TIMOTHY DOLAN

Christians around the world are striving on Christmas Eve to put aside worries and fears of an unsettled, war-torn world.

Pope Francis has praised Pope Emeritus’ Benedict XVI’s “acute and gentle thought” on the final day of public viewing of his body in St. Peter’s Basilica before his funeral.

Among faith leaders and denominations across the U.S., there are sharp differences over the bill advancing in the Senate that would protect same-sex and interracial marriages in federal law.

New York City police officers have given a final salute to a rookie colleague gunned down with his partner a week ago.

New York Police Officer Jason Rivera was no stranger to the tensions between police and some communities.

The 22-year-old New York City police officer who was shot to death while responding to a call in a Harlem apartment once wrote that he joined the force to make a difference in the “chaotic city.”.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the Catholic bishop of Brooklyn weeks after a Vatican investigation cleared him of sexual abuse allegations.

Faith leaders, celebrities and lawmakers across the political spectrum are condemning a rise in antisemitic incidents around the world triggered by the recent conflict between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

Bagpiper Joe Brady leads a smaller version of the St. Patrick's Day Parade, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Wednesday, March 17, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)NEW YORK – A largely virtual St. Patrick's Day was planned for New York City on Wednesday, one year after the annual parade celebrating Irish heritage was canceled because of the pandemic. A live broadcast of the St. Patrick’s Day Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral took place. AdMultitudes of people usually line Fifth Avenue for New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, which traces its roots to the 1760s. Patrick’s Day: A Celebration For All” at 7 p.m.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden appealed to the nation's Roman Catholic voters on Thursday during a charity dinner that traditionally has been used to promote collegiality and good humor. The event comes as Biden and Trump make fierce plays for Catholic voters, a large swath of the electorate that spans the U.S. political spectrum, including a significant slice of swing voters in battleground states. Trump’s appearance at the dinner four years ago along with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton produced some laughs, but several cringe-worthy moments, too. When Trump described Clinton as corrupt, he crossed the line for many of those in attendance and was booed loudly. On Thursday, Trump sought to highlight his administration's accomplishments benefiting Catholic voters.

Nationwide, more than 140 Catholic schools will not reopen in the fall. Already this year, financial and enrollment problems aggravated by the pandemic have forced the permanent closure of more than 140 Catholic schools nationwide, according to officials who oversee Catholic education in the country. Three of the nations highest-ranking Catholic leaders, in a recent joint appeal, said Catholic schools are presently facing their greatest financial crisis and warned that hundreds more closures are likely without federal support. For Catholic schools that are reopening, there is no national directive as to how they should handle the question of in-person classes. And in Evansville, Indiana, Catholic schools reopened Aug. 5 with a full program of in-person instruction.

MEXICO CITY Mexican officials say the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths has passed 35,000, making it the country with the fourth-highest total. A count by Johns Hopkins University has only the United States, Brazil and Britain with more confirmed deaths from the new coronavirus. Sundays rise to 35,006 confirmed deaths moved Mexico, a country with 130 million inhabitants, past Italy. Also over the weekend, the ashes of 245 Mexican migrants who died of COVID-19 in New York arrived back into their home nation. The Mexican government says more than 1,500 Mexican migrants have died of COVID-19 in the United States, about half of them in New York.