This summer marks the 50th anniversary of "Humanae Vitae." The world has changed dramatically since Pope Paul VI wrote the encyclical, mostly in ways he foretold.

In its June 26 decision on freedom of speech, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a California law that forced pro-life pregnancy aid centers to tell pregnant women how to get an abortion.

In the early months of his papacy, Pope Francis felt the urgent need to courageously preach on the actual existence of the devil, and the grave dangers of not taking his existence seriously (see: 1 Peter 5:8-9).

Plans for a major international fund campaign to secure in excess of $1 million designed “to mount a determined effort to stem the world vocations crisis and the critical priest shortage” were announced this week by Serra International at the organiza­tion’s convention in Portland.

We are all God’s children. God hears the cry of the children and their parents. Do we? It is time to listen, stand up and speak out.

John Kingery

This dictate has taken our God of abundance, who fed the crowds with five loaves and two fish so they wouldn’t go away hungry, to a God of scarcity.

WASHINGTON — Ever since the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 -- longhand for "welfare reform" -- became law, the federal government has imposed work requirements for adults receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money.

The bread becomes the body of Christ. The wine becomes the blood of Christ. To think and believe like a Catholic, one is called upon to make some extraordinary observations.

What are some leading causes of heartless conflicts in life?

Being family is hard these days for many people. It isn't just the age-old tensions of kith and kin described in so many novels and plays. It is the modern pressures of distance, distraction and fragmentation.

Very reasonable people had rather intense disagreements about what they were hearing. (I heard "laurel" and my son heard "yanny." We simply had to agree to disagree.)

In some circles, however, this "comprehensive" effort to prevent suicide has a glaring loophole. People facing serious physical illness have been tagged by a well-funded advocacy campaign as needing suicide "assistance" rather than suicide prevention.

VATICAN CITY — A Vatican court found Msgr. Carlo Alberto Capella, a former staff member at the Vatican nunciature in Washington, guilty of possessing and distributing child pornography.

WASHINGTON — Bipartisan disagreement on how to fix the country's immigration system led to failure once again as lawmakers on Capitol Hill turned down one immigration bill June 21 and postponed a vote on a second proposal, which also has a slim opportunity of passing.

WASHINGTON — Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, said he will no longer exercise any public ministry "in obedience" to the Vatican after an allegation he abused a teenager almost 50 years ago has been found credible.

In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the successful ousting of the French incursion, a struggle for independence, a defeat of the European powers and a reversal of the conquest of Mexico. 

Planned Parenthood receives over half a billion dollars in taxpayer funds annually, about $80 million of it from Title X. The organization performs over one-third of all abortions in the country, and abortion is what it provides to 96 percent of its pregnant clients.

VATICAN CITY — Leading thousands of people in prayer, Pope Francis said he hoped the upcoming summit between the United States and North Korea would lead to lasting peace.

So for now, Christians who accept the millennia-old definition of marriage have as much constitutional protection as racists and pornographers. And some justices disagree even with that.

Quoting Pope Francis, “Money must serve, not rule!”

It is totally beyond my comprehension that the Catholics of Oregon have not overwhelmingly deluged their state’s legislature with enough signatures to place their new pro-abortion law on the ballot to be rescinded. Where is their common sense?

For us mortals, it is up to each of us to continue forming ourselves so that we can bring what we know to the event of our lives, to live the church’s unwavering goodness, beauty and truth.

VATICAN CITY  — Catholics who participate in the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August or pray with their families during the Aug. 21-26 event can receive a plenary indulgence, the Vatican announced.

It began like most other days; I realized with great resignation that there were, as usual, many more items on my to-do list than hours and energy with which to complete them.

Cecile Richards, who plans to retire this year as president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, has authored a self-congratulatory memoir called "Make Trouble."

In his address to the U.S. Congress, French President Emmanuel Macron reminded lawmakers to think about working to make the world greater and less about making America great.

VATICAN CITY — In a time when the world is mired in conflicts, religious leaders have a duty to show that it is possible to set aside differences and work together for the common good, Pope Francis said.

In a recent homily, Bishop Robert E. Barron rightly identified two paramount values in our secular culture: being "inclusive" and being "nonjudgmental. Big problems emerge when a society tries to act on these ideas.

Be like St. Paul. Cast your seeds in the online marketplace but do not be afraid to enter the Areopagus where your ideas and beliefs can be tried face to face. Done in charity, it will bear fruit.

This Mother's Day, if your parish adds anything to Mass, let it be words of love as wide as our Lord's. Prayers that celebrate motherhood as a calling. Blessings that comfort the sorrowful. Petitions that pray for the living and the dead.

Jesus was very clear about the use of weapons whose sole purpose is to strike or to kill: “Stop, no more of this!” (Lk 22:51)

I have encountered many Catholics who are deeply committed to ending abortion, but often have no hesitancy about going to war – which always involves killing countless innocent people. And on the other hand, I have encountered many deeply committed Catholic peace activists who are indifferent to the war of abortion waged against innocent unborn babies.