Catholic News Service

Patrick Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy captain, is the new leader of the Knights of Columbus.

In November, President-elect Joe Biden said that he would be heading in a dramatically different direction than the Trump administration on refugee admissions. On Feb. 4, Biden delivered.

Both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate have now passed bills that would abolish the death penalty in the state. Democratic Governor Ralph Northam has stated his support, making it highly likely that Virginia will become the first Southern state to outlaw capital punishment.

While protocols to slow the COVID-19 pandemic have silenced many concert halls and restricted the use of congregational singing in many churches, Pope Francis prayed that musicians were using this time to listen.

Spain's supreme court has upheld the conviction of a former Salvadoran colonel for the slayings of five Spanish Jesuits during El Salvador's civil war.

The Supreme Court will not hear two scheduled arguments this term on immigration examining policies put in place by the Trump administration that Biden is likely to roll back.

A prominent Russian professor urged his nation's bishops to condemn police violence against protestors supporting opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but the Moscow archdiocesan chancellor refused.

Presidential executive orders related to environmental protection and climate change have gained the support of Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

Msgr. Thomas A. Kleissler, who launched a parish-renewal program that turned into an international movement, died Feb. 2 at St. Catherine Healthcare Center in Caldwell, New Jersey. He was 89.

John Sweeney, who led the AFL-CIO for 14 years from 1995 to 2009, and headed one of the nation's largest unions, the Service Employees International Union, for 15 years before that, died Feb. 1 at age 86 at his home in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland. No cause was given.

In a Feb. 3 letter to legislators, the chairmen said relief measures are necessary to assist struggling families, businesses, charities, schools and hospitals and other entities.

Delegates to the general assembly of the Focolare movement elected Margaret Karram, an expert in interreligious dialogue, president for a six-year term.

The German Catholic news agency KNA reports that parish councils, priests and most recently the diocesan council have criticized Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki for his handling of an abuse investigation.

Policy watchers expect a more immigrant-friendly path forward as well as help for some families adversely affected by Trump administration policies, but the specifics are not yet clear.

The liturgy is not a spectacle to be observed but a prayerful event where Christians encounter Christ's presence in their lives, Pope Francis said.

Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez asked the country to pray "for liberation from Satan" Feb. 1 after violence erupted following a political rally late Jan. 31 in the capital, San Salvador. At least two people died and several were injured.

Established almost 500 years ago, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is no longer "the Inquisition" — rather, its main focus is handing down the teachings of the apostles, said the office's prefect.

Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego warned against the "weaponization of Eucharist" as a way to get Catholic elected officials, President Joe Biden among them, to adhere to the church's stance on abortion.

"We must not look the other way. Let us pray for women who are victims of violence, that they may be protected by society and have their sufferings considered and heeded by all," Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis announced the establishment of a World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly as a reminder of the important role they play as a link between generations.