U.S. & World News

In St. Peter's Basilica this week, tens of thousands of visitors have been able to see him dressed in striking red posthumous vestments -- the same as he wore in Sydney at World Youth Day in 2008. On Jan. 5, he will be buried in them.

John Thavis, retired Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service, described what he sees as some key moments in the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI in an interview with The Central Minnesota Catholic, St. Cloud's diocesan magazine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow retail pharmacies to offer abortion pills in the United States for the first time, the agency announced Jan. 3, prompting criticism from Catholic and pro-life groups.

After voters in states across the U.S. last November either rejected ballot measures meant to restrict abortion, or voted to codify measures protecting the procedure, some pro-life leaders have called for the movement to regroup.

By their lives, Mary and the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI helped people to seek and to see the face of God, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory said Dec. 31.

Pope Benedict XVI is being remembered for his lifelong role in deepening Jewish-Catholic relations, bringing to life the dialogue called for by the Second Vatican Council, according to many leaders within the Jewish community who spoke with OSV News in recent days.

Catholic evangelizers are recalling the profound impact the late Pope Benedict XVI had on the Church's mission of evangelization -- a legacy that placed Jesus Christ at the heart of any effort to share the Gospel.

Former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform on New Year's Day to blame the issue of abortion and pro-life voters for the Republican Party's underperformance in the 2022 midterm election cycle, prompting criticism from even some of his supporters.