“Let’s reduce the level of Christmas spending a bit,” the pope said. “Let’s have a simpler Christmas with more modest gifts. Let’s send what we save to the people of Ukraine, who are suffering so much.”

Sister Daly spent parts of five decades as a religious in corporate accountability and shareholder advocacy.

Praying for peace in Ukraine, Pope Francis remembered both the victims of Russia’s current aggression and the millions of victims of a Soviet-engineered famine 90 years ago.

The bishops adopted the more liberal guidelines for the approximately 800,000 employees of the Catholic Church and the Caritas social services organization.

With several of his cousins and their children and grandchildren present, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the Asti cathedral, giving a nod to his family roots and drawing people’s attention to the root of Christian faith: the cross of Jesus.

An advisory body to the U.S. bishops has called for the development of practical and pastoral guidance on gender dysphoria to help laypeople and clergy in their ministries.

The March for Life will take place Jan. 20, but the Washington archdiocese has canceled the Youth Rally and Mass for Life, which have taken place ahead of every march for more than 25 years.

Homosexuals have a right to church support and blessing, said Bishop Helmut Dieser, who is the spokesman on abuse issues for the German bishops’ conference.

Martha Hennessy, granddaughter of Dorothy Day, said her grandmother “loved the Staten Island Ferry, so what an honor to have one named after her.”

French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, former head of the French bishops’ conference, admitted to abusing a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago