Oct 19, 2018 - 04:42 pm .- When Communist officials kidnapped and killed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, they likely did not intend to help create a Polish hero, martyr and future saint for the Catholic Church.

Oct 17, 2018 - 12:34 pm .- A Catholic school in London has turned its horticulture lessons into meals for the homeless.

Oct 17, 2018 - 10:30 am .- A London borough has apologized to a U.K. pro-life charity after making inaccurate claims about the group. Life, a non-sectarian charity which provides assistance to women and children, was ejected from the Lambeth Country Show in July.

Oct 16, 2018 - 02:30 pm .- The Polish bishops’ conference is celebrating the anniversary of the election of St. John Paul II. October 16 marks 40 years since Cardinal Karol Wojtyla’s rise to the throne of St. Peter.

Oct 15, 2018 - 05:31 pm .- The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow has cut ties with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, claiming his recognition of an independent Orthodox Church in Ukraine departed from Orthodox Christian norms.

Oct 15, 2018 - 03:27 pm .- A Polish film depicting unsavory characters as clerics has broken box office records and sparked a wave of sexual abuse allegations against clergy in the country where 96 percent of the population identifies as Catholic.

Oct 12, 2018 - 03:04 pm .- Two Eastern European bishops asked the Synod of Bishops in Rome for a greater focus on the importance of the Eucharist, the liturgy and fatherhood in the final Synod document during their interventions this week. 

Oct 11, 2018 - 01:00 pm .- The announcement, released Oct. 11, also removed the traditional right of the Russian Patriarch to ordain the Metropolitan of Kyiv, a move which will likely be perceived as a deliberate slight to Moscow.

Oct 10, 2018 - 11:45 am .- The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has reached a unanimous verdict in favor of the right of a Christian-owned bakery not to create a cake in support of gay marriage. The decision, given Oct. 10, brings an end to a case which began in 2014.

Oct 8, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- The Irish bishops on Friday lamented that the draft bill to legalize abortion in the Republic would require pro-life heathcare professionals to provide abortion referrals, calling the provision “an affront to conscience.”

Oct 8, 2018 - 12:01 pm .- About 40,000 young people gathered Saturday at the National Stadium in Warsaw to pray for the synod of bishops taking place in Rome this month.

Oct 5, 2018 - 04:38 pm .- A Catholic faith lived and taught with integrity is needed to help heal and renew the lives of young adults today, a group of young Catholics in Scotland have said in a letter about the Synod of Bishops on Young People.

Oct 5, 2018 - 10:09 am .- A new law in the Republic of Ireland will prohibit primary schools from taking religion into account in admissions, a practice known as the “baptism barrier.”

Oct 5, 2018 - 09:00 am .- Catholic leaders fear a revival of border tensions in Ireland following Brexit. As the United Kingdom prepares for its withdrawal from the European Union, Catholics in parishes and dioceses split by the border are concerned that any return to a “hard border” could mean real effects on their day-to-day lives.

Oct 4, 2018 - 03:54 pm .- Police Scotland maintains that “if flown or displayed in a provocative manner or altered,” the display of the Vatican flag could be a criminal act.

Oct 4, 2018 - 10:30 am .- Amid a British investigation into sexual abuse, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster is expected to face questions regarding the way his archdiocese handled allegations of misconduct made against his predecessor, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor.

Oct 4, 2018 - 07:45 am .- A new legal challenge has been mounted to Northern Ireland’s abortion law calling it incompatible with human rights because it does not allow abortion in cases where the unborn baby has a fatal abnormality. Pro-life advocates are arguing that abortion is not the compassionate choice, even in the most difficult circumstances.

Oct 3, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- A “small but significant” number of general practitioners in the Republic of Ireland are appealing to the county’s health minister to exempt them from being forced to refer patients to other doctors for abortions, the Irish Independent is reporting.

Oct 3, 2018 - 03:01 am .- The bishops of Ireland issued a letter Oct. 1 calling on the government of the Republic of Ireland to do more to address the country’s homelessness crisis. Nearly 115 families became homeless in Ireland during August 2018 alone, according to advocacy groups.

Oct 2, 2018 - 03:21 pm .- The bishops of England and Wales held their five-yearly ad limina visit to the Holy Father last week, at which Pope Francis encouraged them to live the faith joyfully.