Associated Press

"For the survivors of South Jersey, this day is long overdue and represents a milestone in their journey toward restored justice and the healing and recognition they have long sought and deserve," said Bishop Joseph Williams.

The Vatican is marking the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter's Basilica with a host of visitor-friendly initiatives, including expanding access to its spectacular terrace and its snack bar in the shadow of Michelangelo's great dome.

The Lenten period for penance started this week with Ash Wednesday, and some Catholic priests are happily bracing for long lines outside the confessional. The faithful across the United States are embracing anew the sacrament that has shifted from embarrassing recitation of sin to cathartic quest for grace.

The Vatican released Leo's agenda for day trips to a half-dozen Italian cities over the next six months. The Vatican has rarely released such plans together and so far in advance, but word of the visits was starting to filter out.

Pope Urban VIII "immediately realized that Bernini could become the Michelangelo of his century," the exhibit's co-curator Andrea Bacchi said.

The cleaning, the first major restoration since 1994, will remove microparticle buildup on the plaster from so many people visiting each day, the Vatican said.

In a message titled "Life in Abundance" issued on the same day as the Milan Cortina opening ceremony, Pope Leo XIV traced the history of Christian philosophers and popes who had identified sports and leisure activity as beneficial for both physical and spiritual development.

In 1989 members of AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) disrupted a Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. They faced minor charges under state law.

Sarah Mullally walked into St. Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday morning as the bishop of London. When she walked out in the afternoon as bells rang out, she was the spiritual leader of millions of Anglicans around the world.

The clergy were issued misdemeanor citations of trespassing and failure to comply with a peace officer and were then released, 

"For those that are objecting, if I, for them, I'm kind of scandal for them, I (am) sorry of course. And I only can ask (them) to pray for me," Fr. Peixoto said.

"The city as an Olympic village is a metaphor to say that relationships are shaped by competing in mutual esteem," wrote Archbishop Mario Delpini.

A massive crowd of mostly barefoot Filipino Catholics joined an annual procession of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in the Philippine capital Friday, with some using the gathering to express outrage over a corruption scandal involving influential legislators.

Spain's Catholic bishops agreed Thursday to let the Spanish government's ombudsman have the final say in the church's compensation of victims of sexual abuse by clergy members who have died or whose possible crimes are too old to be prosecuted.

The Catholic archbishop of Miami, who ministers to the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S., said there is an anxiousness about what is next, but he believes the church has a key role to play in helping the Catholic-majority country move forward.

A day after closing out the 2025 Holy Year, Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday opened a new phase of his pontificate by gathering the world's cardinals to Rome and indicating some reform-minded priorities going forward.

For faith leaders supporting and ministering to anxious immigrants across the United States, 2025 was fraught with challenges and setbacks. For many in these religious circles, the coming year could be worse.

Doctors Without Borders said Israel's decision would have a catastrophic impact on their work in Gaza, where they support around 20% of the hospital beds and a third of births. 

Florida's Catholic bishops appealed to President Donald Trump on Monday to pause immigration enforcement activities during the Christmas holidays. The White House, in response, said it would be business as usual.