JERUSALEM – The status quo of Jerusalem should remain as is until an agreement about the holy city is reached by Palestinians and Israelis, said Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

DUPONT, Wash. – Catholic leaders in the Archdiocese of Seattle and the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, offered prayers for all affected by the Dec. 18 derailment of an Amtrak train that had just come from the Tacoma station and was headed to Portland.

MELBOURNE, Australia – An Australian Royal Commission has recommended that the Vatican consider lifting the seal of the confessional in child-abuse cases and allowing voluntary celibacy for priests.

VATICAN – Cardinal Bernard F. Law, who had been one of the United States' most powerful and respected bishops until his legacy was blemished by the devastating sexual abuse of minors by priests in his Archdiocese of Boston, died early Dec. 20 in Rome at the age of 86.

BERLIN – Sitting on the bare pavement outside a Catholic church, an Afghan refugee woman, dressed in a bright floral headscarf, calls out plaintively to passersby, begging for coins.

VATICAN – Countries with low birthrates suffer from that awful disease called "demographic winter," Pope Francis said in a morning homily.

VATICAN – Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton and St. John Paul II's mentor, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski.

VATICAN – Pope Francis met with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the Vatican, two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital provoked outrage in the Middle East.

VATICAN – People need factual and trustworthy news that avoids sensationalism and whipping up heated reactions, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – Only relics that have been certified as authentic can be exposed for veneration by the faithful, said a new Vatican instruction.