Biden, Pope to talk COVID, climate change, poverty (AP) Hours after arriving in Rome, President Joe Biden will meet with Pope Francis on Friday at the Vatican, where the world’s two most notable Roman Catholics plan to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and poverty…


Vatican again extends indulgences for All Souls’ (CNS) With the COVID-19 pandemic still underway and with restrictions on gatherings still in place in some countries, the Vatican has again extended the period of time when people can earn a plenary indulgence for visiting a cemetery and praying for the souls of the faithful in purgatory. Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican tribunal dealing with matters of conscience, said the indulgences traditionally obtained during the first week of November can be gained throughout the entire month of November, the Vatican announced Oct. 28…

Two religious sisters detained in Nepal for “illegal conversions” (Vatican News) Two Catholic nuns from South Korea have been detained in Nepal for over six weeks on charges of converting Hindus by coercion and allurement. Sister Gemma Lucia Kim and Sister Martha Park Byongsuk of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres Congregation were arrested on September 14 following an anonymous complaint. They are presently detained in a prison in Kathmandu after they were denied bail…

Pew: Americans significantly favor separation of church and state (CNS) Nearly three times as many Americans favor the federal government enforcing the separation of church and state than want to see the government stop doing so. Fifty-four percent of those polled by the Pew Research Center on the issue favor the continued separation of church and state, while 19 percent would rather the government stop enforcing it. The percentage of those opposed finished behind the 27 percent who said they didn’t know or refused to answer…

The Catholic origins of Halloween costumes (Aleteia) One of the major sources of modern Halloween traditions can be found in the English tradition of “souling” on All Souls’ Day. This started out as a Roman Catholic custom that gradually declined over the centuries, but was still popular in many places in England…

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