Eastern Ukraine bishop: Catholics stay home amid fighting, kidnapping
A Catholic bishop in eastern Ukraine said church members are afraid to attend Mass in Donetsk and other towns after a priest from Poland was abducted by pro-Russia separatists. The priest traveled to Ukraine to renew his Kazakh visa.
Pope to meet with sex abuse victims, confirms investigation of Bertone
Pope Francis will meet with a group of sex abuse victims for the first time in June, he told reporters May 26.
Pope says his ‘most authentic’ gestures in Holy Land were spontaneous
Pope Francis answered several questions during an in-flight news conference about his three-day visit, giving reporters insights into his thinking and glimpses behind the scenes of the high-profile events.
Pope’s visit to Israel calls for unity, marks historic meeting
Nearly 1,000 years after the schism between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, their respective leaders embraced and prayed inside Christendom’s most revered site, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, May 25.
Pope calls for peace, unity in Holy Land
The leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics arrived in this ancient city May 25 to find buildings bedecked with papal flags and huge banners proclaiming “Welcome to the Holy Land, Pope Francis!”
Memorial Day doesn’t stand out for those who never forget the fallen
Memorial Day, the traditional kickoff of summer marked by family getaways, cookouts, picnics and parades, also includes somber events the day was created for such as wreath-laying ceremonies, prayer services and visits to war memorials. A few miles from the major war memorials, two Vietnam veterans at the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home, planned to mark the holiday without any fanfare.
Pope invites Israeli, Palestinian leaders to Rome to pray for peace
Pope Francis invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to pray together at the Vatican for peace between their nations.
Bethlehem residents look forward to papal visit, despite inconveniences
A long line of cars trailed down the road next to the Church of the Nativity as Franciscan Father Ibrahim Faltas helped coordinate the placement of the electricity generator for the May 25 papal Mass.
Priests in Libya say Catholics fearful as conflict escalates
Catholics in Libya are "living in fear" as conflict escalates between Islamist militias and followers of a rebel general, said priests in Tripoli and Benghazi.
Pope says his Holy Land trip will be ‘strictly religious’
Asking prayers for his May 24-26 trip to the Holy Land, Pope Francis said his visit to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories would be "strictly religious."
