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Looking back, Deacon Ned Berghausen said he realizes God was present even in that time of great suffering. He reflects often, he said, on the date of the tsunami — the feast of St. Stephen, who was the first martyr and one of the first deacons of the early church.

During New Year's Day Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, Archbishop Gregory Aymond said to turn to the Blessed Mother as a model for hope when unforeseen challenges and tragedies occur.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans offered prayers for victims of what he described as a "sign of utter disrespect for human life" perpetrated by a man who drove a pickup truck through crowds celebrating the New Year in New Orleans' French Quarter.

The United States saw an increase of about 18% in homelessness this year, a new record high, according to a federal report.

On Dec. 28, 10 Arizona faith leaders — including Catholic Bishops Edward J. Weisenburger of Tucson and John P. Dolan of Phoenix — put their concerns in writing in an op-ed column published in the Arizona Republic, the state's largest newspaper.

"His lifelong work on behalf of peace among nations will continue to serve as an inspiration for a world in need of peacemakers," Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement. 

About a dozen Jesuits from all over the world on a search and rescue mission in Arizona's Sonoran Desert Dec. 20-22 came across eight areas that had remains of missing people.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa spoke with reporters hours after his wartime visit to Gaza, where he witnessed scenes of profound suffering juxtaposed with what he characterized as "hopeful" signs of resilience. 

"You have become the light of our Church in the entire world," Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told Gaza Christians Dec. 22 during a pre-Christmas visit aiming to bring the joy of the season to the suffering Christian community in the Gaza Strip.

Indiana Rep. Bob Morris, R-Fort Wayne, recently filed legislation to repeal the death penalty in Indiana and had asked Gov. Eric Holcomb in a letter to delay the execution of Joseph Corcoran at least until the state General Assembly could consider his bill.

The Catholic University of America is facing a "structural deficit of $30 million" that the school "must address through both budget cuts and revenue growth," said president Peter Kilpatrick in a Dec. 6 email to alumni. Kilpatrick pointed to a number of challenges in the nation's higher education landscape, citing "rising costs and increased competition for students."

In the nine days before Christmas, the predominantly Catholic Philippines begins its traditional novena of daily dawn Masses in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary prior to the birth of her son Jesus Christ.  Filipino-Americans have brought the tradition to their adopted homeland and added some multicultural flair to their celebrations.

In a Dec. 11 column for the archdiocesan newspaper, the Chicago cardinal wrote that "receiving the Eucharist is not a private action but rather a communal one, as the very word 'communion' implies."

Police in Madison, Wisconsin, said they are investigating a mass shooting at that city's Abundant Life Christian School Dec. 16 that left at least two killed and six injured, authorities said. The gunman is also dead, they said.

On Pope Francis' 88th birthday, two major newspapers published two different excerpts from his new book on hope. The New York Times published the pope's words on the importance of humor, while Italy's Corriere della Sera ran the pope's recollection of his March 2021 trip to Iraq, revealing that two suicide bombers had been planning to attack him, but were intercepted and killed by police.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 13 agreed to hear a case from the Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, in which the agency argued a decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court denying its religious exemption from paying into the state's unemployment insurance system.

Gayle Benson — owner and CEO of the NFL's New Orleans Saints, and owner and governor of the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans — was presented with the Catholic Near East Welfare Association's Faith & Culture Award at a Dec. 9 gala in New York.

His efforts resulted in a retreat that ended with Pope Francis kissing the feet of warring South Sudan leaders — a gesture that shocked the world in 2019. Now the Jesuit priest has received a prestigious peace award for his groundbreaking work.
 

The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump plans to rescind a long-standing policy preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests at what are seen as sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals, according to a report by NBC News.