U.S. & World News

Pope Francis is planning to make the longest trip of his papacy in September, visiting Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore, the Vatican press office announced.

A new report shows most U.S. Catholics approve of Pope Francis -- but his ratings have slipped in the past few years, marked by political divides.

While intense feelings or drive -- passions -- are natural, Christians know they must be tamed and channeled toward what is good, Pope Francis said.

As violence devastates Nigeria's Christians daily, a U.S. Catholic bishop has urged his country's secretary of state to partner with Nigeria to fight extremism.

The 116 footnotes in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith's declaration on human dignity reflect the fact that most of the content of the 12,700-word text is not new Catholic teaching.

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled April 9 that a 160-year-old near-total abortion ban still on the books in the state is enforceable, a move that could shutter abortion clinics in the state. But, Arizona may have the issue of abortion on its ballot in November, which could undo those restrictions.

A recently released study from the Institute for Family Studies, a Charlottesville, Virginia-based think tank dedicated to strengthening marriage and family life, reveals that a record number of young adults are predicted to never marry.

A number of Catholic pastoral leaders in the U.S. are applauding a new Vatican declaration on human dignity for its specific treatment of several key -- and contentious -- issues.