The media and the field of communications need to exercise more kindness and share the truth with charity, Pope Francis said.

Montse Alvarado, vice president and executive director of Becket, the Washington-based religious liberty firm, has been named president and chief operating officer of EWTN News Inc., the EWTN Global Catholic Network announced Jan. 23.

Less than 48 hours after 11 people were killed and nine more injured at a dance hall Jan. 21 in Monterey Park, California, seven more people were shot and killed at two different landscaping nurseries Jan. 23 near Half Moon Bay, California, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York encouraged Catholics to find a silver lining as they confront declining religious observance, shuttered churches, dioceses in bankruptcy and diminished cultural clout.

The Dicastery for the Service of Charity, led by Polish Cardinal Krajewski, spent $2.2 million (2 million euros) in 2022 for humanitarian help in Ukraine.

Even though war seems to be an “invincible monster,” everyone is called to be a peacemaker, Pope Francis told a group of people severely wounded in the line of duty.

“Jesus ‘reaches out’ to tell us that God’s mercy is for everyone,” Pope Francis said in his homily during Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Jan. 22, the church’s celebration of Sunday of the Word of God.

Lengthy, abstract homilies are “a disaster,” so preaching should be limited to 10 minutes, Pope Francis said.

Archbishop Gomez prayed for God to give “wisdom and prudence to law enforcement and public officials working to make sense of the violence and keep our communities safe.”

The pro-life movement should work to change hearts and minds on the issue of abortion by demonstrating “radical solidarity” with women and unborn children, some of the movement’s thought leaders said at a Jan. 19 panel in the nation’s capital.