world news
Pope prays Christmas will bring yearning for peace, dialogue
Before giving his Christmas blessing to the city of Rome and to the world, Pope Francis drew attention to the many places around the globe and within human hearts in need of Jesus, the prince of peace.
Pope at Christmas: ‘God comes into the world in littleness’
The celebration of Christmas serves as a reminder that God did not reveal his greatness in a grand spectacle, but rather in the “littleness” of a poor, vulnerable child born in a stable in Bethlehem, Pope Francis said.
This year Catholics have a dual Mass obligation the weekend of Dec. 25-26
If you go to Christmas Mass on Saturday, do you still have to go to Sunday Mass the next day? Is Jan. 1, the solemnity of Mary, a holy day of obligation this year?
September 2022 date set for beatification of John Paul I
Pope Francis will beatify Pope John Paul I Sept. 4, 2022, at the Vatican, according to Stefania Falasca, a journalist and vice postulator of the late pope’s sainthood cause.
COVID-19 vaccines present ‘no ethical problem,’ says head of papal academy
The Vatican has reaffirmed its support of COVID-19 vaccines with both the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life and a Holy See communique reiterating Pope Francis’ insistence that getting inoculated is “an act of love.”
Tornado victims ask for prayers — and ‘don’t forget about us in a month’
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” Lesley Mills told The Western Kentucky Catholic, newspaper of the Owensboro Diocese, in an interview Dec. 15.
Bishops’ migration chairman says inaction on immigration ‘cannot stand’
The lack of will by politicians to move forward on immigration reform is affecting the lives of 11 million people in the country and something must be done, said the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ migration committee.
Jesus’ humble birth a reminder of God’s love for humanity, pope says
The birth of the son of God in a humble stable, in the presence of both lowly shepherds and majestic Magi, is a “universal event that concerns all of humanity,” Pope Francis said.
‘Stories of a Generation With Pope Francis,’ Dec. 25, Netflix
Anyone who has followed the pontificate of Pope Francis will know that he consistently encourages the young to learn from their elders and to remember their roots.
Supreme Court sends Texas abortion case to federal appeals court
Less than a week after the Supreme Court ruled that the Texas abortion law could stay in place, the court sent back a lawsuit against the state’s abortion law to a federal appeals court, not to the District Court judge who had tried to block the law.