The head of the English archdiocese where St. John Henry Newman lived and worked, has joined in appeals for the saint’s teachings to be used more imaginatively in education and evangelization.

Third-grader Hattie Halter is the inspiration behind the classroom project that has brought Christmas joy not only to the St. Joseph community but also to people throughout East Tennessee who saw Hattie, her classmates and their heart-filled Christmas tree featured in a news segment on local station WBIR-TV.

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, acknowledged “the struggle” that is Haiti’s “reality,” but he assured an estimated 5,000 Haitian Catholics gathered in Washington that Mary “walks with us in our struggles” as a mother.

In a sign of closeness as Christmas approaches, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, accompanied by the Latin Patriarchal Vicar Bishop William Shomali and a small delegation, arrived in Gaza Dec. 19 for a pastoral visit to the Holy Family Parish.

The violence that erupted at the Brown University’s campus Dec. 13 was more than a national headline; it was a deeply personal tragedy that struck at the heart of the Providence community.

An avid horseback-riding Pope Leo XIV has appointed a bishop who shares his passion as the new leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton was named Dec. 19 as the 12th archbishop of Westminster.

Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito of Palm Beach, Florida, and named as his successor Father Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, currently pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Corona (Queens), New York.

The newly named leader of the Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, introduced himself to the faithful of his new home Dec. 18 with a pledge to become familiar with its challenges and uphold human dignity.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Dec. 18 announced new regulatory actions that would effectively ban certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender.

Meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV recognized the miracle needed for the beatification of Enrique Ernesto Shaw, a 20th-century businessman from Argentina.