Catholic News Service

Pro-immigrant groups applauded a March 8 decision by the Biden administration to protect some 320,000 Venezuelans in the United States under a temporary immigration program.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis prayed March 6 for peace and justice in the upcoming trial of a white former city police officer in death of George Floyd.

A U.S. government forensic team announced March 4 it has identified the remains of Fr. Emil Kapaun, a priest of the Diocese of Wichita, who was an Army chaplain and died in a Chinese prisoner-of-war camp during the Korean War.

Having witnessed or even experienced persecution for their faith, the Christians of Iraq must be careful not to harbor thoughts of revenge, Pope Francis said at a Mass March 7 with some 10,000 people in Irbil.

In a new video, the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Doctrine reiterated that use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine "can be used in good moral conscience."

Bishops in Colombia's Chocó department are calling for a cease-fire between the Colombian army and rebel groups fighting over drug trafficking routes and illegal gold mines in one of the country's most remote regions.

Catholic bishops said the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating an already grave imbalance in living conditions and opportunities, alongside an "unbridled race to exploit hydrocarbons" in its parks and nature reserves.

Saying the pandemic has taken its toll on discipleship, Bishop Edward J. Burns announced he will convene a synod in the diocese Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Early projections of results of a Feb. 28 election in El Salvador show the conservative New Ideas (Nuevas Ideas) party en route to winning a majority of seats in the national legislative assembly, giving its founder, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, what amounts to absolute power, if lawmakers grant it.

There is no greater love in the world than the love God has for humanity, Pope Francis said.

The second expert report commissioned to investigate abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne also incriminates church officials who are still alive and accuses them of mistakes in dealing with cases of sexualized violence, according to its author, Björn Gercke.

Dennis R. DePerro, the 21st president of St. Bonaventure University, died of COVID-19 complications March 1. He was 62.

Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Jerome Feudjio, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, to head the diocese.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador began bilateral cooperation talks March 1 with humor, a focus on limiting immigration to the U.S. and talk about Our Lady of Guadalupe.

"Do not remain silent in the face of corruption. Do not tolerate the theft of your money, the fluid borders, the failure of the political class, the chaos in the investigation into the Beirut port explosion, or the imprisonment of the innocent. Do not tolerate the failure in forming a government and implementing reforms," Cardinal Rai said.

Pope Francis said he believes he will die in Rome, either in office or retired, and will not be buried in his native Argentina.

A week before Pope Francis was scheduled to arrive in Iraq, the Vatican nuncio in Baghdad and several members of the staff tested positive for COVID-19 and began self-isolating.

Over a dozen nonprofit organizations, including Catholic Charities USA, praised the American Rescue Plan passed by the U.S. House early Feb. 27 for including "several provisions of importance to the charitable nonprofit sector."

Although it took obvious effort to pronounce each word and sometimes his secretary repeated what he said to make it clear, retired Pope Benedict XVI spoke to an Italian newspaper recently about his retirement and about Pope Francis' planned trip to Iraq.

People should fast from gossiping and spreading hearsay as part of their Lenten journey, Pope Francis said.