Diocesan Bishops Discuss Visit to Vatican

Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto described the ad limina visit to Rome Nov. 11-15 as a pilgrimage. The bishops of New York state’s eight dioceses traveled to the Vatican for an official visit to report on the state of their dioceses, and during their time in Rome, the bishops celebrated Mass at the city’s four major basilicas.

In Japan, Pope Calls for End to Nuclear Weapons

Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Pope Francis visited Japan Nov. 23-26 as a “pilgrim of peace. The pontiff visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki to deliver a message against nuclear weapons, calling them “immoral” and urging nations to get rid of them.

Panel Ponders Pope, Liberalism, Nationalism and Not Burying the Gospel’s Lede

As impeachment hearings divided the nation Wednesday, several blocks away a blockbuster line-up of Catholic thinkers sought to harness the Church’s social teachings to make sense of increasing political and cultural volatility while, at the same time, wrestling with public witness in a fractured church.

In Thailand, Pope Tells Religions to Work for Peace; Catholic Youth to Hold Firm to Faith

Speaking to people from 18 different religions on Nov. 22, Pope Francis said that the complex challenges of the world today – including globalization, the rapid advances of technology and the persistence of civil conflicts resulting in migration, refugees, famine and war – makes the need for cooperation between religions all the more pressing.