Europe

Pope Francis asks for prayers for victims of an avalanche in northern Italy and warns against disregarding the effects of climate change.

In a letter to Caritas Spain, Pope Francis highlights the important work of the charity organization, and encourages its discernment for new paths as it celebrates its 75th anniversary.

One of Pope Francis’s favorite Catholic movements launched an initiative aimed at providing aid to the elderly in Italy, 19 million of whom live either alone or with an elderly spouse.

The new prior of the Bose Monastery in Italy has spoken out about the status of the community after a contentious internal deadlock culminated with the exile of its founder last year.

Russian missile strikes on a Ukrainian mall with about 1,000 civilians inside were the "largest terrorist attack in Europe in decades," said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

In a pastoral letter to his diocese, Bishop Dominque Rey of Toulon identified several reasons, including the practice of the Traditional Latin Mass, for the Vatican inquiry that culminated with the postponement of this year’s priestly ordinations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the Group of Seven (G7) largest economies to help him end the war against Russia by the end of the year. He spoke after Russia fired missiles at the capital, Kyiv, and other cities, killing at least one person died and injuring several others.

Before the vote, Section 219a prohibited the offer, announcement or advertisement of abortions if done for commercial purposes or in a grossly offensive manner, reported the German Catholic news agency KNA. Some doctors had been prosecuted for offering information on abortions.

In just a few days’ time, Bishop Francesco Savino, a leading figure in the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), will travel to the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa to bring humanitarian aid and to push for an end to the war.

A chapter in the life of the Irish church is coming to an end, and the primate of All Ireland said believes that "if we are open to listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying," something new will begin, though it will be much smaller.

Kyiv’s Latin rite bishop said in a new interview that while a papal visit to Ukraine would be a source of hope, it is not currently possible due to security concerns and a growing distrust of the pontiff given some of his recent public remarks on the war.

Ahead of World Refugee Day June 20, Joan Rosenhauer, executive director of Jesuit Relief Service/USA, talked about her recent visit with Ukrainian children in Romania.

The Catholic Bishops of Ireland wrap up their Summer 2022 General Meeting in Maynooth, as Irish Church prepares for its National Pre-Synodal Assembly to take place on 18 June.

One of the Catholic Church’s foremost anti-abuse institutions, part of Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, announced last October plans to expand its mandate to include the sexual and spiritual abuse of adults.

Church leaders in Italy have called life a gift and have urged greater closeness to the sick and suffering after the death on Thursday of Federico Carboni, the first person in the country to successfully avail himself of assisted suicide.

"Showing an extraordinary adherence to the faith and forgiveness for their killers, these martyrs met a premature, inhuman death -- they can now rejoice in the glory of eternal light," Spain's Dominican order said in a statement.

Italy's bishops updated their pandemic prevention guidelines, easing many restrictions as new cases of COVID-19 continue to decrease after large spikes in January and February and as the severity of the disease diminishes.

In 1535 there were around 850 monastic houses across England and Wales, by 1540 none remained.

The latest boar sighting to cause a stir was Wednesday, when numerous passers-by, tourists, and area residents reported seeing a wild boar roaming through the gardens of Rome’s famed Castel Sant’Angelo, which is a stone’s throw from the Vatican and sits at the base of the Via della Conciliazione, the main street leading up to St. Peter’s Basilica.

Making his 56th appeal for peace in war-torn Ukraine, Pope Francis urges everyone to remember, pray, and help "these people who are suffering so much" and "who are carrying out a true martyrdom.”