Catholic News Service

The birth of Christ is a gift from God that brings people hope and courage in troubled times, Pope Francis said at Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican.

Christmas must not be confused with "ephemeral things" that reduce the celebration of Christ's birth "to a merely sentimental or consumerist festival," the pope said Dec. 23 during his weekly general audience.

Banned from entering Belarus since late August, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk can return to the country to celebrate Christmas with his people, the country's nuncio said.

Reaching "zero emissions" for Vatican City State is an achievable goal and is another green initiative it has been pursuing, said the head of its department of infrastructure and services.

Eight Catholic bishops serving Maryland dioceses urged President Donald Trump Dec. 22 to stop the planned federal execution of Dustin Higgs, a Maryland man on death row in Indiana.

Stanford mechanical engineering student Joel Kiernan created a gingerbread Notre Dame Cathedral, raising almost $4,000 for a Green Bay homeless shelter.

What had been separate Democratic and Republican coronavirus relief bills became a bipartisan effort thanks to Congress' Problem Solvers Caucus, according to a lobbyist for Network, a Catholic social justice lobby.

Most of Pope Francis' usual appointments will be livestreamed with few or no members of the public present.

Two top Vatican officials — Cardinal Konrad Krajewski and Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello — have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, Italian media reported, and a Vatican source confirmed.

When music teacher Lynn Kingsbury at St. Damian School in the Chicago suburb of Oak Forest learned that her students wouldn't be allowed to sing in class because of COVID-19 restrictions, she made a dream of hers into reality — teaching the students how to sing in American Sign Language.

Current restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic can help people put Christ, and not the constant need to purchase gifts, at the center of the Christmas season, Pope Francis said.

The last governor of Hong Kong criticized the Vatican's agreement with China on the appointment of bishops and said Pope Francis has been "exceptionally badly advised" in concluding the pact.

Trump's order would exclude unauthorized immigrants from the 2020 census for redrawing congressional districts.

Two U.S. bishop's committee chairmen praised the department for acting against a Vermont medical center and the state of California for allegedly violating federal conscience protection laws.

The chancellor of the Orchard Lake Schools in Michigan is on administrative leave after a lawsuit filed in federal court Dec. 14 alleged he pressured two employees into sexual activities and retaliated against them when they rebuffed his advances.

Admittedly not a big fan of needles, Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski winced as he became possibly the first U.S. bishop to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

The Vatican decreed that priests can celebrate as many as four Masses on several important feast days, including Christmas, to accommodate the participation of the faithful.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that seven countries will receive an extension for its citizens to remain in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status program.

The Supreme Court, once again siding with houses of worship opposed to pandemic-related restrictions, ordered lower federal courts in Colorado and New Jersey Dec. 15 to reexamine state-imposed indoor worship restrictions.

If Christians forget to remember in prayer people who are suffering, their prayer can become a superficial activity that feeds their ego rather than seeking the good and well-being of others, Pope Francis said.