Haiti’s Catholic bishops urged a negotiated solution to the country’s political crisis as President Michel Martelly’s term ended on Feb. 7 and elections to find a successor were indefinitely delayed. • Applicants have until May 14 to vie for a $22,000 prize in a pontifical contest for young artists whose work promotes “Christian humanism.” • The Rev. Patrick Daly, general secretary of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of the European Community, said on Feb. 4 that the European Parliament’s decision to classify religious cleansing by ISIS as genocide represented progress in efforts to stop the persecution of Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq. • Pope Francis on Feb. 6 greeted members of “Padre Pio” Prayer Groups in Rome to venerate the relics of the saint, which had been moved to St. Peter’s Basilica for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. • Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky signed new legislation into law on Feb. 2 that clarified procedures related to face-to-face, informed consent before abortions in his state. • A Catholic bioethics institute on Feb. 1 accused the British government of encouraging the creation of genetically modified babies after scientists were given permission to alter the DNA of embryos in experimentation.

This article appears in February 22 2016.