Catholic News Service

From a vaccination clinic in the Vatican to a visit to the ancient Iraqi city of Ur and later to a refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, Pope Francis demonstrated throughout 2021 what he means by seeing all people as brothers or sisters.

The Francis Chronicles: The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on families, but with extra patience and faith, bonds can grow stronger, Pope Francis wrote in a letter released on the feast of the Holy Family.

Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, died in Cape Town Dec. 26 at the age of 90.

Pope Francis invited Catholics — and anyone else interested — to join a seven-year journey to widen the reach of his 2015 encyclical on the environment in a time of global climate change.

After the election of Joe Biden as the second Catholic president of the United States, U.S. bishops planned a document broadly seen as an attempt to deny Communion to the pro-choice politician. The resulting document "endeavors to explain the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the church."

Among the most vulnerable victims of the COVID-19 pandemic are children and adolescents.

Resurrection is just one of the many buildings destroyed by the tornadoes that hit western Kentucky.

The Vatican has reaffirmed its support of COVID-19 vaccines.

Nearly 180,000 Indonesian police officers will guard churches and public places across the country during Christmas celebrations this year to prevent terrorist attacks.

Bishop Lesanuchristos Matheos of the Eparchy of Bahir Dar-Dessie described the violence as a "Way of the Cross" for the church and the faithful.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz wanted to get "a pulse," he said, of what people are experiencing days after the Biden administration restarted a Trump-era program that keeps migrants on the other side of the border as they wait for their asylum claims to be heard.

The pope said that only through humility can one truly understand God and oneself because it "opens us up to the experience of truth, of authentic joy, of knowing what matters."

Despite the continuing difficulties, Christmas in Gaza this year is filled with faith, hope and resilience, a Latin Patriarchate official said following a three-day pastoral visit.

Bishops in the island nation have declared Christmas Day and Dec. 26 as national days of prayer and mourning for typhoon victims and urged Catholics to redirect holday spending toward the recovery.

Six months after the Vatican announced criminal charges in connection with a London property deal that cost millions, the Vatican City State court is still dealing with preliminary, procedural arguments.

Lebanon's economic meltdown, which began in late 2019, has been described by the World Bank as one of the worst in the world since 1850.

"As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, think of how different this Christmas will be for those who have lost so much," said Bishop John E. Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, in the eastern part of the state.

Cardinal Peter Turkson said he offered Pope Francis his resignation because he was at the end of his five-year appointment as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Pope Francis asked people to celebrate a "real Christmas" by recognizing Jesus in their lives and cultivating peace in their hearts.

Pope Francis told children that Christmas is a sign of how much God loves them, and they are called to share that love.