“The Catholic Church does not view the sacramental seal as incompatible with maintaining child safety. The Church wants measures that will genuinely make environments safer for children. There has been no compelling evidence to suggest that legal abolition of the seal of confession will help in that regard.”

32 states have now either abolished the death penalty or not carried out an execution in more than a decade

In recent weeks, the Chinese government has intensified rhetoric against Christian churches in Hong Kong, portraying them as part of the “foreign hostile forces” that seek to create political unrest aimed at bringing down China’s one-party rule.

Articles that tackled perplexing questions (“Why Do Some Catholics Oppose Pope Francis?” “Where Was God When Notre Dame Was in Flames?”) were especially popular with our readers in 2019. But what else made the hit list?

Mr. LeBarón, the family's spokesperson, said he hopes he can channel the grief and anger over the killings into a broad social movement. “We want to unite the whole country. We want a social movement, not a political one,” he said.

Father Sosa said the Society of Jesus will also seek to respond to “the concrete requests of Pope Francis” in support of his work for the renewal of the church and its structures.