Catholic News Service

Pope Francis has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Garcia of Austin, Texas, as the new bishop of Monterey, California.

As government delegations from across the globe prepare for a Dec. 2-14 U.N. conference on climate change, Catholic organizations are pledging to make the church's voice heard.

Religious leaders in Colombia promised to step up efforts to prevent the destruction of rainforests in the South American country, as they launched a coalition known as the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative.

The funding tap is flowing again for Development and Peace, although it remains closed for 52 partner organizations that continue to be investigated for possible conflicts with Catholic teaching.

Some Catholic migrant advocates criticized U.S. reaction as excessive while others said they tried warning the caravan participants and a migrant advocacy group accompanying it that times had changed.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston called a series of news stories by CBS News on the church sex abuse scandal "inaccurate," saying they "demand a response."

Bishop Robert Morlino, the fourth bishop of Madison, died Nov. 24 at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison. He was 71.  The bishop was undergoing planned medical tests when he suffered what doctors described as "a cardiac event" at the hospital and he never recovered.

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.