via CNS: The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church asked Pope Francis to scrap plans to have a Ukrainian woman and a Russian woman carry the cross together during the pope’s Way of the Cross service at Rome’s Colosseum April 15. Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, said April 12, “I… Read More Ukrainian Catholic Leaders Ask Pope To Reconsider ‘Ambiguous,’ ‘Even Offensive’ Plans

via Max Bearak and Louisa Loveluck: BUCHA, Ukraine — The name of this city is already synonymous with the month-long carnage that Russian soldiers perpetrated here. But the scale of the killings and the depravity with which they were committed are only just becoming apparent as police, local officials and regular citizens start the grim… Read More Russia’s Crimes Against Humanity on Full Display in Bucha

Isabella Volmert, Kelly Sankowski and Renée Roden write: FemCatholic reached out to the 176 dioceses across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., to confirm their family leave policies. Through telephone interviews with current and former diocesan employees, FemCatholic ascertained that 31 dioceses offer fully paid maternity leave policies, 32 provide some percentage of employee salaries… Read More Research Shows Weak Family Leave Policies in Most Catholic Dioceses Across the US

Highlights from US President Joe Biden’s speech in Warsaw, Poland: “Be not afraid.” These were the first words that the first public address of the first Polish pope after his election in October of 1978, they were the words who would come to define Pope John Paul II. Words that would change the world. John… Read More Biden Defends Democracy, Quotes JP2 in Big Warsaw Speech

via the AP: Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers unexpectedly decided against reopening schools Wednesday to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on a promise and opting to appease their hard-line base at the expense of further alienating the international community. The surprising decision, confirmed by a Taliban official, is bound to disrupt efforts by the Taliban to… Read More Taliban Breaks Promise, Keeps Schools for Girls Closed

via CNS: Co-hosted by Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless, podcast episodes focus on three main segments — Catholic news, an interview with a guest and faith-sharing — “often over drinks,” as the podcast tagline puts it, and through the lens of Ignatian spirituality. With over a million total downloads and about 40,000-50,000 downloads per month,… Read More Jesuitical at 5: Podcast by Millennial Catholics Reaches a Broad and Growing Audience