The arrest of John the Baptist, says this Sunday’s gospel, set Jesus’ public ministry in motion. The recent spate of cases related to church sexual abuse has triggered an increase in the number of canon law proceedings brought by laypeople and clergy . . .

Jonah conveys God’s call to repentance to the people of Nineveh in pretty strong language. Republican primary contenders have used some harsh language on immigration and may already have done serious damage . . .

The psalmist’s words this Sunday remind us that the wise seek instruction in the ways of the Lord. Students scrambled to get their assignments done in other ways Wednesday as the English-language edition of Wikipedia went dark . . .

“The world in its present form is passing away,” warns Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians this Sunday. The urban parish landscape in which many older Catholics grew up is also passing away. The U.S. church has lost 1,359 parishes in the past 10 years . . .

Large numbers of doctors receive payments from pharmaceutical and medical device companies every year in exchange for providing advice and giving lectures. For those who wish to keep such payments from the public . . .

“Many donors wanted proof of a humanitarian catastrophe before acting to prevent one.”

New data shows that while over 70 percent of Spaniards identify themselves as Catholic, only 13.6 percent say they practice their faith and attend services on Sundays and holy days.