Jonathan Luxmoore

All over Europe, local leaders seek to adapt structurally and pastorally to falling numbers and dwindling participation. Elsewhere too, clustering and merging parishes have offered a potential solution; and while they have been tackled differently across the continent, those behind the changes are determined to see them in a positive light.

Though often viewed as an epoch of cultural and spiritual emptiness, Soviet rule in Russia and Eastern Europe produced profound Christian works of prose and poetry, offering vital reflections on a resilient faith.

Belgium's Brothers of Charity Group, which runs 15 centers for psychiatric patients, has rejected a Vatican order to stop offering euthanasia.

After Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, ended his official trip to Russia, there are signs that not everyone is satisfied with the tone of the four-day visit or confident about its benefits for Catholics. 

A Polish archbishop who inspected Bosnia-Herzegovina's Medjugorje shrine for the pope predicted the Vatican will soon recognize its Marian apparitions.

Thousands attended a midday vigil Aug. 18 in Barcelona's Plaza de Catalunya, attended by Spanish King Felipe VI and government and political party leaders from across the country.