St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Dingman Twp, PA

The Nicaraguan bishops' conference has denounced death threats against an outspoken bishop who has opposed corruption and supported students in the protests consuming the country.

Catholic bishops in Nigeria led thousands of people across the country in peaceful protests against repeated killings by herdsmen in a conflict over fertile land.

Days before his 27th birthday in 2013, O'Donnell arrived at St. Columbanus Parish in Chicago's South Side Park Manor neighborhood and since then has embraced his ministry to the African-American community.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- 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. An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment a person is due for sins that have been forgiven. The theme of the Dublin meeting, which Pope Francis plans to attend, is "The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World." "So that the faithful prepare spiritually to participate in the event in the best way, His Holiness Pope Francis willingly concedes the gift of indulgences," said the decree released May 22 by the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life. To receive the indulgence, it said, people must be "truly repentant and motivated by charity" and dedicate themselves "to the sanctification of the family, following the example of the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph." The conditions necessary for receiving a plenary indulgence include having recently gone to confession, receiving the Eucharist and offering prayers for the intentions of the pope. Those who cannot travel to Dublin for the event in August still can receive the indulgence, the decree said, "if, spiritually united with the faithful present in Dublin, they recite as a family the Our Father, the creed and other devout prayers" for the good of families. The decree, signed by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Vatican office that deals with indulgences, said a partial indulgence is also available to all Catholics who, no matter where they are, offer prayers with the pope for families. Publishing the decree, the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life said, "Currently, there are about 22,000 people registered for the meeting: they come from 103 countries and half of them are from outside Ireland. With 28 percent of the participants under 18, this WMOF (World Meeting of Families) is the one with the highest rate of young people."

From the outset, the Jerusalem embassy move was ill-conceived and extremely premature. Trump has effectively preempted the outcome of the Jerusalem issue and made a mockery of U.S. mediation and impartiality by declaring solely for the Israeli side.  

Matt Flynn, a prominent Wisconsin Democrat running for governor, has come under attack by critics who say he participated in allowing abusive priests to continue in ministry and for aggressively pursuing legal fees against their victims who sued the Milwaukee Archdiocese.