Catholic News Service

Pope Francis named U.S. Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago to be part of the organizing committee preparing for a meeting of the world's bishops' conferences and representatives of religious orders to address the abuse and protection of minors.

Over 3,000 Catholics and other people of faith signed a pledge Nov. 19 to express solidarity with all those seeking asylum in the United States and "promising to be good neighbors to those seeking refuge in our community and to build a community where all are welcome."

Jesus showed his authority as king not through the power of weaponry, violence or deceit but by the power of his love for the world through his death on the cross, Pope Francis said.

Bishop John Quinn of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said the diocese planned to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the recommendation of several consultative groups.

When Pope Francis visits Panama for World Youth Day in January, he will meet with young people not able to attend the festivities: some in jail and with some living with HIV.

"Blessed are those who stop fooling themselves, believing they are able to save themselves from their weakness without God's mercy," which is the only thing that can heal a troubled heart, Pope Francis said Nov. 21 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Bishop Walker Nickless of Sioux City acknowledged the consternation and sadness of the faithful when details concerning the news of decades of sexual abuse of adolescents by a former diocesan priest surfaced in late October.

An iconic Canadian Catholic high school is reeling following the arrest of six students who are charged with assault and sexual assault following an alleged incident in a locker room.

A gunman opened fire at a Chicago Catholic hospital Nov. 19, setting off a frantic scene that ended with three victims killed and the assailant dead, police said.

Laypeople need to help the U.S. bishops get out from under the clerical sex abuse scandal that is plaguing the church, said Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City in a message to Catholics of his diocese.

Late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia and former NFL quarterback Roger Staubach, both devout Catholics, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in a White House ceremony.

By midday Nov. 16, firefighters had gained more ground in trying to contain the Camp Fire in Northern California, which is north of Sacramento and one of the deadliest blazes in the state.

"We Christians cannot stand with arms folded in indifference" or thrown up in the air in helpless resignation, the pope said in his homily Nov. 18, the World Day of the Poor.

Catholic Extension has given $25,000 in emergency funding to a facility in the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, and is urging donors around the country to provide aid to meet the needs of migrants being released from detention daily.

The first participants in the caravan of Central Americans arriving in Tijuana, Mexico, were met with hostility as residents of an affluent neighborhood confronted migrants wanting to camp on a beach near the border.

A Catholic archbishop publicly apologized to the victims of child abuse during a government-backed inquiry that shed light on allegations against priests over half a century.

A few days before the U.S. bishops met in Baltimore for their annual fall assembly, Jefferson City Bishop W. Shawn McKnight released the names of the 33 priests and religious brothers who have been credibly accused and/or removed from ministry in the diocese.

Pope Francis welcomed Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to the Vatican Nov. 15 for a private discussion that included the importance of building greater trust between Israelis and Palestinians.

A civil court in Milan ordered Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a longtime diplomat and former Vatican nuncio to the United States, to return close to 2 million euro plus interest and legal fees to his brother.