Catholic News Service

Just days after the siege on the U.S. Capitol, several bishops, priests and deacons across the country used their pulpits during Jan. 9–10 weekend Masses in cathedrals, parishes and converted outdoor worship spaces to address what happened in Washington and how people of faith should respond.

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Jean-Pierre Cattenoz of Avignon amid ongoing questions about his management style and handling of archdiocesan finances.

Pope Francis called on Christians to guarantee equal access to health care for all people. "The current pandemic has exacerbated inequalities in our health care systems and exposed inefficiencies in the care of the sick," he wrote in his message for the 2021 World Day of the Sick.

The U.K. should "forsake" its nuclear arsenal and spend the money it saves on helping the poorest people of society, Scottish and English Catholic bishops said.

House Democrats introduced a single article of impeachment, charging President Donald Trump with "incitement of insurrection" for his role in a riot at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6.

"The political process is an extension of living out our faith," said Mike Harris, a longtime member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Atlanta. "We must engage and stand for what is right, stand for the poor, stand for the needy, stand for the imprisoned, for those people who have no other voice. We are called to be the voice of God for the people of God."

The Catholic Health Association issued an extensive list of priorities it would like President-elect Joe Biden's administration to pursue.

Christians are called to lead and lift people up by being close to them and sharing God's love, not by judging them, Pope Francis said.

Several prominent individuals who participated in the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by pro-Trump insurrectionists have been fired, including a Catholic college professor.

Pavone has said President Trump is the "greatest political leader" in U.S. history and that those who vote Democratic have blood on their hands.

A federal circuit court said a Trump administration executive order to allow state and local government officials to reject refugees in their jurisdiction violated long-standing resettlement practices.

"Something is happening here which is undermining democracy," said Sr. Anna Mirijam Kaschner, general secretary and spokeswoman of the Nordic bishops' conference.

"Those images are going to attach themselves and become an iconic symbol of the Trump presidency," said Michael Kimmage, a professor of history at The Catholic University of America.

Swiss Cardinal Henri Schwery, whose diocese was home to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's priestly society, died Jan. 7 at the age of 88.

Canadian churches faced new restrictions as public health officials tried to contain a post-holiday surge of COVID-19.

The count had been interrupted by hundreds of pro-Trump extremist marauders who breached the Capitol that afternoon, bringing the count to a halt.

People inside and outside the church are calling on authorities to get to the bottom of mystery funds transferred from the Vatican to Australia.

In times of doubt and suffering, Christians must lift up their eyes to God, who leads them toward the hopeful promise of great things to come, Pope Francis said.

The head of French bishops' conference testified to a special commission of the National Assembly that while he understands the need to strengthen national security, a proposed law designed to rein in extremist militancy would place religions and religious believers under particular surveillance.

The church and monastery were vacated in 1967 at the outbreak of war between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors, including Jordan, just across the Jordan River. After Israel took control of the area from Jordan, it was laid out with land mines by both the Israeli army and Palestinian gunmen who battled there in the 1960s and 1970s.