As the Biden administration and state governments look at ways to expand or restrict access to abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling, Pope Francis prayed that God would strengthen people’s commitment to protecting human life at every stage.

After 2022 offered a mixed bag of political outcomes for the pro-life cause, with the historic reversal of Roe v. Wade followed by ballot initiative losses in multiple states, pro-life activists are setting their sights on the 2024 campaign cycle.

Dolly Parton said, “I feel closest to God when I write.” That’s how I feel, too. So, it’s hard for me to believe that any kind of computer program or artificial intelligence can write the way a person can, bringing light and beauty and emotion to the written form.

The Baltic Sea, shared by Russia and northern European countries, is a “source of life threatened by human action,” Pope Francis said.

A funeral Mass for Conventual Franciscan Brother Charles Raymond Madden was offered Jan. 19 at the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Libertyville, Ill. Brother Charles died Jan. 13. He was 83.