By Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced Feb. 5 that Pope Francis will address a joint meeting of Congress Sept. 24. The pontiff’s “historic visit” would make him the “first leader of the Holy See to address a joint meeting of Congress,” Boehner said in …

By Elise Harris CNA/EWTN News The Vatican has organized the first-ever international day of prayer and reflection against human trafficking, in hopes that the world will join forces in putting this “plague” to an end. “Our awareness must expand and extend to the very depths of this evil and its …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — After decades of debate within the church, Pope Francis formally recognized that Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed “in hatred of the faith” and not for purely political reasons. Pope Francis signed the decree Feb. 3, recognizing as martyrdom the March …

CNA/EWTN News ATLANTA, Ga. — On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will hear oral arguments in a case brought by EWTN Global Catholic Network against the federal contraception mandate. “EWTN looks forward to being able to make our case against the government’s contraceptive services …

By Valerie Schmalz Catholic News Service  SAN FRANCISCO — California legislators have introduced assisted suicide legislation modeled on Oregon’s assisted suicide law, energized by the heartbreaking story of Brittany Maynard, a young woman with brain cancer, who moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon to end her own …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — In an effort to help bolster a minority Catholic population and encourage dialogue and friendship among once-warring ethnic and religious communities, Pope Francis announced he would be visiting Bosnia-Herzegovina. The pope said he hoped the one-day trip June 6 to Sarajevo, …

By N.J. Viehland Catholic News Service  MANILA, Philippines — The recent announcement of this year’s working plans of the Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs has driven a young priest from northern China to call church leaders to work for dialogue and reconciliation among Catholics in his country.

By Mary Rezac CNA/EWTN News Disneyland is supposed to be the Happiest Place on Earth, not the place where you contract a highly contagious, once-eradicated disease. Unfortunately, that is what happened at Disneyland in California, starting back in December. The measles virus, likely carried by a tourist from a foreign …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — When their lives are all work and no play, men turn their children into “orphans” who lack a father to guide them, show them love and teach them values, Pope Francis said. “They are orphans in a family because their fathers …

By Matt Hadro CNA/EWTN News Just days before Super Bowl XLIX, the U.S. House of Representatives is pushing for a bipartisan crack-down on the hidden menace of sex trafficking, which some human rights advocates refer to as “modern-day slavery.”