Catholic News Service

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY -- In the midst of three days of prayer and fasting for peace and an end to the coronavirus pandemic, Iraqi Cardinal Louis Sako, the Baghdad-based patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, said Iraqis still are counting on Pope Francis to visit in March.

MUMBAI, India — Indian Jesuit Father Stan Swamy marked 100 days in prison with a letter highlighting the cases of poor people languishing in jail who begin their trials without even knowing their criminal charges.

CHICAGO -- Joe Scheidler, founder of the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago and one of the towering figures of the pro-life movement for decades, died of pneumonia Jan. 18 surrounded by his family at his home n Chicago. He was 93.

TOLEDO, Ohio -- The suspect sought in connection with vandalism and a small fire at Toledo's cathedral early Jan. 18 and a 24-year-old police officer both died in a hail of gunfire later that same day.

ADELAIDE, Australia -- Retired Archbishop Philip Wilson, former president of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference who served as archbishop of Adelaide for 17 years, died Jan. 17. He was 70.

ROME -- The breach of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 sent shock waves around the world.

VATICAN CITY -- The choral cries of newborn babies will not fill the Sistine Chapel in 2021 because the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Pope Francis to cancel his annual celebration of infant baptisms on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

PARIS -- The head of French bishops' conference testified to a special commission of the National Assembly that while he understands the need to strengthen national security, a proposed law designed to rein in extremist militancy would place religions and religious believers under particular surveillance.

GUATEMALA CITY -- Guatemala's bishops urged the country's president to veto the budget, but also called for calm as some protesters set the country's Congress on fire.

BONN, Germany -- Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Hesse has stepped down from his post as spiritual assistant to the Central Committee of German Catholics, the most important laypeople's organization of the church in Germany, pending clarification of all the allegations about his possible role in covering up sexual abuse cases during his time in Cologne.