The U.S. bishops’ Feb. 18 lawsuit against the federal government for abrupt and sweeping changes to refugee resettlement funding, and the bishops’ Feb. 20 admonition of President Donald Trump’s executive order aiming to expand access to in vitro fertilization underscore the ongoing friction between the nation’s Catholic leaders and its 47th president in his first month since reassuming office.

The U.S. Supreme Court Feb. 24 considered the case of a Texas death-row inmate who is seeking to obtain post-conviction DNA testing on evidence that he claims would show he did not directly participate in a 1998 murder and lead to the repeal of his death sentence.

The morning after Pope Francis’ doctors said that he remained in “critical” condition and showed initial signs of renal insufficiency, the Vatican press office said the pope was in “good spirits” and continuing his treatment.

The U.S. bishops urged the faithful to join in on a call from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to pray the rosary for Pope Francis Feb. 24 as he remains hospitalized.

As the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine reached a tragic threshold of three years Feb. 24, religious sisters are bringing rays of sunshine to those who don’t know how to smile anymore, including children whose carefree childhood disappeared, and farmers, whose fields are mined and useless.