In the December 13 gospel, the crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” to live holy lives. In the coming year, Catholics may wonder, “What should we do during the Year of Mercy?” Pope Francis opened the Catholic Church’s Jubilee year on Tuesday ...

The gospel for Sunday, December 20 is all about believing in the improbable, despite the odds. Elizabeth praises Mary on this account: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” The effort to achieve a worldwide . . .

As the Christmas Day gospel testifies, there has been no greater evangelist of the Good News than John the Baptist, who “came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” Evangelical mega-churches strive to spread that Good News and continue to grow . . .

The December 27 gospel reveals Mary’s deep concern about the safety of the boy Jesus, who had stayed in Jerusalem three days on his own. Muslim Americans fear for their safety as they see their religion demonized and Islamophobia spreading after a radical Muslim couple carried out . . .

In the January 3 gospel for Epiphany, King Herod is greatly troubled by news of an approaching birth that he finds threatening. Christian religious leaders have cause to be troubled by news from an extensive survey showing that the Christian share of the U.S. population . . .

"How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy. We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God's judgment will always be in the light of his mercy."

A June 2015 report on the Global Peace Index highlighted that the impact of violence on the global economy reached US$14.3 trillion. The report also found that the economic cost of violence is 13.4 percent of world GDP, equal to the total economic output of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK combined.