Vatican News

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered a review of the abortion drug mifipristone in May 2025, which is ongoing.

Chinese officials sentenced Lai, founder and publisher of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, to 20 years in prison on Feb. 9.

A bishop urges a halt to the planned execution of hundreds of Ethiopians, a Finnish parliamentarian appeals her hate speech conviction, and more in this week’s world news roundup.

The Digital Missionaries School aims to give solid training to online missionaries and consolidate them into a network to reach the digital continent with the Gospel.

In this roundup of pro-life and abortion-related news you may have missed, the surgeon general nominee as a teen chose life; Oklahoma criminalizes the distribution of abortion drugs.

As Russia's full-scale invasion enters its fifth year, Apostolic Nuncio Visvaldas Kulbokas tells a Lithuanian Catholic magazine that Ukraine's war zones are seeing extraordinary religious revival.

In Haiti's biggest and most notorious slum, the Kizito Family has seven houses for orphaned, abandoned, and in need children and operates eight schools to provide education and catechism.

The Emmaus Hour brings together young adult Catholics (and Catholic-curious!) in Washington, D.C., every month for a night of community and cocktails that benefits local charities.

"I feel a special responsibility to speak up clearly for the Church’s teaching and vision at this moment," the bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska, said.

The appeal comes as Pope Leo XIV dedicated his May prayer intention to ensuring “that everyone might have food.”

Courage International said the Holy See's synodal report constituted "calumny" against the 45-year-old Church apostolate.

“The government can’t target counselors for their views and can’t force people to say things that go against their core convictions,” ADF attorney Jonathan Scruggs said.

African bishops highlighted the pope's trip to Africa as a defining moment of his ministry as well as the pontiff's emphasis on dialogue, reconciliation, missionary outreach, justice, and peace.

In Spain, only about 8 million of the country’s 45 million inhabitants attend Mass regularly on Sundays.

The Holy Father marked the first anniversary of his pontificate on May 8 by visiting the historic cities in southern Italy.

Pope Leo XIV traveled around 150 miles south of Rome to the Italian cities of Pompei and Naples on the first anniversary of his election.

An archdiocesan investigation in 2018 claimed Bishop Michael Bransfield engaged in multiple instances of sexual harassment and financial malfeasance of diocesan funds.

Christians in southern Lebanon have paid a heavy price in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel but have been sustained through the support of Catholic organizations and initiatives.

Ahead of the pope's May 8 visit to Pompeii, Italy, the hometown of the saint who promoted the "Fifteen Saturdays" devotion, a new book seeks to reintroduce people to this "forgotten Marian devotion."

On May 8, 2025, the world was introduced to Cardinal Robert Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV. One year later, we look at some of the most significant events and powerful moments of his first year as pope.

“I really had to do a double take, because conventional wisdom has been that there will never be a pope from the United States,” said Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski of St. Louis.

Pope Leo's older brother John Prevost said he and his brothers limit political topics when they speak each week, but there is that "brother connection."

“Religious freedom in India is abysmal," U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Vice Chair Asif Mahmood said at a hearing on Capitol Hill.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended targeted sanctions against the Taliban, Iraqi militias, and government officials in Nicaragua, Nigeria, China, and Russia.

The pontiff marked the centenary of the Vatican Publishing House, saying printed books remain a vital “opportunity to think” in the digital age.

The pope expressed his encouragement to the priests who are working in war- torn southern Lebanon. The Holy Father said he prays for them, supports them, and gave them his blessing.

Twenty-eight Swiss Guards were sworn in Wednesday at the Vatican.

Recent excavations at the site match the account of an eighth-century Bavarian bishop who wrote about a church in Bethsaida that was built over the home of Sts. Peter and Andrew.

The pontiff met with the secretary of state amid Trump's ongoing criticism of the Holy Father and the Vatican.

Father Gerardo F. Saco Jr. cited "human limitations" in withdrawing from the Diocese of Tagbilaran weeks before his scheduled May 26 episcopal ordination.

Lithuania's only consistently pro-life maternity home — once blessed by St. John Paul II — faces closure under a government merger plan opposed by more than 12,000 petitioners.

Critics warn that the efforts to rename many of Syria's schools could jeopardize the country’s identity and diversity.

Through violent tactics and the lucrative drug trade, Mexican cartels have made deep inroads into a number of local and state governments in the country.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin also discussed Thursday's meeting between Pope Leo and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The president again claimed Pope Leo XIV "seemed to be saying" Iran should be able to obtain a nuclear weapon. The Holy Father has never said this and has spoken against nuclear weapons.

While the Holy See has yet to make an official announcement, the French Bishops’ Conference announced in a May 6 communiqué that Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit France in late September.

The pontiff will meet with clergy, religious, and government officials, celebrate four public Masses, and visit social service centers and a migrant reception center.

The poll shows that Americans have a negative view of Trump's direct criticisms of Leo at a time when the pope is generally popular and the president's approval is shrinking.

Following the resurgence of violence in Nigeria, the judicial vicar of the Port Harcourt Diocese has called for Christians to promote peace while not ignoring the need to protect their lives.

A Vatican synod study group’s final report includes testimony from two men in civil marriages with other men and calls for a listening-based approach to difficult doctrinal and pastoral questions.

“The pontiff is a strong advocate of climate and environmental protection, and we hope that his voice may serve as an example for humanity,” researchers wrote.

Christian leaders welcomed the Kerala and Tamil Nadu outcomes but voiced alarm at the BJP's historic sweep of West Bengal and a third-term win in Assam.

Father Michael T. Castori, SJ, was appointed the sixth bishop of the U.S. diocese.

Father Wenceslao Vial, a physician and professor, explained that psychological distress is common in society and also affects priests, and warning signs should be heeded and professional help sought.

Controversy surrounding the decision to replace some of Notre Dame’s historic windows with a contemporary design has escalated to legal action and calls for peaceful protests.

The intersection of Pineapple and Henry streets in Brooklyn Heights was renamed “Dorothy Day Way” on May 2.

The pontiff said the Church is a pilgrim people called to proclaim Christ’s salvation while rejecting all that wounds human life.

Secretary Rubio said he plans to discuss religious freedom and persecution of Christians in the May 7 meeting. Rubio said the meeting is unrelated to President Trump's criticisms of the Holy Father.

U.S. bishops are calling on Congress to promote policies that support women and children, defund abortion providers, and support restorative reproductive medicine.

Earlier this year, in one of his last public statements, he exhorted listeners that "As long as your faith is a motivating factor in your life, guiding what you do, you're on the right track."