Mourning, prayer and a resolve to rebuild shattered lives, homes and businesses in Mayfield followed one of the most powerful twisters in U.S. history that leveled the city of 10,000 in western Kentucky overnight Dec. 10.
World News
Christmas is time for sharing, not commercialism, pope says
The Christmas tree and Nativity crèche should evoke the joy and the peace of God’s love and not the selfish indulgence of consumerism and indifference, Pope Francis said.
Report IDs five European nations with increasing anti-Christian violence
Catholics are facing soaring levels of discrimination in some of the most influential countries in Europe, a new report said.
Seafarers’ welfare, dignity need protection, Vatican foreign minister says
Vulnerable to abuse and hardship, seafarers’ dignity and welfare must be protected around the world, the Vatican foreign minister said.
Mass marks end of diocesan phase of inquiry for Day’s sainthood cause
More than 1,500 people filled St. Patrick’s Cathedral Dec. 8 to witness the formal end of the diocesan phase of the sainthood cause for Dorothy Day.
Pope closes Year of St. Joseph with marginalized young adults
Pope Francis closed the Year of St. Joseph with a private visit to a community in Rome that helps people experiencing marginalization, crisis or substance abuse.
Pope donates watch to benefit Wisconsin foundation’s scholarship program
A dream that Doug LaViolette had for well over a year — something he said a few friends told him was “crazy”– has come true.
Our Lady of Fatima statue near national shrine in Washington vandalized
Days ahead of a major Marian feast day in the Catholic Church, a marble statue of Our Lady of Fatima near the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington was vandalized, with Mary’s hands and nose cut off, her face scratched and the cross on her crown broken off.
Canadian bishops, Indigenous leaders postpone Vatican meeting
The long-planned encounter between Indigenous Canadians and Pope Francis in Rome is being put off while everybody learns more about the omicron variant of COVID-19, according to a joint release from three Indigenous organizations involved in the trip and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Religious freedom commission welcomes U.S. diplomatic boycott of Olympics
The Biden administration’s diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing sends “a strong and unequivocal message” to the Chinese government that its persecution of religious minorities will not be tolerated, said the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Catholic Church taking fresh look at ministry on HBCU campuses
The church is taking a fresh look at ministry at the United States’ historically Black colleges and universities.
Pope approves updates to norms for dealing with ‘grave crimes’
Pope Francis has given formal approval to a series of updates and modifications that have been made over the years to the norms regarding clerical sexual abuse and other crimes reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.