Bishops decry California plan to become “sanctuary” for abortion (CNS) California’s Catholic bishops slammed a new plan endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to make the state a “sanctuary” for legal abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. “When families are struggling to put food on the table and pay rent, it is absurd for the state to focus on expanding abortion when the real needs of families for basic necessities remain unmet,” said Kathleen Buckley Domingo, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops…

Pope prays for tornado victims (CNA)Pope Francis expressed his closeness on Sunday to the victims of tornadoes that struck at least six U.S. states, killing scores of people. Speaking after his Angelus address on Dec. 12, he referred to the tornadoes that left a wake of destruction in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee late Friday and early Saturday. “I also pray for the victims of the tornado that hit Kentucky and other areas of the United States of America,” he said…

Cardinal Burke thanks God for COVID recovery during first public Mass since hospitalization  (CNA) Cardinal Raymond Burke thanked God and Our Lady of Guadalupe for his recovery from COVID-19 during his first public Mass since his hospitalization with the virus. “My heart is filled with deepest gratitude to almighty God who from August 10th last has brought me through a great suffering, which seemingly would’ve ended in death,” the cardinal said during the Dec. 11 Mass…

Pope could visit Canada in 2022 (Crux) After Pope Francis voiced his intention earlier this year to travel to Canada as part of the nation’s reconciliation process with indigenous communities, one of the country’s top prelates has said the papal visit could come as early as next year. Currently in Rome for meetings between the leadership of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and Vatican officials, Archbishop Raymond Poisson of Saint-Jérôme and Mont-Laurier president of the CCCB, told Crux that “it’s possible” the pope could visit Canada in 2022…

French interior minister condemns threats against Catholics (CNA) France’s interior minister on Saturday condemned threats made against Catholics taking part in a Marian procession in the western suburbs of Paris. Gérald Darmanin deplored what he said were “unacceptable acts” during a torchlight procession in Nanterre on Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception…

Anne Rice dies at 80 (The New York Times) Anne Rice, the Gothic novelist best known for “Interview With the Vampire,” the 1976 book that in 1994 became a popular film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, died on Saturday at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She was 80. Her son, Christopher Rice, wrote on social media that the cause was complications from a stroke…