The Biden administration cannot use a 1986 emergency health care law to require hospitals in Texas to perform emergency abortions, a federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled Jan. 2.

Shia LaBeouf, a Hollywood veteran and star of director Abel Ferrara’s film “Padre Pio,” received the sacrament of confirmation, completing his initiation into the Catholic faith, during the New Year holiday weekend, according to announcements posted Jan. 2 to Facebook and Instagram by the Capuchin Franciscans’ Western American Province.

Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin has expressed concern over the “significant numbers” of people in Ireland “seeking to foment disinformation, suspicion and hatred” towards refugees and migrants.

War is madness, Pope Francis said, calling for prayers for all people in the world affected by today’s conflicts.

Temptation — a constant in spiritual life — is an opportunity for Christians to remember that Jesus is close to them, supports them and lifts them up when they fall, Pope Francis said.

An Italian Catholic priest has been excommunicated for having publicly committed “an act of a schismatic nature” while celebrating Mass at his parish near Livorno.

The U.S. Department of State has demanded the release of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa and other imprisoned Nicaraguan religious leaders following a wave of detentions targeting Catholic clergy over the Christmas season.

Nearly 20,000 conference participants have converged in St. Louis at the America’s Center Convention Complex for the Jan. 1-5 SEEK24 conference held by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students.

Song and music are gifts capable of touching the hearts of young people, drawing them out of spirals of anxiety and bringing them closer to God, Pope Francis said.

Different ways of living out the Catholic faith, including different liturgical rites, should not be seen as threats to the unity of the Catholic Church but embraced as expressions of the body of Christ, Pope Francis said.