A retired Milwaukee priest has been barred from hearing confession and giving absolution, following an essay he wrote favoring legislation that would require priests to report child abuse they learn of during confession.

The man suspected of killing Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell in his Hacienda Heights home pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing March 22.

When presenting its moral teachings on bioethics, the church needs to avoid falling into the “extremist dynamics of polarization” seen in media debates, Pope Francis said.

Catholic church leaders in Ethiopia are welcoming a U.S.-funded food security program that will benefit millions of people suffering from the drought in the Horn of Africa country.

A political climate hostile to the needs and existence of immigrants is not only morally wrong, it also weakens the structures of democratic governments, said Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston.