Pope asks Catholics to offer up sufferings for Christian unity (CNA) Pope Francis has asked Catholics to offer up their sufferings this week for Christian unity. During his Sunday Angelus address, the Pope called on people to participate in the upcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity taking place January 18-25. “We Christians, in the diversity of our confessions and traditions, are also pilgrims on our way to full unity, and we come closer to our goal the more we keep our gaze fixed on Jesus, our only Lord,” Pope Francis said from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Jan. 16…

Families of synagogue hostages gathered at Catholic church (WFAA) Father Michael Higgins was writing his Sunday homily when Colleyville police asked to use Good Shepherd Catholic Community as a sanctuary of sorts. About a block away at Congregation Beth Israel, Malik Faisal Akram was holding four men hostage, including Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, and they needed a safe place for the families of the men inside the synagogue to gather…

Two arrested after gun incident at Catholic Mass (KSAT-TV) Two people are in custody after an incident involving a gun inside a West Side Catholic church that caused parishioners to flee the building during morning services, according to the Archdiocese of San Antonio…

Ukraine priests appeal for prayers, support as Russian threat grows (CNS) Two priests in Ukraine asked Western church leaders for support, especially in anticipation of a widely expected Russian invasion. “While our TV news shows tanks and army units deployed on our borders, the war in eastern Ukraine is continuing — but the church in the West is saying little,” said Msgr. Gregory Semenkov, chancellor of the Kharkiv-Zaporizhia Diocese…

Remembering writer and activist Jim Forest (In Communion) Jim Forest, the founding editor of the In Communion journal, fell asleep in the Lord at around 8:20 p.m. in the Netherlands on January 13, 2022. Jim lived a remarkable life, and touched so many lives with his grace, love, and humor. Through many books and an extensive practice of correspondences, Jim left his mark on so many…

Alice von Hildebrand dies at 98 (CNA) Catholic philosopher and longtime professor Alice von Hildebrand died Jan. 14 at the age of 98. “With sadness suffused by joy, I write to share that our beloved friend and sister Alice von Hildebrand went home to the Lord at 12:25am this morning. She died peacefully at home after a brief illness,” wrote Hildebrand Project Founder and President John Henry Crosby in a Jan. 14 death announcement. “Those who knew Lily often heard her say that the wick of her candle was growing ever shorter. In fact, she yearned for death — to see the face of Our Lord, to be reunited at last with her husband Dietrich, her parents, her dearest friend Madeleine Stebbins — with the peace that only true innocence and profound faith can grant…”