One of the iconic churches in Ontario’s north, Church of the Infant Jesus, was destroyed last month after a grass fire spread. The church, 300 kilometres north of Thunder Bay on the side of the Trans-Canada Highway, had been abandoned since 1997. After the fire, the local newspaper, the Anishinabek News, looked back on what the church had once meant for the community.

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SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO, Italy – Many people admire St. Padre Pio, but too few imitate him, especially in his care for the weak, the sick and those who modern culture treats as disposable, Pope Francis said during Mass at Padre Pio's shrine.

In a trend that alarms Catholic thinkers, for the 11th year in a row freedom around the globe declined in 2016.

Leaders in the Catholic Church, like leaders in any organization, hate scandals. They wish that they never happen, and when they do, they try to deal with them internally so as not to get a lot of bad publicity.

The international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada is demanding the federal government adopt a feminist foreign aid policy that diverts emphasis from enabling abortion to delivering lasting peace.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Lilia Yaya recalls being unwelcome in the Catholic Church. Her father, a communist political organizer and labor leader, was excommunicated from the church for his views and activism. Yaya was singled out as a troublemaker in her Catholic school for her father's political activities.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis praised the increasingly friendly and fruitful relations between the Catholic Church and Jewish leaders as he also wished the world's Jewish communities a happy Rosh Hashanah a few weeks early.

OTTAWA – The 2016 census data on the family underscores a host of new challenges for government policy, churches and other social institutions, said experts.

LUSAKA, Zambia – As Zambia concluded a year of celebration marking 125 years since the Church was established in the country, its bishops have said that while it was once a missionary Church, it is now a Church on mission.

Sometimes a 2,000-year-old entity well versed in spreading its word can still use a hand.

FUZHOU, China – As the Catholic Church in China journeys toward a normalized relationship with the Holy See, one priest in dialogue with Chinese bishops has seen vast improvement in openness and dialogue on the part of leaders, both in the patriotic and underground Churches.

A flowing white wedding gown is not an everyday sight along the busy streets of Rome.

VALLETTA, Malta – Lawmakers in predominantly Roman Catholic Malta legalized same-sex marriage Wednesday (July 12), joining much of Western Europe by replacing the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies with "you are now spouses."

NEW DELHI – Church leaders have expressed solidarity with ethnic Gorkha people who are on an indefinite strike protesting for a separate homeland in the Darjeeling area of eastern India.

OXFORD, England – Mali's Catholic church has urged a common front against Islamist violence after al-Qaida-linked terrorists attacked a tourist resort just days before the creation of the country's first cardinal.