Christmas may be different this year, but to find ways to be close to Jesus and to remember what Christmas is all about. 

The goal of a nuclear-free world can only be achieved through a renewed sense of unity and solidarity among nations that breaks the dynamic of mistrust, said Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Vatican foreign minister. Addressing a webinar Dec. 16 on nuclear disarmament, Archbishop Gallagher highlighted the Vatican's support of political dialogue that goes "beyond the theory of fear" and of the need to "emphasize how nuclear deterrence represents a false sense of security and of stability."

Appealing for a worldwide commitment to initiating a "culture of care" for one another and for the environment, Pope Francis again called on nations to divert money from their military budgets to create a global fund to end hunger and promote development in the world's poorest nations.

A new report Dec. 16 by the Death Penalty Information Center said the use of capital punishment reached a historic low this year in the United States even with the return of federal executions by the Trump administration. Seventeen people were executed in 2020, down from 22 in 2019. This lower figure stems in part from the coronavirus pandemic, but the report also notes that before the pandemic struck, the nation was set for a sixth straight year of lower numbers of death sentences and executions.

A French criminal court found an Italian archbishop guilty of sexual assault against four men and handed him, in absentia, an eight-month suspended prison sentence.

En enero de 2021, la Oficina del Ministerio Hispano ofrecerá una serie de presentaciones de formación continua titulada “Viviendo nuestro llamado bautismal”. Estas presentaciones virtuales están destinadas a aquellos que ya están en el ministerio y para aquellos que desean crecer en su fe católica.

In January 2021 the Office of Hispanic Ministry will offer a series of on-going formation presentations entitled Living Our Baptismal Call.  These virtual presentations are intended for those who are already in ministry and for those having a desire to grow in their Catholic faith. 

This year, as tens of thousands of people nationwide protested racial injustices, Catholics similarly took to the streets and also joined in prayer services and discussions speaking out against injustices and seeking a path forward.

Create a sacred space in your home, have family members take turns leading prayer and establish a routine for prayer with your family.

When Brenda Namutebi renounced Islam and accepted Christ as her savior in a local Catholic Church, her Muslim husband and neighbors subjected her to harsh conditions, hoping she might change her mind.

Father George W. Rutler has stepped aside from his duties as pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Manhattan after a security guard at the church alleged he sexually assaulted her in his office.

"Last night, I got a text message that there were 10 people receiving the vaccine. And I was one of them. I was excited, grateful, humbled," Smialkowski said Dec. 16. "I think it contributes to the success of keeping my family safe, my co-workers safe, my friends. I just feel like it's just a start. It's a start to get us back to the new normal."

Carter Snead, a leading expert on public bioethics, advocates for a new conception of human identity in American law and policy. Carter addresses three complex issues in bioethics: abortion, assisted reproductive technology, and end-of-life decisions.

O. Carter Snead discusses the difference between a secularist account of a human person against a Catholic account of the human.

Pope Francis pledged Vatican City State would achieve net-zero carbon emissions before the year 2050, and he urged everyone in the world to be part of a new culture of care for others and the planet. "The time has come for a change in direction. Let us not rob the new generations of their hope in a better future," he said in a video message for a global summit.

The life-size ceramic statues hold a cultural heritage not immediately visible to the eye, adding to the excitment and anticipation they bring as they recount the story of the birth of baby Jesus.

The "gravity" of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and "the lack of availability of alternative vaccines," are "sufficiently serious" reasons to accept the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the chairmen of the U.S. bishops' doctrine and pro-life committees said Dec. 14.

Most Reverend Joseph F. Naumann, Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas and Chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and of Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend and Chairman of the Committee on Doctrine, address moral concerns about the creation of a vaccine for COVID-19. The statement may also be found on the USCCB website.

El departamento de salud del Vaticano empezará a vacunar a los empleados y ciudadanos del Vaticano contra el COVID-19 con la vacuna de Pfizer ...

El Papa Francisco celebra hoy 51 años de sacerdocio. Jorge Mario Bergoglio fue ordenado sacerdote el 13 de diciembre de 1969.