U.S. & World News

In a 6-3 ruling June 21, the Supreme Court said a Maine tuition aid program that excluded religious schools violated the Constitution's free exercise clause.

Pope Francis called on world leaders to aid people suffering in war-torn countries, especially in Myanmar and Ukraine.

Nuclear weapons do not increase a nation's or region's security, in fact, they are a "risk multiplier" that gives people a false sense of security, Pope Francis said in a message to an international conference.

A chapter in the life of the Irish church is coming to an end, and the primate of All Ireland said believes that "if we are open to listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying," something new will begin, though it will be much smaller.

Bishop David D. Kagan of Bismarck announced June 16 the diocese will open an investigation into "the holiness of life and love for God" of North Dakota native Michelle Christine Duppong, who died of cancer Dec. 25, 2015. She was 31.

The Biden administration's "relative silence" over a growing number of attacks on churches, pregnancy resource centers and pro-life organizations over the abortion issue "endangers Americans even more," said a coalition of pro-life and faith leaders.

A federal grand jury June 15 indicted Nicholas John Roske, the man who had been found near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh a week earlier with a gun, knife and pepper spray, saying he planned to kill the justice.

Donations to the annual Peter's Pence collection, which supports the work of the Roman Curia and funds the charitable activity of the pope, held steady in 2021, but the total still was significantly lower than in 2018, the Vatican said.