COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Civil rights activists and church groups in Sri Lanka have demanded an independent and impartial inquiry with international participation into last year’s disappearance of a Catholic priest and his companion in troubled Jaffna.Read More

LIMA, Peru – When it comes to dealing with disasters like the powerful earthquake that struck Peru’s southern coast Aug. 15, the Catholic Church has an advantage – the pastors know the people. In responding to an emergency, “you build on your strengths,” said Aaron Skrocki, South American emergency program manager for Catholic Relief Services,...Read More

DETROIT – Our Lady of La Salette Catholic School in the Detroit suburb of Berkley is making a guarantee: First-graders will be reading at a second-grade level by the end of the year. If not, parents can ask for a full tuition refund.Read More

Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services is committing an initial $100,000 toward relief efforts for thousands of people struggling in the aftermath of Peru’s worst earthquake in more than 30 years.Read More

RIMINI, Italy – While Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, set out to preach about truth, his appearance at a major conference sponsored by Communion and Liberation led to headlines about “truth and taxes.”Read More

PHILADELPHIA – Staying involved in church activities and with campus Newman centers is key to students keeping the faith while in college, according to college chaplains. “First and foremost, as in all things Catholic, go to Mass,” said Father John Nordeman, chaplain of the Newman Center at Pennsylvania’s West Chester University.Read More

WASHINGTON – Robert B. Beusse, a former secretary of communications for the U.S. bishops who was instrumental in establishing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the Catholic Communication Campaign, died Aug. 14 at his home in Caldwell, N.J. He was 77.Read More

GUATEMALA CITY – Church leaders say 80 million pages of secret police records being reviewed by the government promise Guatemalans a rare chance to rewrite the history of their violent land. The moldy records were found by accident in 2005 in an abandoned section of a police compound in Guatemala City. Some of the records...Read More