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Pope Francis has urged Catholics not to forget the many children in Ukraine this Christmas who are suffering without electricity and heating amid the war. Speaking near a large nativity scene in Paul VI Hall on December 21, the pope recalled an encounter that he had with Ukrainian war refugees in which the children seemed unable to smile. “On this feast of God becoming a child, let us think of Ukrainian children. … These children bear the tragedy of that war which is so inhuman, so harsh,” he said. “Let us think of the Ukrainian people this Christmas, without electricity, without heating, without the main things necessary to survive, and let us pray to the Lord to bring them peace as soon as possible.” In his last general audience before Christmas, Pope Francis said, “Jesus reveals a God who is full of compassion and tenderness.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253130/pope-francis-let-us-think-of-the-ukrainian-children-without-heat-this-christmas
Rhoda Jatau, a Christian and mother of five, was charged with blasphemy in a Nigerian court yesterday for forwarding a video defending a lynched Christian student. Jatau was arrested after forwarding a video of a Muslim denouncing the mob killing of Nigerian Christian college student Deborah Yakubu. During her arraignment on Monday, Jatau was officially charged with blasphemy, inciting a mob, and exciting contempt of religious creed. She is being tried in the northeast Nigerian state of Bauchi’s high court. Bauchi practices a form of Sharia law, under which blasphemy is a crime punishable by execution. Jatau, a 45-year-old medical worker, was arrested by Nigerian authorities on May 20 and has been held without the ability to communicate and without a trial for over six months, which is against both Nigerian and international law, according to religious rights advocates.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253128/nigerian-mother-charged-with-blasphemy-for-defending-murdered-christian
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Peter Canisius, an important figure in the Catholic counter-reformation that responded to the 16th century spread of Protestantism, a Jesuit priest, and Doctor of the Church. His efforts as a preacher, author, and religious educator strengthened the Catholic faith in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and parts of Central Europe during a period of doctrinal confusion.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-peter-canisius-91