Catholic News Service

Police halted a Good Friday service after a complaint that pandemic regulations were not being met, leading the parish priest to complain that officers had "brutally exceeded their powers."

Shelters like La 72, run by the Franciscans near the Guatemala border, offer a respite on a dangerous route for migrants to the U.S. border. Migrants unable to afford the services of smugglers often stay in shelters, but they get exploited by drivers, government officials and others outside.

The Easter liturgies -- with the fire, sharing of light from the paschal candle, the renewal of baptismal promises and the proclamation that Jesus has risen -- assure people that it is never too late to start again, Pope Francis said.

Zack Snyder's version of Superman's journey, which culminated March 18 with the release of his cut of "Justice League," mirrors the defining moments in Jesus' life that Christians commemorate each year.

In his homily, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, said, "the divisions that polarize Catholics stem from political options that grow into ideologies taking priority over religious and ecclesial considerations and leading to complete abandonment of the value and the duty of obedience in the church."

Living and preaching the Gospel always involves embracing "the cross," whether it be in the form of misunderstanding, hostility or outright persecution, Pope Francis told Rome priests gathered for the chrism Mass.

Fr. Ferdinand Fanen Ngugban and six others died of gunshot wounds after armed gunmen invaded the grounds of St. Paul Parish in Ayetwar March 30, said the Diocese of Katsina-Ala.

Church membership in 2020 dropped to 47% of the more than 6,100 respondents to a Gallup Poll. It is the first time since the polling firm started measuring church membership in 1937 that a minority of adults said they belonged to a formal religious institution.

Asian and Pacific Islander Catholic groups and a number of Catholic bishops have joined their voices with others in calling for an end to violence and hate crimes against Americans of Asian and Pacific Island heritage.

Knowing that Rome would be under lockdown during Holy Week and Easter, Fr. Luigi D'Errico asked youngsters in his parish to draw illustrations and write a series of reflections. They were among those chosen for the Vatican's Way of the Cross meditations.

As the U.S. marks Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in April, the Diocese of San Jose, California, issued a statement March 29 in support of those communities, given a spate of crimes throughout the country targeting them.

A group of Catholic peacemakers who acted to symbolically disarm nuclear weapons at a Georgia naval submarine base in 2018 are the first recipients of a new award for Christian nonviolent action established by DePaul University.

After decades of criticism for its unabashed support of the Confederacy, "Maryland, My Maryland" is closer than ever to being removed as the official song of the "Free State."

Fr. David M. Knight, the oldest priest of the Diocese of Memphis, died in Guatemala March 21. He was 90.

The ruling noted that with Holy Week and Easter approaching, the Catholic archbishop of Washington sought emergency relief from regulations under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Signaling further reforms of the Vatican City State penal code, particularly when it comes to financial crimes, Pope Francis said the laws must reflect "the equality of all members of the church."

Climate change and environmental destruction are forcing millions from their homes, and Catholics have a responsibility to assist them, Pope Francis wrote in the preface to a new document, "Pastoral Orientations on Climate Displaced People."

At least 114 people were killed by security forces March 27, the bloodiest day since the military seized power Feb. 1.

The Mexican bishops' migrant ministry says people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border risk being returned to Mexico under rules for expelling people rapidly during the pandemic.

A suicide bomb attack on a Catholic cathedral compound in Makassar, Indonesia shattered the calm of Palm Sunday Mass, leaving two bombers dead and at least 20 people wounded.