Pope Francis offered a checklist for Catholics to keep track of how they measure up to the biblical admonition: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar.”
Pope offers practical tips for keeping track of one’s love of neighbor
Catholic groups and others rail against Trump border ‘crisis’ speech
No sooner had President Donald Trump finished his Jan. 8 nine-minute speech, his first such event televised in prime time from the Oval Office, about what he called a “crisis” at the border, than Catholic groups and others began tearing apart his arguments.
After drawn-out negotiations, Malta allows rescued migrants to disembark
Migrants rescued from the Mediterranean were taken to shore in Malta Jan. 9 after being kept at sea while European nations argued over who was responsible for them.
Bishops describe their retreat as inspiring, Spirit-filled
Although the weeklong retreat for U.S. Catholic bishops emphasized quiet reflection, several bishops spoke out on social media during the retreat and after it wrapped up Jan. 8 with positive reaction about it and to give shoutouts to the retreat leader, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, who has preached to popes and top officials of the Roman Curia for nearly 40 years.
Trump signs law to pump $430 million into anti-human trafficking efforts
Nationwide efforts to confront human trafficking received a boost in the new year as President Donald Trump signed a bill reauthorizing federal expenditures for prevention and assistance programs across the federal government.
Life is a gift not meant to be possessed, manipulated, pope says
Generously caring for the sick and the marginalized is the best way to combat a culture of waste and indifference that seeks to control and manipulate life, Pope Francis said.
Indonesian archbishop urges Catholics to ditch use of plastic bags
Months after Indonesia’s military was summoned to unclog Jakarta Bay, Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo has joined a chorus of disapproval of the nation’s growing plastic waste problem by calling parishioners to action.
As U.S. bishops meet, Vatican may be deciding fate of former cardinal
As U.S. bishops gathered in early January at a seminary in Illinois to pray and reflect about the American church’s sex abuse crisis, reports trickled out about the possible fate of one their own being decided overseas.