SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Trinidad's only Catholic seminary educated future clergy members for six decades, sending graduates to ministries throughout the Caribbean.

OTTAWA – A fiery debate over contraception and religious freedom has pitted the U.S. Catholic bishops against President Obama's health care policy, but a Canadian Catholic health expert said such a debate is unlikely in Canada.

An almost exclusive reliance on technology and a focus on financial profit seem to dominate the field of medical responses to infertility, Pope Benedict said.

Priestly celibacy must be seen as "a freely accepted commitment and a gift of grace," not simply a functional discipline that frees a man for ministry, said the preacher to the papal household.

The 40 days of Lent are a time to recognize that evil is at work in the world and even the Catholic Church faces temptations, Pope Benedict said.

Making final preparations for the world Synod of Bishops on new evangelization, a committee of cardinals and bishops discussed how difficult it is today to transmit the faith to others.

The statues that will dominate the east and west transepts of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita, Kan., are taking shape.

There was a time when Imelda Vera and Maria Villagrana, immigrants from Mexico, were afraid to confront an injustice in their lives.

Pope Benedict asked Catholics for their prayers as he began his weeklong Lenten retreat Feb. 26.

A copy of the original Shroud of Turin is displayed above a statue of Christ's body at an exhibition at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Malaga, Spain.