Catholic News Service

The president of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend announced that in consultation with other school officials, he has decided to cover 19th-century murals in a prominent campus building that depict the life and exploration of Christopher Columbus.

Youth in the church can bring the joy of the Gospel to the world by showing that God's love excludes no one, Francis says during the ceremony welcoming him to World Youth Day in Panama.

The Freedom of Religion Act, introduced Jan. 16 in the House of Representatives, would -- if enacted in its current form -- ban religious discrimination in the U.S. immigration system.

The U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 22 took no action on the Trump administration's appeal of a federal appeals court's injunction on its efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

As Pope Francis was arriving in Panama Jan. 23, bishops from the United States wasted no time addressing the sex abuse scandal back home during a popular event aimed at American and other English-speaking World Youth Day pilgrims.

Retired Bishop John M. Smith of Trenton died Jan. 22 in Morris Hall Meadows, a long-term care facility in Lawrenceville, after a long illness. He was 83.

The Field Hospital: "It's been fun, a fun way to engage the community, a fun way to be a proud Catholic in our community."

Should the Vatican permit the ordination of women as deacons — a topic that has been studied by a papal commission — a majority of U.S. bishops surveyed said they would expect the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to pave the way to implement it.

Mexico's bishops offered prayers for the victims of an explosion in which dozens of villagers in the central state of Hidalgo perished after rushing to get some of the gasoline gushing from what appears to have been an illegally tapped pipeline.

Christian leaders, local government officials and humanitarian organizations raised a cry in late January after Italy's anti-immigration interior minister ordered the closure of the Center for Asylum Seekers where Pope Francis celebrated Holy Thursday Mass in 2016 and washed the feet of refugees.

Archbishop Ulloa said it was his hope that the church's teachings, the sacraments, the kinship of the upcoming days would bring about an encounter with Jesus Christ for those facing challenges and help them confront certain feelings within, particularly the "anti-values" of a system that offers a false sense of happiness.

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori has issued his second pastoral reflection in 12 months on the effects of racism on society.

Young people attending World Youth Day called attention to the world's environmental problems, issuing what they called a "manifesto" for the "care of the common home."

Pope Francis has closed the pontifical commission that had been responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics attached to the pre-Vatican II Mass, transferring the commission's tasks to a special section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Without mentioning questions about possible financial irregularities, Pope Francis has placed the Sistine Chapel Choir under the direct supervision of the office of papal liturgical ceremonies and appointed an archbishop as financial officer.

A report published Jan. 17 says the number of immigrant children separated from their parents at the border last year is unknown and the number given out by government officials at the end of 2018, saying that 2,737 children were separated, is not accurate. The number may be much higher.

Just as divisions in society grow when wealth is not shared, divisions within Christianity grow when the richness of gifts God has given to one Christian church or community are not recognized and shared, Pope Francis said.

Around the country, Catholic Charities agencies already are offering food distribution to federal employees and contractors and are preparing contingencies to fill other human needs gaps that might emerge should the shutdown last for weeks more.