Catholic church

Children in traditional dress welcome Pope Francis arriving for a meeting with charity workers and for the inauguration of the House of Mercy in Ulaanbaatar, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.

World News

Francis opens a homeless clinic on the 1st papal visit to Mongolia

1:54am September 04, 2023

by The Associated Press

Several of the foreign-staffed Catholic religious orders in Mongolia run shelters, orphanages and nursing homes to care for a population of 3.3 million where one in three people lives in poverty.

The Catholic Church profited from slavery — 'The 272' explains how

1:27pm June 13, 2023

by Terry Gross

"You don't hear about enslaved people at Mass or in Sunday school," says Rachel Swarns. Her new book tells the story of 272 enslaved people sold in 1838 to help save what is now Georgetown University.

Queue Listen Now

Pope Francis leaves at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on Wednesday.

In a historic shift, Pope Francis allows women to vote at bishops' meetings

1:18pm April 26, 2023

by The Associated Press

Catholic women's groups that have long criticized the Vatican for treating women as second-class citizens immediately praised the move as historic in the 2,000-year life of the church.

Hooded Filipino penitents carry pointed bamboo sticks as part of Maundy Thursday rituals to atone for sins or fulfill vows for an answered prayer on April 6, 2023 at Mandaluyong city, Philippines.

World News

Live Easter reenactments resume in the Philippines despite Catholic Church objections

5:31am April 07, 2023

by The Associated Press

The real-life reenactments in the farming village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga province north of Manila resumed after a three-year pause because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, the Maryland Attorney General's Office publicly released a redacted version of an investigative report detailing sex abuse allegations against more than 150 Catholic priests and examining the Archdiocese of Baltimore's response.

Maryland attorney general releases report on decades of sex abuse by Catholic priests

2:00pm April 05, 2023

by The Associated Press

The redacted report paints a damning picture of abuse allegations against nearly 160 priests, involving more than 600 victims and spanning 80 years, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore's response.

People protest as Pope Francis meets young people and elders at Nakasuk Elementary School Square in Iqaluit, Canada, last July. The Vatican on Thursday formally repudiated the "Doctrine of Discovery." The theory is backed by 15th century papal decrees that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property laws today.

The Vatican repudiates 'Doctrine of Discovery,' which was used to justify colonialism

1:38pm March 30, 2023

by Bill Chappell

The doctrine, with origins in the 15th century, was invoked as a legal and religious standing by Europeans who "discovered" new lands and violently seized it from people who had been living there.

Pope Francis waves from the window of the apostolic palace during the weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday in the Vatican.

After 10 years as pope, Francis continues to reshape the Catholic Church

4:27pm March 13, 2023

by Sylvia Poggioli

The leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics has steered his church leftward after more than two decades of conservative leadership. Opposition within the Vatican is fierce.

Queue Listen Now

Bystanders look on as Pope Francis travels by popemobile as he departs the airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Pope Francis is in Democratic Republic of Congo, its first papal visit since 1985

12:21pm January 31, 2023

by Emmanuel Akinwotu

His trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan will highlight the long-running conflicts in both countries and the rising importance of Africa to the future of the Catholic Church.

Queue Listen Now

Pope Francis arrives at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International airport on Sunday to board his flight to Edmonton, Canada, where he will start a six-day pastoral visit to the country.

The pope arrives in Canada as Indigenous groups seek a full apology

8:37pm July 24, 2022

by The Associated Press

Pope Francis began a visit to Canada on Sunday to apologize to Indigenous peoples for abuses at residential schools, part of the the Catholic Church's efforts to reconcile with Native communities.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The conservative Catholic archbishop of San Francisco said Friday that he would no longer allow Pelosi to receive Communion because of her support for abortion ri

An archbishop bars Pelosi from Communion over her support for abortion rights

2:58pm May 21, 2022

by Emma Bowman

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco said he sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter expressing his concerns after she vowed to codify the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.