NEW YORK – Tech savvy viewers will especially enjoy the wacky proceedings of "The Emoji Movie" (Columbia). But patrons of all stripes will appreciate the film's themes of loyal friendship and faithful romance.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal John Tong Hon as bishop of Hong Kong. Coadjutor Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, 70, succeeds the cardinal as head of the diocese, the Vatican announced Aug. 1.

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Former priest Paul R. Shanley, a major figure in the U.S. church's child sex abuse scandal, was released from prison July 28 after serving 12 years for raping and assaulting a boy in the 1980s.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Diocese of Raleigh began the day with the smallest Catholic cathedral in the continental United States. But when the July 26 dedication of a new cathedral concluded, the diocese was home to one of the largest in the country.

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After the Senate Republicans failed to get enough votes to pass a "skinny" repeal to remove parts of the Affordable Care Act in the early hours of July 28, the U.S. Catholic Church's lead spokesman on the issue said the "task of reforming the health care system still remains."

VATICAN CITY – No matter the position one takes on national migration policy, Pope Francis, Caritas Internationalis and national Catholic charities across the globe want Catholics to meet a migrant or refugee and listen to his or her story.

HONG KONG – Chinese propaganda chiefs have ordered mainland journalists not to describe outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun as the "emeritus" bishop of Hong Kong, but to instead use the word "former."

NEW YORK – A court ruling that the New York Archdiocese did not discriminate against a school principal when it did not renew her contract affirms "the freedom of a church to decide who will serve as its religious leaders," said the Alliance Defending Freedom.

HONG KONG – The Chinese Communist Party's top leader in charge of religion has made it clear that Beijing intends to retain a tight grip on the Catholic Church.

WASHINGTON – For some aspiring priests and religious, the biggest obstacle to pursuing their vocation is student debt.