Personal reflections are always an option for American Catholics on Ash Wednesday and beyond, but there are a wide range of experiences for those who want to participate in a group setting, including parish-level events and European travel. And virtual worship, so essential during the pandemic, is still making strides, even though Zoom events seem an awkward memory of a bad time.

During his seven years as auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles, Bishop David G. O’Connell made many friends — and a strong impression — among his brother bishops.

The call to make sacrifices for others out of love remains urgent as so many people continue to suffer from war, violence, exclusion and poverty, Pope Francis said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., moved ahead with his latest execution Feb. 23, over the objections of Florida’s Catholic bishops who appealed to the governor to reverse course on capital punishment.

Isolating Syria from the international community through sanctions “benefits no one” and complicates relief efforts to the millions left homeless after earthquakes devastated the country, said a top Vatican official who visited Turkey and Syria.

The Biden administration Feb. 21 proposed its most restrictive border control measure to date, announcing it plans to issue a temporary rule blocking asylum-seekers who cross the border without authorization or who do not first apply for protections in other nations before coming to the United States.

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine marks its first anniversary, the U.S. bishops’ international policy chairman pleaded for peace amid a war that has left “no corner of the globe untouched.”

In a meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the pope signed decrees Feb. 23 recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of an Italian religious sister and the heroic virtues of five others: two laywomen, two priests and a religious woman.

Pope Francis prayed that the sanctions in force against Syria since 2011 will not prevent aid from reaching the tens of thousands of victims in dire need after earthquakes killed more than 5,000 people and left many more injured or homeless.

– Support for basic science must be increased and defended from improper influences, “whether political or economic in nature,” Pope Francis told representatives of the Max Planck Society.