News & Commentary

A file photo shows spring flowers blooming outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception named a Jubilee Year site

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, the nation's patronal church, has been named a special place of pilgrimage for the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year 2025, the theme for which is "Pilgrims of Hope."
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Pope plans to visit climate change conference in Glasgow

Pope Francis said he plans to make several papal trips before the end of the year, including to Scotland in early November to attend the U.N. Climate Change Conference.
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Biden on U.S. leaving Afghanistan: ‘It was time to end this war’

President Joe Biden said the decision to end 20 years of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan on Aug. 31 came down to limiting further loss of American lives in a place where the country no longer had vital interests.
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Dioceses emerge from Hurricane Ida as others prepare to help

Catholic Charities in and around the areas of Louisiana and Mississippi affected by Hurricane Ida are collecting donations as they prepare to help with the yet-unknown damage caused by the late August storm.
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Italian priest recounts harrowing escape from Kabul

Although Barnabite Father Giovanni Scalese, head of the Catholic mission in Afghanistan, found himself back in his native Italy after the fall of the Afghan capital, his thoughts remained on the church he was forced to leave behind.
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As Afghanistan convulses, Catholic organizations help refugees in U.S.

An already tense situation in Afghanistan took a turn for the worse early Aug. 26 when two explosions near the Kabul airport led to casualties and injuries still being calculated.
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Hypocrisy in the church is ‘detestable,’ pope says at audience

Hypocrites are afraid of the truth, fearful of who they really are and incapable of truly loving, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience.
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