VATICAN CITY – The season of Advent is a reminder to us to open our horizons and have concern for more than just material things, the Pope said Sunday during his Angelus address.

DENVER – It’s a common sight at a city intersection. A man or a woman holds a cardboard sign: “Homeless, Hungry. Please Give. Anything Helps.”

MONTPELLIER, FRANCE – An attack at a French retirement home for missionaries to Africa late on Thursday has left dead one caregiver. The residents have been evacuated and are now safe, but the perpetrator is still at large.

WASHINGTON – When the Democratic Party makes its decisions about leadership at the end of the month, the House Minority Leader will be a self-proclaimed “pro-choice Catholic.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Critics say an Indiana mayor's decision to rename the city's Good Friday holiday in the name of inclusivity ended up marginalizing Christians.

MOSUL, IRAQ – Two years after the sound of church bells was replaced by the sound of explosives in Bashiqa, Iraq, just north of Mosul, Christians are again celebrating Mass after forcing the Islamic State out of their homeland.

BALTIMORE – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on Tuesday elected Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston as its president, and Archbishop Jose Gómez of Los Angeles vice-president.

VATICAN CITY- Citing conflicting interpretations of Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on love in the family, four prominent cardinals wrote a letter to him in September requesting that he “resolve the uncertainties and bring clarity.”

WASHINGTONN – The death penalty was up for a vote in California, Nebraska and Oklahoma on Tuesday, but stands against capital punishment proved unpopular with voters in all three states.

CANBERRA – The Australian government's proposed permanent ban on visas for refugees and asylum seekers who have recently arrived by boat drew strong criticism from a bishop who is a former refugee himself.