The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2023, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women in religious orders, and baptisms all declined, according to Vatican statistics.

The formula is an old, but by no means venerable, one in Hollywood. Give a character with a military background an excuse to put his calm civilian existence on hold temporarily and so unleash his slaying skills on a host of wrong-doers.

Representatives of Catholic and immigration advocacy organizations, and Washington’s new Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, grappled with the need to send a clear moral message on the dignity of migrants amid the “uncertainty” of the political moment at a recent event in the nation’s capital.

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, a top contender to lead the French bishops’ conference, delivered a powerful lecture March 22 in Marseille, calling for a “reawakening of hope” in the face of global turmoil.

Jesus seeks out people in their woundedness and isolation to offer healing and hope, even when they feel furthest from God, Pope Francis said in a prepared catechesis.