News Briefs

A new Web resource at www.sj2014.net, commemorating the restoration of the Society of Jesus in 1814, was launched in January. • New Mexico’s Catholic bishops said they strongly oppose the “authorization of assisted suicide by the state” after a court in Albuquerque ruled on Jan. 13 that terminally ill, mentally competent patients have the right to request a physician’s help in committing suicide. • Tamil bishops in Sri Lanka on Jan. 12 called for an independent inquiry into reported war crimes during the closing stages of the protracted ethnic war on that island nation in the Indian Ocean in 2009. • Cardinal-designate Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, met on Jan. 14 with his U.S. counterpart, John Kerry, to discuss ongoing tensions in the Middle East, as well as the U.S. bishops’ concerns about the Obama administration’s contraception mandate. • The Ukrainian Catholic Church on Jan. 13 accused the government of Soviet-style repression after it was threatened with new restrictions for backing demonstrators protesting the country’s withdrawal from a deal with the European Union. • New York’s newly elected mayor, Bill de Blasio, paid an afternoon visit to Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York on Jan. 13. Both leaders expressed a desire to persuade Pope Francis to visit their city.