Minneapolis on Jan. 16 became the 12th U.S. Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy protection because of the unmanageable costs of settlements and future claims resulting from sexual abuse by clergy. • The number of people falling victim to the Ebola virus in West Africa—where at least 8

Using a phrase long associated with the civil rights movement, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley. O.F.M.Cap., of Boston told an overflow crowd in Washington, D.C. “We shall overcome” in the fight against abortion. In his homily on Jan. 21 during the opening Mass of the National Prayer Vigi

Families who have many children do not cause poverty, Pope Francis said. The main culprit is “an economic system that has removed the human person from its focus and has placed the god of money” as its priority instead, he said on Jan. 21. On the flight back from Manila to Rome, the pope

Donna Markham, an Adrian Dominican sister, has been chosen to succeed the Rev. Larry Snyder as the new president of Catholic Charities USA, beginning in June. • Surprising even the people who have been promoting the sainthood of Blessed Junipero Serra, Pope Francis announced on Jan. 15 that he

The path to peace in the Holy Land requires respect for the human rights and dignity of both Israelis and Palestinians, said bishops from Europe, South Africa and North America, gathered in the Holy Land on Jan. 15 as the Co-Ordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy La

Asked by a French reporter on a flight from Sri Lanka to the Philippines on Jan. 15 to compare freedom of religion and freedom of expression as human rights, Pope Francis condemned violence in the name of God but said freedom of expression should be limited by respect for religion and that mockery o