Violence and fear-mongering seem "rampant in both church and society" in the northeast African country, said Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio. Five armed men, believed to be allied to South Sudan's main rebel group, assaulted and threatened religious sisters at the Solidarity Teacher Training College in Yambio, the capital of the country's Western Equatoria state, on Dec. 28.

"He wanted to visit the sanctuary and places where St. Francis, on Christmas Eve in 1223, represented the first living Nativity in history," Bishop Domenico Pompili of Rieti told ANSA, the Italian news agency.

"This is evidence of our reality," Bishop Ramon Castro said outside the home of slain Mayor Gisela Mota in Temixco. "I've been saying it for some time and pleading, and no one has been able to do anything." He said Mota's murder sends the message, "If you don't cooperate with organized crime, look at what's going to happen to you."

The Canadian target of accepting 25,000 Syrian refugees by late February "is well in hand, and we should meet it with no problem," Bruno Saccomani, Canadian ambassador to Jordan, said. "That includes privately sponsored and government-sponsored Syrian refugees."

"The agreement, consisting of a preamble and 32 articles, regards essential aspects of the life and activity of the Church in Palestine, while at the same time reaffirming the support for a negotiated and peaceful solution to the conflict in the region," the Vatican said in a statement Jan. 2.

Parishes in areas of the St. Louis Archdiocese affected by flooding responded to people in need and made plans for a coordinated community response. "Keep us in your prayers," said Pam Manuel, parish secretary at St. Bridget of Kildare Parish in Pacific, 35 miles southwest of St. Louis.