News & Commentary

A wampum belt, from what is now Quebec, symbolizing Indigenous people forming an alliance with French Catholic colonizers is seen in this 2008 file photo from the Vatican Museums' ethnological collection.

Pope returns Indigenous artifacts from Vatican Museums to Canada

Pope Leo XIV fulfilled a promise made by the late Pope Francis to return to Canada's Indigenous communities artifacts -- including an Inuit kayak, masks, moccasins and etchings -- that have been held by the Vatican for more than 100 ...
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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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Cupich: Turn grief over officer’s death into helping community

Hundreds of police officers and other first responders were on hand at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel the morning of Aug. 19 to pay final respects to Chicago Police Officer Ella French, who was killed in the line of ...
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