Now, the streets of Bethlehem — normally filled with pilgrims at this time of the year — are empty, and many stores and restaurants dependent on tourism are closed.

Officials of the Roman Curia must learn how to really listen to others, not treating a discussion as a game of “ping pong” where everything another says is met with a speedy and automatic response, Pope Francis said.

Like God’s decision to be born in a manger tucked away from the world, good deeds done in silence can express God’s love wherever they are performed, Pope Francis said.

While several Western European bishops praised the Dec. 18 declaration of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on blessing same-sex couples as “a major breakthrough in pastoral care,” reactions elsewhere have been mixed, with African bishops offering explainers for “confused” faithful or banning same-sex blessings.

A dedicated group of Catholic — and non-Catholic — volunteers is showing how the Christmas joy of helping the less fortunate lasts all year round.

While faith cannot change anything in moments of great darkness such as the one Israelis and Palestinians are currently living through in the Israeli-Hamas war, it can, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said, create “a small light” which will give “orientation.”

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.