Responding to questions from priests and deacons ministering in the Diocese of Rome, Pope Francis said the possibility of blessing gay couples regards “people, not organizations” or their agendas.

Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te, known as William Lai, who opposes Chinese control of Taiwan, won the island democracy’s Jan. 13 presidential election, widely watched for its international implications.

While a pope can resign, Pope Francis said it is not something he is thinking about or worrying about now.

With massive civilian deaths and the destruction of cities and their infrastructure, modern “war is in itself a crime against humanity,” Pope Francis said.

– Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa has been released from prison and sent into exile along with 18 imprisoned churchmen as the Nicaraguan government expelled its most prominent critic, whose presence behind bars bore witness to the Sandinista regime descent into totalitarianism, along with its unrelenting persecution of the Catholic Church.

The Jan. 15 federal holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a time to “pause and reflect” on his “indelible legacy” and “his rallying cry in the pursuit of justice and peace,” the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement.

Founded in Spain in the 1960s, amid the shanty towns of Palomeras Altas near Madrid, the Neocatechumenal Way was defined by St. John Paul II as “an itinerary of Catholic formation.”

The praying, walking and working will be highlighted Jan. 18-25 as Christians around the world celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

During the parish year of the National Eucharistic Revival, one of the oldest adoration chapels in the Diocese of St. Cloud is getting a very special facelift.

In the world of time management, monasticism has been touted as a source of tools for achieving a desired lifestyle.