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Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of December is for volunteer not-for-profit organizations. The pontiff called volunteers who work with not-for-profit organizations “artisans for mercy.” He said: “Being a volunteer who helps others is a choice that makes us free; it opens us to other people’s needs — to the demands of justice, to the defense of the poor, to the care of creation. It means being artisans of mercy: with our hands, with our eyes, with our attentive ears, with our closeness…Let us pray that volunteer not-for-profit and human development organizations may find people willing to commit themselves to the common good and ceaselessly seek out new paths of international cooperation.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252961/this-is-pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-december
Two Catholic priests captured by Russian troops are “being tortured without mercy,” the leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said Thursday. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk issued an appeal to international authorities on December 1 to help facilitate the release of Father Ivan Levytskyi and Father Bohdan Heleta, who have been held in captivity for more than two weeks. The Ukrainian archbishop asked Catholics around the world to pray for the release of the priests. In an interview published earlier this week, Pope Francis described Ukrainians as “a people who are martyred.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252969/ukrainian-archbishop-appeals-for-release-of-catholic-priests-captured-by-russian-troops
The second victim in a Louisiana double homicide that also claimed the life of a local Catholic priest, Father Otis Young, has been identified. Ruth Prats, a 73-year-old former staff member who worked for Young when he was pastor at Saint Peter Catholic Church in Covington, was identified as the second victim, the local coroner announced Thursday in a press conference. The homicides both occurred either Sunday night or Monday morning, the coroner’s office said. It was reported that both Young and Prats were reported missing on Sunday. On Monday evening, police announced that they had taken a suspect, 49-year-old Antonio Donde Tyson of Covington, into custody.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252968/louisiana-catholic-parish-double-homicide-victims-identified
The FBI is offering a $17,500 reward for credible leads in the arson of a a pro-life pregnancy center in northern Colorado that is still under investigation after five months. Longmont Police Chief Jeff Satur told a Wednesday press conference that investigators have few leads, the Denver Gazette reported. Investigators are again asking for aid from anyone with local video from the time of the crime, this time from a wider area. They are also analyzing the handwriting of the vandals’ graffiti messages. One message was in cursive while the other was not. The fire took place early Saturday morning on June 25. The Life Choices pregnancy center in Longmont sustained fire and heavy smoke damage. The front of the building also was defaced with pro-abortion slogans, including “Bans Off Our Bodies.” The threatening phrase “If abortions aren’t safe neither are you,” was written in cursive with black spray paint.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252964/longmont-colorado-pregnancy-center-arson-fbi-reward
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Bibiana, an obscure Roman martyr after which a basilica is named.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-bibiana-71