News & Commentary

Father Kevin M. Smith, a veteran fire chaplain, trauma counselor and loyal friend to scores of active and retired firefighters in the New York metropolitan area, receives more phone calls in early September than any other time of the year.

Former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick pleaded not guilty Sept. 3 in a Massachusetts court, where he is facing three counts of sexually assaulting a teenager in the 1970s.

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.

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.

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.

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.