Catholic News Service

The following are excerpts of statements made by the bishops of several Texas dioceses Jan. 31 on the disclosure of the names of clergy who have been credibly accused of sex abuse of minors. The lists from all 15 Texas dioceses included the names of 278 clergy dating to 1950.

In a step to restore trust in the Catholic Church, dioceses in Texas released their lists of priests against whom credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been determined.

The Francis Chronicles: A priest must be able to see the people around him as his children, as brothers and sisters, and must be willing to risk everything for them out of love, Pope Francis said in his morning homily.

Internal documents relating to the public crisis that led to the resignation of the grand master of the Knights of Malta in 2017 were released by WikiLeaks.

Pope Francis has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Robert Brennan of Rockville Centre to be the new bishop of Columbus, Ohio.

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his "stinging criticism of the Catholic Church" in singling out Catholics over the crisis surrounding the sexual abuse of minors.

Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill to require all public schools and charter schools "to either use a comprehensive sex-ed curriculum that contradicts human nature and is inconsistent with Christian values, or to provide no instruction on sexuality at all," Denver's archbishop said in a letter read at all Masses Jan. 27.

As the Central African Republic's government and the 14 militia groups that control most of the country meet for peace talks, the country's bishops called on the United Nations to lift the arms embargo imposed on the nation.

The joyous harmony of people coming together from so many different nations for World Youth Day stands in sharp contrast to today's "sad" situation of confrontational nationalist feelings, Pope Francis said.

The break in the Feijao dam complex in Brumadinho is being called a social-environmental crime instead of an accident by some members of the Catholic Church in Brazil. According to the religious who work with populations near dams and mining exploration areas, both the human and environmental costs of this tragedy will affect the area for dozens of years.

The New York State Legislature passed the Child Victims Act into law Jan. 28. The Catholic Church in the state had removed its opposition to the Child Victims Act, or CVA, after the Legislature a week earlier expanded the retroactive window to include both private and public institutions, noting that the support for all victims – regardless of where the abuse occurred – had been a critical reason the bishops could not support past versions of the bill.

Msgr. Robert Fuller, an Arizona priest who was a national leader of the Renew movement in the early 1980s and a beloved pastor in the Tucson Diocese, died Jan. 23. He was 88.

A controversial China-funded dam project in Myanmar must be stopped, said Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, noting that the affected river is the country's most sacred symbol.

Since Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed New York's new expansive abortion measure into law Jan. 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, some Catholics have called for the governor, who is Catholic, to be excommunicated.

Catholic bishops in the Philippines broke what they described as their "collective silence" over "many disturbing issues" that have confronted the country in recent months.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, was joined by more than 100 other members of the House Jan. 24 in introducing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act of 2019, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. 

Church leaders condemned bomb explosions that killed at least 20 people and injured about 100 others inside a Catholic church in the southern Philippines Jan. 27, calling the attack a "heinous and evil" act of terrorism.

Reflecting on the parable of the Good Samaritan, the pope said Jesus calls on all people to "move from our fixed ways of doing things and our priorities" and take a moment to stop to care for one's neighbor.

Lisbon, Portugal, will open its doors to the world's young people in 2022 for the next World Youth Day.