Catholic News Service

The Vatican announced it had opened a new medical clinic for the homeless and the poor, expanding services previously offered in a small space just outside St. Peter's Square.

The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote Dec. 21 rejected the Trump administration's request that the court let it implement a rule that those who enter the United States without documents will not be eligible for asylum.

Year in review: Pope Francis marked the fifth anniversary of his election in March in the midst of a firestorm over his handling of clerical sexual abuse and bishops' accountability in Chile.

Year in review: 2018 will no doubt be remembered as a dark time for the U.S. Catholic Church. Catholics felt betrayed by church leaders accused of sexual misconduct and cover-up revealed this summer and this cloud still hung over the church at the year's end.

The Field Hospital: "How Can We Pray?" was written by Zachary Stachowski, director of music ministry at St. Ignatius of Loyola in Ijamsville, moved by the anger he felt immediately after the Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse was released in mid-August.

Nativity scenes on display at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers are crafted from materials including ceramics, shells, pewter, paper-mache, alabaster, corn husk and wax.

Christmas: Exactly 200 years ago this Christmas Eve — Dec. 24, 1818 — in a little church in what is now Austria, the world heard for the first time a poem set to music that eventually would be hailed as one of the most popular and beloved Christmas carols of all time.

This Christmas will people go to adore and be amazed by Jesus, or will they let themselves be detoured by distractions? Pope Francis asked.

Although Ireland's new abortion law takes effect Jan. 1, by mid-December only 8 percent of family doctors had signed up to provide the terminations.

The nation's criminal justice system "is in need of reform" and the First Step Act "is a worthy 'first step' in the right direction," said Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Florida.

Several bishops who are planning to join a weeklong U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops retreat to start the New Year are trusting they'll return to their dioceses with a renewed sense of what it means to shepherd the faithful.

Several Mideast-based Christians working on the Syria crisis have joined a growing chorus about U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull some 2,000 American troops from Syria.

Delegations from the Vatican and from Vietnam reported continued progress in their discussions, including agreeing on "upgrading" relations with a permanent papal representative "in the near future."

Citing health and other personal reasons, Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar, 69, said he offered his retirement to Pope Francis for "the good of the church."

A preliminary report released Dec. 19 by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan shows clergy sexual abuse of minors in the state to be "significantly more extensive" than what the state's dioceses had previously reported.

The Field Hospital: Fr. Frank Uter sends cards to 4,100 families. He has carried out this tradition for decades, across the Diocese of Baton Rouge at the various church parishes where he has served.

Bishop David Zubik has introduced the independent experts who will run the Diocese of Pittsburgh's new compensation program for survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

In releasing the Omaha Archdiocese's list of 38 clergy accused since 1978 of criminal sexual misconduct, Archbishop George Lucas acknowledged the report "with sorrow" and knowing it would "cause a great deal of pain and anger."

The Francis Chronicles: Christmas will not be authentic if people get caught up in a frenzy of shopping, presents and meals, all while ignoring the poor and forgetting who the celebration is really all about, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of 69-year-old Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar of Los Angeles after the archdiocese's independent Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board recommended he not be allowed to minister because of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor in the 1990s.