North America

The past seven days were among the deadliest for Catholic priests and religious in recent years, with one violent murder every 33 hours.

The Holy See Press Office releases the programme for Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey to Canada, due to take place on 24-29 July.

Perhaps signaling some improvement in Pope Francis' painful knee, the Vatican announced June 23 that he will visit Canada in late July. However, the Canadian bishops said that, due to the 85-year-old pope's age and limitations, it is expected that his participation at public events will be limited to approximately one hour.

Two Jesuit priests were murdered in a rugged region of Mexico rife with violence as they provided refuge to a person being pursued by a gunman, according to the Society of Jesus and state officials.

Since language provides the foundation for thoughts and culturally roots people in communities, the death of a language means the death of the unique cultural wisdom that it holds.

Canadian Fra' John T. Dunlap was sworn in the day after Pope Francis appointed him as the new leader of the Knights of Malta.

Indigenous leaders met with Canadian bishops on Wednesday and were told Pope Francis won’t add more stops, as they requested, to his trip to Canada, where he will apologize in person for the abuse suffered by Indigenous people at the hands of the Catholic church.

Speaking about the need to welcome, accompany, promote, and integrate migrants when they arrive in a new country, Pope Francis said that when it comes to the United States, “a people of migrants,” the Irish brought the whiskey and the Italians brought the mafia.

A Catholic priest who directed a migrant shelter was killed in the Mexican border state of Baja California, reinforcing Mexico's reputation as a murderous country for clergy.

Pope Francis will meet members of Canada's Indigenous communities in late July, visiting the cities of Edmonton, Quebec and Iqaluit in Nunavut, the country's most northern region.

A notorious gang in Haiti abducts a high-level diplomat from the Dominican Republic, as lawlessness and gang wars make life difficult for ordinary Haitians.

A Mexican border diocese has issued an urgent appeal for assistance as hundreds of Haitian migrants arrive in the oft-violent city of Nuevo Laredo, hoping to apply for asylum in the United States.

"Today (in Mexico) church and state are called to be an example for other countries to show that it is possible to overcome extremism and polarization, increasingly creating a culture of fraternity, freedom, dialogue and solidarity," Cardinal Pietro Parolin said April 26 at a conference marking the 30th anniversary of Mexico and the Vatican establishing diplomatic relations.

During the visit of Pope Francis’s top diplomat to Mexico on Tuesday, the Vatican and the Mexican government promised to cooperate in building peace and protecting human rights.

Following the disappearance and murder of an 18-year-old woman in Mexico, the Catholic Church in the country blamed the crime, as well as others like it, on a failure of the state.

The late Mexican cardinal served as president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Health Care (Pontifical Council for Healthcare Workers), which is now part of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development