Pope Francis has asked top Vatican officials to set aside the first full week of Lent for spiritual reflection, but for the fourth year in a row he has decided not to gather them and go on retreat.

– A new annual report by the U.S. bishops’ conference identifies five top threats to religious liberty in the United States, including a federal regulation it says could impose mandates on doctors to perform objectionable procedures and threats to the church’s service to people who are migrants.

Sports has the power to unite people, regardless of their differences, and to remind everyone they are part of one human family, Pope Francis said.

In a historic year for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which the French capital and the whole world will see reopen Dec. 8, milestones will be reported on regularly, but this one made Parisians shed a tear or two: Reconstruction of the roof structure is now completed.

Continuing the long-running updating of laws and norms regarding Vatican expenditures and processes for awarding contracts, Pope Francis issued two documents Jan. 16.

For Catholics, studying Scripture and archaeology in the land of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection must be more than a scholarly exercise, Pope Francis said; it should have the pastoral dimension of helping others know and live the Gospel.

Former President Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses Jan. 15, according to multiple projections, marking his first electoral victory in a contest he has led in polling.

Just ahead of the 51st March for Life in Washington, the Sisters of Life and the Knights of Columbus are hosting their second Life Fest with a focus on solidarity with mothers in need and commissioning a new generation committed to the cause of defending the dignity of all human life with love.

Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego called on all disciples of God to work to transform the world, particularly on the social justice front, just like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., had once done.

Just like the “unnamed and countless toddlers” Herod ordered killed “to make sure that the Child Jesus would never reach maturity,” Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory said Jan. 13, “innocent children killed in the quest for inclusive, social justice have also paid the ultimate price for freedoms enjoyed by Americans today.”