As Russia fired missiles on several Ukrainian cities and Russian troops reportedly landed in Odessa, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church affirmed the right of Ukrainians to defend their homeland.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone of Charleston, South Carolina, and named as his successor Scalabrinian Father Jacques E. Fabre.

With the “further escalation of tension in Ukraine,” the president of the Polish bishops’ conference asked Polish Catholics to continue praying for peace, but also to be prepared to welcome Ukrainian refugees.

Pope Francis has confirmed that members of the Fraternity of St. Peter may continue to celebrate the Mass, sacraments and Liturgy of the Hours using the pre-Vatican II texts and forms, the fraternity said.

When priests hang up their clerical robes, grab their aprons and head for their kitchens, what’s cooking? The answer can be found online at www.CooksWithCollars.com

Pope Francis will visit Malta from April 2-3, a Vatican spokesman said. More than 90 percent of the country’s 460,000 people profess to be Catholic.

Robert McWilliams, 41, was found unresponsive early Feb. 4, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. It is believed that he died by suicide.

“Each individual case of sexual abuse is appalling and irreparable,” Pope Benedict wrote. “The victims of sexual abuse have my deepest sympathy, and I feel great sorrow for each individual case.”

Akash Bashir, a 20-year-old volunteer security guard who was killed by a suicide bomber in 2015, is the first Pakistani to be given the title “servant of God,” an initial step on the path to sainthood.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich said it was time for a fundamental revision of church teaching, and the way Pope Francis had spoken about homosexuality in the past could lead to a change in doctrine.