Parishes play a “vital role” in bringing Christ’s transformative love to the world, said two U.S. bishops as a key document on social ministry marks its 30th year.

Pope Francis expressed his concern about concrete initiatives individual dioceses and the Catholic Church in Germany as a whole are taking, including the establishment of a synodal council, which, he said, threaten to steer it away from the universal church.

As hundreds gathered to commemorate a Soviet-era genocide against Ukrainians, “our hearts, our hope, our prayer” will conquer the hatred and violence that fuel war, said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia.

There are no strict right or wrong answers as to when a Catholic should put up or take down a Christmas tree.

Sister Augustine Marie (Georganne) Molnar, 43, was killed Nov. 18 in a head-on automobile accident on Route 183 in Jefferson Township, according to the Berks County, Pa., coroner.