Catholic News Service

Spain's supreme court has upheld the conviction of a former Salvadoran colonel for the slayings of five Spanish Jesuits during El Salvador's civil war.

The Supreme Court will not hear two scheduled arguments this term on immigration examining policies put in place by the Trump administration that Biden is likely to roll back.

A prominent Russian professor urged his nation's bishops to condemn police violence against protestors supporting opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but the Moscow archdiocesan chancellor refused.

Presidential executive orders related to environmental protection and climate change have gained the support of Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

Msgr. Thomas A. Kleissler, who launched a parish-renewal program that turned into an international movement, died Feb. 2 at St. Catherine Healthcare Center in Caldwell, New Jersey. He was 89.

John Sweeney, who led the AFL-CIO for 14 years from 1995 to 2009, and headed one of the nation's largest unions, the Service Employees International Union, for 15 years before that, died Feb. 1 at age 86 at his home in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland. No cause was given.

In a Feb. 3 letter to legislators, the chairmen said relief measures are necessary to assist struggling families, businesses, charities, schools and hospitals and other entities.

Delegates to the general assembly of the Focolare movement elected Margaret Karram, an expert in interreligious dialogue, president for a six-year term.

The German Catholic news agency KNA reports that parish councils, priests and most recently the diocesan council have criticized Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki for his handling of an abuse investigation.

Policy watchers expect a more immigrant-friendly path forward as well as help for some families adversely affected by Trump administration policies, but the specifics are not yet clear.

The liturgy is not a spectacle to be observed but a prayerful event where Christians encounter Christ's presence in their lives, Pope Francis said.

Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez asked the country to pray "for liberation from Satan" Feb. 1 after violence erupted following a political rally late Jan. 31 in the capital, San Salvador. At least two people died and several were injured.

Established almost 500 years ago, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is no longer "the Inquisition" — rather, its main focus is handing down the teachings of the apostles, said the office's prefect.

Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego warned against the "weaponization of Eucharist" as a way to get Catholic elected officials, President Joe Biden among them, to adhere to the church's stance on abortion.

"We must not look the other way. Let us pray for women who are victims of violence, that they may be protected by society and have their sufferings considered and heeded by all," Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis announced the establishment of a World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly as a reminder of the important role they play as a link between generations.

Pope Francis said that unless there is a serious new wave of COVID-19 infections in Iraq, he has every intention of visiting the country in early March. "I am the pastor of people who are suffering," Pope Francis told Catholic News Service Feb. 1.

"The Eucharist unites and strengthens us in our efforts to secure justice for the unborn, and to create a culture wherein every human life is cherished, nurtured and protected from the moment of conception until natural death," said Archbishop Lori, chairman-elect of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

"In Spain, there is a saying, 'Por la plata baila el mono' — 'Monkeys will dance for money.' It is a saying that is clear," Pope Francis told the Roman Rota, a tribunal handling mostly marriage cases, Jan. 29.

Cardinal Louis Sako said Pope Francis' March trip to Iraq is still on and that the pope plans to meet personally with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, leader of the country's Shiite Muslim majority.