Exchanging Christmas gifts and organizing holiday parties are all well and good, but Christians should contemplate the scene of Jesus’ birth to recover what is truly important during the Christmas season, Pope Francis said.

Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, signed an immigration bill into law Dec. 18 that makes it a state crime for unauthorized migrants to cross into Texas from Mexico. Catholic organizations including the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops have opposed the legislation.

The world has become small and dangerous for the 600 Palestinian Gaza Christians sheltering at the Holy Family Parish church compound in Gaza City almost since the start of the Israeli-Hamas war Oct. 7.

A Mexican bishop has called for people not to be indifferent after the massacre of a dozen young people at a Christmas party in one of the country’s most violent states.

A new declaration from the Vatican on pastoral blessings does not change the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage, Catholic experts told OSV News, but seeks to extend the church’s accompaniment to those in irregular situations.

This Advent, the Archdiocese of Detroit also wanted people to know they weren’t spiritually alone, no matter how isolating post-pandemic, 21st-century life might seem.

Following a series of attacks on Christians in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces Dec. 16, including the killing of a mother and daughter at a Catholic church, the Israeli Defense Forces said that it “takes claims regarding harm to sensitive sites with the utmost seriousness.”

A new version of an iconic cockerel, or rooster, is once again watching over Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, symbolizing resilience amid destruction after a devastating April 2019 fire.

With song, cake and circus performers, Pope Francis celebrated his 87th birthday in festive style at the Vatican.

A Catholic priest can bless a gay or other unmarried couple as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and does not give the impression that the Catholic Church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage, the Vatican doctrinal office said.