As the church commemorates 60 years since the closing of Vatican II, here are seven key issues and documents that serve as its legacy for future generations.

Discussions over women becoming deacons, who are ordained and can assist with services but cannot celebrate Mass, have convulsed the 1.4 billion-member Church.

For the world's 1.4 billion Catholics and for millions of other people as well, the Catholic Church's 2025 was primarily about the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV.

A Vatican report on women deacons published last week said that women could not be admitted to the diaconate “understood as a degree of Holy Orders” but stopped short of giving a definitive “no.” The document,

With the Vatican's Nativity scene and huge Christmas tree glittering in the Roman sun behind him, David Henrie reflected on the joy of giving during the Advent season.

Pope Leo's selection had spurred optimism that the Church's stance on female deacons might change. That was not to be the case.

Pope Leo’s updates to the Vatican labor code attempt to streamline a Curia under pressure, from pension woes to a dwindling supply of clergy.

Is the Holy Spirit telling us that female exclusion from ordained ministry and church decision-making is no longer acceptable and that something needs to be done about it?

In the evocative new documentary Nuns vs the Vatican, director Lorena Luciano sets out to illuminate the stories of silence, hierarchy and, ultimately,

Pope Leo XIV has made a significant U.S. appointment by naming Bishop Ronald Hicks as the next archbishop of New York