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US & Canada

News from United States & Canada covering parishes, dioceses, religious orders, community groups, homelessness, moral & political issues and pilgrims.


Canada: Bishops call for prayers for peace in Middle East

photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash

The Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has issued a Statement Calling the Catholic Faithful to Prayer for Peace in the Middle East. The statement affirms that we cannot remain indifferent to an armed conflict that risks escalating into a prolonged war. "Faced with rising tensions and the risk of escalating war, we invite the People of God in Canada to pray for ... Read More


Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago: "A Call to Conscience"

Cardinal Blase Cupich

As more than 1,000 Iranian men, women and children lay dead after days of bombardment from U.S. and Israeli missiles, the official White House X account on Thursday evening posted a video of scenes from popular action movies spliced with actual strike footage from their war on Iran. The clip was captioned: "JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY." A real war with real death and real suffering being treated like... Read More


Pax Christi USA condemns military strikes on Iran

Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, condemns the horrific bombing of Iran by the US and Israel, and we urge our nation's leaders to stop the violence. As we recall the words from the daily readings of February 28, when the gospel reminds us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48), our hearts break for the loss of life and the extraordinary damage being inflicted not only on the pe... Read More


US Catholic Bishops file legal challenge against Trump's 'immoral' order ending birthright citizenship

Image: Catholic Charities

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), have filed a Supreme Court brief opposing President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children born in the US to parents without legal status or temporary visas. Urging the Supreme Court to strike down the order, they say it is "immoral" and an affront to Catholic teaching on human dignity and justice. The 29 pa... Read More


Sisters of St Joseph of Peace urge Palantir to conduct human rights impact assessment

Palantir has not agreed to implement a shareholder proposal filed by the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace (CSJP), asking the Company to conduct and publish a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) - a report that describes actual and potential human rights impacts associated with the use of its products and services. The shareholder proposal, filed in December 2025, focuses on the... Read More


USA: Bishops speak out on immigration enforcement

Bishop John Stowe OFM

Yesterday, February 24, a few hours before President Trump's first State of the Union address of his second term, Pax Christi USA's bishop president Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., of Lexington KY, and 17 other bishops issued a statement strongly condemning ongoing tactics by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to threaten and intimidate the immigrant community. They reiterate the ... Read More


Chicago: Ash Wednesday marked in ICE detention centre. Cardinal leads open-air Mass and procession

Cardinal Blaise Cupich - screenshot

On Ash Wednesday - after months of trying - a group of religious and clergy were finally given a temporary injunction to visit the Broadview ICE 'processing centre' for migrants on the outskirts of Chicago. They gave Communion and distributed ashes to those inside. That evening, more than 3,500 people attended a Mass outside Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Chicago, presided over by Cardinal Bla... Read More


Bishops representing Latin America, Canada, and United States gather to pray, discuss, and reaffirm their unity as one Church

Concluding a biennial gathering, the officers and members of the Episcopal Conferences of the Americas met from February 15-17 at a retreat centre to pray and discuss their shared ministry as pastors. The eleven bishops attending included bishops from the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), and the United States Conference of ... Read More


Priests Against Genocide USA urge Catholic leaders to speak out on 'Board of Peace' amid ongoing suffering in Gaza

Priests Against Genocide USA-part of a global network of 2,200 priests from 58 countries, along with 22 bishops, archbishops, and two cardinals-issued an open letter to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) calling on Catholic leaders in the United States to speak with moral clarity regarding President Trump's convening of the 'Board of Peace"'on February 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. The gr... Read More


California: Catholics plan prayer walk to encourage Gov Newsom to commute all death sentences

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy

National and local Catholic organisations and activists are coming together to hold an event in Anaheim to urge Governor Gavin Newsom to commute the sentences of all individuals on California's death row before he leaves office. Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) is joining with the Office of Restorative Justice in the Diocese of Orange, Loyola Marymount University, PaxChristi USA, Catholics Agains... Read More


Buddhist monks complete walk across America for peace

Photo by Nils Huenerfuerst on Unsplash

A group of Buddhist monks, accompanied by a rescue dog named Aloka, completed a 109 day, 2,300 mile (3,700km) Walk For Peace from Hương Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Centre in Fort Worth Texas, to Washington DC yesterday. Inspired by their faith, the aim of the walk was to raise "awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion across America and the world." The Walk For Peace began on October 2... Read More


Cardinal Cupich asks Trump to apologise for offensive video + Update

Cardinal Cupich

The Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blaise Cupich, has asked President Donald Trump to apologise for a "viciously racist" video posted on his Truth Social account. The final frames of the video, which appeared on President Trump's account on Thursday evening, depicted former US President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. In his statement, (in English, Spanish and Polish) t... Read More


Cause of Fulton Sheen moves towards beatification

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Bishop Louis Tylka, from the Diocese of Peoria said in a statement today: "The Holy See has informed me that the Cause for the Venerable Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen can proceed to Beatification. The next step in the process is the celebration of the Beatification, in which Fulton Sheen would be declared Blessed. In the Catholic Church, beatification is the first major step to sainth... Read More


US Bishops call expiration of nuclear arms pact 'unacceptable'

Archbishop Paul S Coakley

Ahead of the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul S Coakley, has urged policymakers to "courageously pursue diplomatic negotiations to maintain New START's limits." "I call on people of faith and all men and women of good will to ardently pray that we, as an international community, may develop th... Read More

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