Pope appoints Scranton parish priest to be bishop of Gaylord (Holy See Bulletin) The Holy Father has appointed as bishop of Gaylord (USA) the Rev. Jeffrey J. Walsh, of the clergy of the Diocese of Scranton, currently parish priest of Saint Rose of Lima Parish and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Carbondale…

In message for World Peace Day, Pope Francis calls for investment in education (CNA) Pope Francis called for more investment in education and less in weaponry in his 2022 World Peace Day message, released Tuesday. In the message published Dec. 21, the pope said the world had witnessed a “significant reduction” in education funding in recent years, while military spending had soared beyond Cold War levels. “It is high time, then, that governments develop economic policies aimed at inverting the proportion of public funds spent on education and on weaponry,” he wrote in the message, signed on Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception…

Pope: high number of domestic violence cases is “almost Satanic” (The New York Times) Pope Francis, speaking on a prime-time television program, said that there was something “almost satanic” about the high number of cases of women who had been victims of domestic violence. The pope made the comment during a show broadcast Sunday on Canale 5, Italy’s top private channel, called “Francis and the Invisibles” that was intended to put a spotlight on people who were struggling in different ways. It featured three women and a man who met with the pope to talk about various issues and ask for advice…

Cardinal Turkson says he offered to resign at end of term (CNS) After a dozen years as a top Vatican cardinal, Cardinal Peter Turkson said he offered Pope Francis his resignation because he was at the end of his five-year appointment as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. In a tweet on the cardinal’s verified account Dec. 19, he said it is up to the pope to decide whether to extend or renew his term or assign him another position…

A plan forms in Mexico: help Americans get abortions (The New York Times) Abortion restrictions have been multiplying across the United States for years, including just over Mexico’s border in Texas. Now the Supreme Court is considering a case that could diminish or completely overrule Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion. That would likely set off new restrictions in at least 20 states. But in much of Latin America, where access to abortion has long been severely limited, highly organized feminist groups have distributed abortion-inducing drugs for years, making it harder for governments to enforce bans on the procedure…

The story behind “Pope Joan” (CNS)  Intelligent, in love, highly cultured and heavily pregnant, the infamous “Pope Joan” is one of those urban legends of the “urbi” of Rome about a woman who covertly climbed the clerical ladder in the ninth century and was elected Pope John VIII. But is any of this true?…