Pope: Work is essential for our growth in holiness (Vatican News) In his catechesis at the General Audience focusing on Saint Joseph, Pope Francis looks at Joseph’s life as a worker, and says the dignity of labour is essential for our human development and our growth in holiness…

Family of dead abuse victim sues Catholic Church (KTLA) After decades of dealing with the boyhood trauma of being molested by a priest, Jim Bartko sued the Roman Catholic church two years ago. But the lawsuit was dismissed when he died four days after speaking publicly about it. A new law has now revived his case, allowing his estate to file for damages he could have sought for his suffering if he were still alive…

Deep anxiety hangs over Ukraine’s Catholics (NCR) When NATO’s foreign ministers held emergency online talks Jan. 7 about the Russian military concentration on Ukraine’s borders, the alliance’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, stressed the dangers to Europe’s security and warned against any aggression. Inside the country, care has been taken not to stoke public fears. Yet behind the scenes, there’s deep anxiety — not least among Ukraine’s scattered Catholic communities…

Catholic, Jewish leaders condemn use of Nazi flag at funeral (Reuters) Italian Catholic and Jewish leaders on Tuesday condemned as outrageous an episode in which right-wing extremists put a flag with a swastika on a coffin outside a church after a religious funeral and gave Nazi salutes. Rome’s Catholic archdiocese said in a statement that priests at the parish of St. Lucy in a central Rome neighborhood, including the one who presided at the funeral rite, had no idea of what would happen outside the church on Monday…

Why the Catholic Church is losing Latin America (The Wall Street Journal) “The Vatican is losing the biggest Catholic country in the world—that’s a huge loss, an irreversible one,” said José Eustáquio Diniz Alves, a leading Brazilian demographer and former professor at the national statistics agency. At the current rate, he estimates Catholics will account for fewer than 50% of all Brazilians by early July…