Members of the European Parliament are urging Mairead McGuinness, the European Unionʼs special envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, to engage with Pakistan over forced religious conversions as the countryʼs Federal Constitutional Court is due to hear 13-year-old Maria Shahbazʼs appeal on Friday. The calls follow growing concern over reports of the abduction, forced…

Missouri’s Catholic bishops are urging state voters to consider “justice and equity” ahead of a state vote that may eliminate personal income tax there, with the prelates warning that such a measure could adversely impact low-income residents. Voters in the state will decide on Aug. 4 whether to approve Amendment 5, which would reduce and…

The Diocese of Crookston in Minnesota announced that seven parishes will cease celebrating Sunday Mass in the coming months due to factors including a shortage of priests, lack of young people in religious formation, and trouble finding parish volunteers. “The decision to stop having Sunday Mass at a church is amongst the most difficult decisions…

The Vatican will study the conditions needed for a possible trip by Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said following a six-day pastoral and diplomatic mission to the war-torn country. Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, said the possibility of a papal visit was among the…

With his hope placed in Jesus Christ and a longing to see his homeland free one day, a Nicaraguan priest carries out his ministry in Costa Rica, the country to which he came after being forced to flee due to the Nicaraguan government’s persecution against the Catholic Church. “It‘s been 30 months since I had…

Several U.S. bishops in recent months have tightened diocesan funeral policies, emphasizing stricter adherence to the Order of Christian Funerals (OCF) amid evolving popular practices at funerals that depart from Church norms and concern visitations, eulogies, and cremated remains, among others. ‘Liturgical anomalies’ In a video message and accompanying letter, Bishop Thomas Paprocki’s new rules…