Brian Fraga

In the days leading up to the conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor, wealthy American business leaders, philanthropists and conservative activists have descended on Rome and Vatican City to meet, fete and dine with churchmen.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments April 30 in a potential landmark case involving a proposed Oklahoma Catholic school that, if approved, would be the nation's first religious public charter school.

Some legal scholars anticipate that the case, to be argued April 30, might result in a landmark ruling with far-reaching consequences for the separation of church and state.

Lay Catholics in the U.S. reflected on Pope Francis' legacy as a pastor who sought out those on the peripheries and tried to make the Catholic Church a more welcoming space for the marginalized.

Catholics around the world expressed their sadness and non-Catholics sent their condolences upon hearing the news of Pope Francis' death at age 88 on Easter Monday.

Due to frozen federal funding, at least a dozen local Catholic Charities agencies since late January have laid off hundreds of employees, and some have begun to wind down their refugee resettlement programs.

Angry, vitriolic comments on social media prompted organizers in Lexington, Kentucky, to postpone a parish event that was to feature a talk by Br. Christian Matson, a diocesan hermit who is transgender.

The bishops' conference is appealing a recent court decision saying federal courts lack the authority to order the government to honor its recently terminated contracts with the bishops for refugee resettlement.

A federal judge is weighing a U.S. bishops' lawsuit to halt cuts temporarily. The U.S. government has stiffed the bishops on $13 million owed for care for refugees before Jan. 24.

A settlement conference has been scheduled for Feb. 27 at U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Representatives for both sides have been ordered to present proposals and ideas for how the case can be resolved.

Vital humanitarian activities that Jesuit Refugee Service leads in nine countries remain in jeopardy, JRS says, even after a judge's order to temporarily lift the Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid.

The international relief organization founded by U.S. bishops in 1943 is in crisis after sweeping foreign aid cuts by the Trump administration. The bishops' conference did not respond to a request to comment.

An internal email says CRS is likely to be cut in half this year from Trump's freeze of U.S. foreign assistance. Cuts will "cost people's lives and livelihoods," a former bishops' conference official says.

"In commending the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God, I offer my deepest sympathies to the families who are now mourning the loss of a loved one," the pope said.

Thomas C. Fox worked in Vietnam with the Associated Press photo editor who alleges the photo credit was switched for one of photojournalism's most iconic news photographs, "The Terror of War." AP has denied the claim.

A controversial new documentary film claims to have uncovered a scandal behind one of the most iconic wartime photographs of the 20th century.

Observers say progressive new archbishop of Washington is expected to speak out for immigrants, LGBTQ persons and the marginalized. "A very strong voice to counter the horrors," a college president predicts.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Dec. 20 that he would nominate Brian Burch as his next ambassador to the Holy See. Burch is president of the political advocacy group CatholicVote.org.

Nearly four years since Pope Francis changed canon law to allow women to be installed as lectors and acolytes, some dioceses are moving ahead with ceremonies to formally recognize women in those ministries.

The public dialogue, which was held Dec. 10, featured commentary focusing on how Catholic social principles such as solidarity, especially with marginalized immigrant communities, can chart a hopeful path forward in the coming months.