom watchdog has noticed an increase in religious intolerance, persecution, and discrimination around the world, and it is now calling on the Biden administration to step up and do something about it.

Seminarians and religious men and women need well-rounded formation throughout their lives, not only at the onset of their religious training, Pope Francis said.

Catholic agencies, along with other Christian charities in Sudan, have intensified their food distribution campaign across the country to save hundreds of thousands of suffering Sudanese people from extreme hunger as the civil war entered its second year.