“The wounds of the Islamic State have not been healed yet, together with the ongoing violence, poverty, unemployment and poor services that have pushed thousands of people, especially youth, to demonstrate peacefully, demanding the right to live with dignity and freedom in a stable, secure and strong independent homeland,” Cardinal Louis Sako, patriarch of Chaldean Catholics, said of anti-government protests.
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Pennsylvania dioceses offer $84M to 564 clergy abuse victims
Lawmakers recently agreed to begin the lengthy process of amending the state constitution to allow a two-year window for civil suits otherwise barred by the statute of limitations, but there’s no guarantee that effort will bear fruit.
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Washington Post publishes Vatican report on West Virginia investigation
The Washington Post published the 60-page document on Dec. 23 on its website, which describes previously published accounts of alleged abuse and financial misconduct by retired Bishop Michael J. Bransfield, including “troubling incidents” that caused concern by some church workers that he may have targeted minor altar servers for abuse.
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Louisiana parish uses plane to bless town with 100 gallons of holy water
Members of St. Anne Parish in Cow Island, Louisiana, gave their neighbors a Christmas blessing from the heavens, so to speak.
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Thousands mark Christmas in West Bank town of Bethlehem
Visitors converged on the town’s large Christmas tree in Manger Square, near the spot believed to mark Jesus’ birthplace.
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Christmas typhoon leaves 20 dead in Philippines
A strong typhoon that barreled through the central Philippines left at least 20 people dead and forced thousands to flee their homes.
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Catholics offer lots of advocacy, get few results on Capitol Hill
“In reality, Congress has been slow to pass legislation,” said Anthony Granado, vice president for public policy for Catholic Charities USA.
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Israel to grant Gaza Christians holiday travel permits
It had been unclear whether Israel would grant permits to members of Gaza’s tiny Christian community to leave the Hamas-ruled coastal territory.
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Legionaries of Christ report ‘chain of abuse’ as victims went on to abuse others
The report “identified 175 minors as victims of sexual abuse committed by 33 priests of the congregation” in the 78 years since the order’s founding.
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At year’s end, humanitarian aid for migrants moves across border
Makeshift camps have formed close to the border in Mexico, where people wait their turn for a hearing on U.S. soil