Six churchmen and a diocesan communicator were sentenced to 10 years in prison on conspiracy charges by a Nicaraguan court as the Central American country’s increasingly tyrannical regime continues its persecution of the Catholic Church.

In response to the devastating earthquake that struck northern Syria Feb. 6, the patriarchs and heads of churches in the country demanded the lifting of “unjust sanctions” on the Syrian people, calling for “exceptional measures” to secure delivery of humanitarian aid.

Pope Francis urged all people to be in solidarity with the regions of Turkey and Syria struck by two powerful earthquakes early Feb. 6 and that are “in part already martyred by a long war.”

President Joe Biden called the state of the union “strong,” in his second such address Feb. 7, calling for national unity even as he argued for some Democratic priorities including reiterating his call to codify Roe v. Wade.

On the feast of Sudan-born St. Josephine Bakhita, Pope Francis prayed for “a future of justice and peace for our brothers and sisters in Africa.”

Catholic humanitarian agencies are launching emergency relief campaigns following Feb. 6’s devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, which have so far killed more than 7,200 and injured upward of 35,000.

On Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m., the Eagles will take on the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, in their first return to the Big Game since their 2018 victory over the New England Patriots.

In southern Turkey and Syria combined, the death toll reached more than 5,000 as of early morning hours on Tuesday and is expected to rise as people are still trapped under the rubble.

The U.S. bishops’ religious liberty chairman called it “disheartening” that proposed new rules on the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate eliminate “protections for moral convictions” of employers who object to being forced to cover contraceptives in their employee health plans.

A combination of U.N. ambassadors, religious leaders, diplomats, academics, representatives of nongovernmental agencies and several musicians gathered Feb. 3 in a vast conference hall at the United Nations headquarters in New York City to mark World Interfaith Harmony Week.