News

Pope Francis invited Catholics -- and anyone else interested -- to join a seven-year journey to widen the reach of his 2015 encyclical on the environment in a time of global climate change.

The Missionaries of Charity denied reports that the order's bank accounts have been frozen but said the order's renewal application under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act was not approved. This means the nuns in India may not use any foreign currency account "until the matter is resolved."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died Dec. 26, made his clerical career in the Anglican Church, but at one point, he is said to have contemplated the Catholic priesthood. Instead, he got married in a Catholic Church.

Preparations for the Holy Year 2025 have already begun, and Pope Francis has asked the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization to take charge of the efforts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on families, but with extra patience and faith, bonds can grow stronger, Pope Francis wrote in a letter released on the feast of the Holy Family.

The year is ending pretty much the same way it started, with the United States wondering whether it will experience a surge in COVID-19 cases when the calendar changes numbers.

Pope Francis will beatify Pope John Paul I Sept. 4, 2022, at the Vatican, according to Stefania Falasca, a journalist and vice postulator of the late pope's sainthood cause.

Archbishop Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Anglican cleric whose good humor, inspiring message and conscientious work for civil and human rights made him a revered leader during the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa, died at age 90 Dec. 26, 2021.