Two Catholic priests imprisoned in Nicaragua since August arrived in Charlotte late Feb. 12 to hugs and tears from family and friends, after their release and deportation to the United States Feb. 9.

The National Black Catholic Congress XIII will be held July 20-23 at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, just outside the District of Columbia.

Registration for the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21, 2024, will open Feb. 15 at 1 p.m.

Knowledge and “enlightenment” are needed especially where there is the “darkness of hatred,” which often stems from forgetting and indifference, Pope Francis said.

The Church of England is planning to debate the introduction of liturgy that refers to persons of the Holy Trinity “in a non-gendered way” instead of using male pronouns.

Religious rules are good and necessary, but Jesus wants his disciples to go beyond the letter of the law and fully live out its meaning, Pope Francis said.

The smiles, curiosity and boldness of several children with rare diseases who did not know about protocol at papal audiences and simply went up to Pope Francis and reached out for rosaries gave the grownups present a lesson, the pope said.

Just days after Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, was sentenced to 26 years in prison, Pope Francis expressed concern over his condition.

The Feb. 12 Super Bowl, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m., “sadly serves as a danger zone for sex trafficking, labor trafficking and domestic violence,” said the executive director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, based in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring.

The training, discipline and motivation needed even by amateur athletes are also tools for spiritual growth, Pope Francis said.