Immigration advocates express concerns about Trump immigration plan

WASHINGTON — Catholic immigration advocates raised concerns about a proposal from President Donald Trump that would reshape U.S. immigration policy to incorporate a "merit-based" system that prioritizes high-skilled workers over those with family already in the country.
Pro-life leaders applaud passage of abortion bill in Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — By passing a bill to ban abortion in nearly all circumstances, the Alabama Legislature has recognized that abortion is "the extinguishing of a unique human life," said the president and CEO of Americans United for Life.
Police conduct search at Dallas diocesan sites for files on alleged abusers

DALLAS — Dallas police executed search warrants at three Diocese of Dallas sites May 15, saying that process was an extension of their ongoing investigation of sexual abuse allegations into six current or former priests, including one accused of sexually abusing three minors and who is believed to have fled the country to his native Philippines.
Jesuit astronomer works to unravel the mysteries of galactic evolution

It's enthralling to this Vatican Observatory astronomer that halos of stars that have fallen into one galaxy from another during collisions and mergers can provide clues to a galaxy's multibillion-year history.
Martyred Romanian bishops symbolize church's 'resurrection from darkness'

WARSAW, Poland — A cardinal incarcerated for 18 years after refusing to abandon his church and a bishop thrown in an unmarked grave after starving to death in an "extermination prison" are among seven communist-era martyrs who will be beatified by Pope Francis during his upcoming visit to Romania.
Cardinal visits refugees in Greek camps as political solutions falter

MYTILENE, Greece — The Vatican and the Greek government agree on what should happen to the asylum-seekers in Greek camps: They should be welcomed by European communities and helped to build a new life on the continent.
Cardinal DiNardo welcomes new papal norms on preventing clergy abuse

WASHINGTON — New papal norms on preventing clergy sexual abuse are "a blessing that will empower the church everywhere to bring predators to justice, no matter what rank they hold in the church," said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Jean Vanier, who changed lives of intellectually disabled, dies in Paris

TORONTO — Jean Vanier, 90, founder of L'Arche communities and co-founder of Faith and Light, died May 7. Vanier had been suffering from cancer and was assisted at a L'Arche facility in Paris.
U.S. bishops dialogue with abuse survivors in first-of-its-kind gathering

WASHINGTON — Starting when she was about 7, Teresa Pitt Green was sexually abused by a series of priests for more than a decade. Yet years later, it was another clergyman's words that broke the temptation to kill herself.
Church attacked by Maduro loyalists

VATICAN CITY — While protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raged across the country, National Guard forces loyal to the embattled head of state launched tear gas at churchgoers attending Mass at a local parish.
Bishops say Eritrea needs truth, reconciliation plan, ban on hate speech

ASMARA, Eritrea — Eritrea's bishops have called for a comprehensive truth and reconciliation plan to be set up and urged that hate speech be banned in the effort to achieve peace.
A bishop testifies on immigration as president seeks to change asylum

WASHINGTON — In a memo released late on April 29, President Donald Trump ordered changes for how refugees may apply for asylum to the U.S., requesting an application fee from asylum-seekers and denying them permission to work depending on how the applicant entered the country. Though the changes are not immediate, he gave administration officials 90 days to work on new regulations.
Pope makes donation to help migrants traveling through Mexico

TAPACHULA, Mexico — Pope Francis has donated $500,000 to assist migrants attempting to travel through Mexico, but who are increasingly being impeded by Mexican officials from reaching the U.S. border.
Prayer lifts up those struggling with alcoholism, says Byzantine priest

INDIANAPOLIS — Numerous organizations, both private and public, seek to help those who struggle with substance abuse through programming and support services, but Father Bryan Eyman has committed to a different approach: prayer.
Bishops urge Nigerian president to protect citizens, get schoolgirls freed

LAGOS, Nigeria — Several Catholic bishops appealed to the Nigerian government to expedite actions that will lead to the release of Leah Sharibu and other girls held captive by Boko Haram insurgents.
Cardinal criticizes Sri Lankan government for not taking precautions

BANGKOK — Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, Sri Lanka, has blamed the country's authorities for the security lapse he claims could have prevented Easter bombings, in which the death toll surpassed 320.
WATCH: Massive Sri Lanka Easter bombings traced to little-known group

BANGKOK — The Sri Lankan government blamed little-known Islamic group National Thowheeth Jama'ath for the Easter suicide bombings that targeted three churches and three luxury hotels across the country.
Man arrested after trying to walk into cathedral with flammables

NEW YORK — A man who tried to walk through St. Patrick's Cathedral in midtown Manhattan close to 8 p.m. local time April 17 had gas cans, lighter fluid and igniters and claimed he was just cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue where he had left his car, which he said had run out of gas.
Fire chaplain helped save religious artifacts from burning cathedral

PARIS — A hero emerging from the Notre Dame Cathedral fire April 15 is Father Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, who is credited with saving a reliquary containing the crown of thorns and the Blessed Sacrament from the burning cathedral.
Notre Dame fire showed that beauty still matters, art historian says

VATICAN CITY — As people in Paris and around the world watched in horror as flames consumed the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral, the blaze also stirred genuine emotions that could come only from witnessing the loss of beauty, art historian Elizabeth Lev said.
WATCH: Hope from the ashes: Leaders vow to rebuild Notre Dame

ROME (CNS) — The president of France and the archbishop of Paris have vowed to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral after a devastating fire, continuing what a professor of architecture described as the natural lifecycle of a historic building.
Notre Dame Cathedral again will grace Paris skyline

PARIS (CNS) — Church leaders joined government officials in saying they expect that Notre Dame Cathedral's grandeur will be restored as firefighters extinguished the last flames of a fast-moving blaze that seriously damaged much of the iconic structure.
Update: Blaze erupts at Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral; cause unknown

PARIS (CNS) -- A major blaze engulfed the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral April 15, sending pillars of flame and billowing smoke over the center of the French capital.
Pope sends aid to flood victims in Iran

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has sent a large donation to assist tens of thousands of Iranians who lost their homes and businesses in waves of severe flooding that began in mid-March.
Washington Post files motion to dismiss Covington student's lawsuit

WASHINGTON — Lawyers for The Washington Post filed a motion in federal court April 9 seeking the dismissal of the $250 million defamation lawsuit filed against the newspaper by Nick Sandmann, a student at Kentucky's Covington Catholic High School.
Indian police charge bishop with repeatedly raping nun

NEW DELHI — Indian police charged Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar of repeatedly raping a nun in her rural convent, the Associated Press reported.
Marine vet counts on prayer, faith to reunite with deported husband

WASHINGTON — In the quest to bring her deported Mexican husband, Marcos, back to the United States to live with her and their four children, Elizabeth Perez has frequently turned to prayer.
Guam archdiocese 'saddened' by law that legalizes recreational marijuana

HAGATNA, Guam — Archbishop Michael Byrnes of Agana said the archdiocese was "saddened" that Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero signed a law legalizing recreational marijuana in the territory.
Border crisis declarations mask misery of immigrants

WASHINGTON — An estimated 100,000 apprehensions of immigrants by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border in March is the highest figure in one month in a decade.
After unrest and anger, new Washington archbishop wants to rebuild trust

HYATTSVILLE, Md. — Archbishop Wilton Gregory, set to become the new head of the Archdiocese of Washington, promised to serve with truth, love and tenderness in a region where he acknowledged "unrest and anger," after the downfall of former Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and the church's current sex abuse scandal.
Atlanta archbishop named new leader of Washington Archdiocese

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has named Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta as the new archbishop of Washington. The appointment was announced April 4 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States.
Cardinal defends Vatican-China agreement amid criticism

VATICAN CITY — Critics of an agreement signed between the Vatican and the Chinese government must be patient and not quick to judge a deal that is meant to protect religious freedom, the Vatican secretary of state said.