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Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal urged moderate celebrations of Christmas this year because of the current political situation, but he also called for an end to the arms trade.In his Dec. 16 Christmas message, he urged a more spiritual holiday celebration and also encouraged all parishes to turn off the C

Building peace, he said, is not accomplished by words alone, but through the grace of God.

Catholic activists had lobbied for the inclusion of human rights protections and lowering the threshold for the earth’s temperatures to be more in line with scientific research. They also advocated for adequate financing for poor countries to adapt to cleaner energy, and the phasing out of fossil fuels.

As Catholics and other Christians anticipate “the miracle of Christmas,” announcing the need for peace and goodwill throughout the world this “blessed season of Advent” calls for “even stronger voices” this year.

The Vatican announced details about the pope’s Feb. 12-17 trip to Mexico, during which he will stop in six cities, including two in the state of Chiapas and—across from El Paso, Texas—Ciudad Juarez, which just five years ago was considered the “murder capital of the world” as drug cartels disputed a trafficking corridor.

Pope Francis’ plan to celebrate Mass at the border is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from both the U.S. and Mexico. The Catholic Extention release suggests it “will be a significant milestone of the trip’s itinerary.”

Without mentioning Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump by name, Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron has blasted proposals like Trump’s that would specifically bar Muslims from the U.S., saying the idea “fractures the very foundation of morality on which we stand.”Vigneron&

“This is an early Christmas present. After more than 10 years, members of Congress from both parties have come together to revise our national education law.” The other part of the miracle might be that the legislation–which aims to do away with excessive school testing and give states and local governments more control of schools by freeing them from federal mandates–also provides something for Catholic school students.

The Islamic State and “fundamentalists don’t accept anything that doesn’t fit with their vision of Islam,” he said. “This is a kind of purification and, of course, Christians and other minorities are a target.”

“Pope Francis reminded us when he visited a mosque in Bangui, Central African Republic that ‘Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters. We must therefore consider ourselves and conduct ourselves as such.'”