Catholic News Service

For Jesus' parents, "answering God's call meant their whole lives were turned upside down," not unlike the events of the past year, Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez said Feb. 21 at the close of the all-virtual 2021 Religious Education Congress.

The Virginia General Assembly passed a final version of a bill that will abolish the death penalty in the state Feb. 22. There is expected to be a public signing ceremony with Gov. Ralph Northam in April. Legislation that would expand abortion coverage in Virginia's health exchange also is likely to be signed by Northam, who supports legal abortion.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills' Feb. 12 executive order that she explained would expand limits on church gatherings does little to help the state's Catholic churches, Bishop Robert P. Deeley of Portland said.

President Joe Biden addressed the nation in a speech from the White House Feb. 22, the day the nation reached, and then passed, what he called the "truly grim, heartbreaking milestone" of 500,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19.

An African faiths environmental institute is urging the Gates Foundation to support natural methods to help Africa achieve food sufficiency and protect its environments instead of funding green revolution technologies and genetically modified seeds.

Pope Francis told attendees at this year's all-virtual Los Angeles Religious Education Congress to look for hope amid the pandemic in the very theme of their gathering: "Proclaim the Promise!"

In support of the city's Burmese population following the military coup in Myanmar, three Catholic churches hosted a prayer service Feb. 11 at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis.

Christians must never engage in dialogue with the devil, but instead must fight against temptations with the same spiritual weapons Jesus used in the desert, Pope Francis said.

Ongoing dialogue between Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond and Kevin Bourgeois, the leader of the New Orleans chapter of SNAP, has led to a significant broadening and restructuring of Archdiocese of New Orleans' response to abuse survivors.

Though they can't gather to eat together, some Minnesota parishes are serving up Lenten fish fries curbisde! 

As Perseverance, the latest probe on Mars, gears up to send to Earth high-definition images, video and audio of its surroundings, one papal astronomer said he hoped the fresh new discoveries will inspire future explorers.

In the wake of the economic fallout due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy said it expects a multimillion-dollar deficit in its budget for 2021.

The Biden administration's U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, introduced in Congress Feb. 18, seeks to legalize some 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently in the U.S., with a special focus on reunification of families.

A change in wording to the concluding doxology of orations in the Roman Missal, from "one God, for ever and ever" to "God, for ever and ever," took effect on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Promoting sincere ecumenical dialogue can be achieved only when Christians are committed to loving their neighbors rather than viewing them with doubt or suspicion, Pope Francis said.

The Vatican will sanction employees who refuse to get a vaccine, unless they have "proven health reasons" not to, according to a new Vatican decree.

Catholic Charities agencies adopted emergency measures as below-zero temperatures left families without heat and electricity in Texas and Oklahoma.

Pope Francis approved a number of changes to Vatican City State's penal code and criminal justice proceedings, including the possibilities of reduced sentences, rehabilitation programs and community service sentencing, as well as no longer allowing trials "in absentia."

"Lent is not just about the little sacrifices we make, but about discerning where our hearts are directed," Pope Francis said, "toward God or toward myself?"

The Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, has reached a $21.5 million settlement with a creditors' committee representing 145 survivors of clergy sexual abuse, the diocese said in a Feb. 10 statement.