From Catholic News Service

In the wake of the terrorist attack on the Berlin Christmas market, Catholics across Germany were uniting to support the Christian community.

At a time when many people are celebrating Christmas with material gain, the people of Nuremberg continue a 68-year-old tradition of sharing Christmas spirit through community service.

Make time to get ready for what Christmas really is about -- the child born in Bethlehem signaling that "God is with us," Pope Francis said.

Eradicating the "heinous crime" of human trafficking requires cracking down on those who profit from it, said a Vatican diplomat.

Corrupt business practices that seek to profit from the sick and the dying are a cancer to hospitals entrusted with the care of the most vulnerable, especially children, Pope Francis said.

American artist Jacob Lawrence detailed the plight of black Americans in the South who were discriminated against, exploited for their labor, threatened with death and sometimes killed, and who lived in substandard conditions until they made their way north in hopes for a better life in his landmark work "The Migration Series."

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer delivered harsh criticism of the death penalty Dec. 12 in a dissent to the court's decision not to hear a Florida inmate's death penalty appeal.

Organizers of the March for Life made it clear Dec. 13 that although they're "cautiously optimistic" about eventually overturning the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision with a Donald Trump administration and a Republican-controlled House and Senate, they don't expect to be in lockstep with other aspects of the new president's agenda.

Pope Francis urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to do everything possible to end the war in his country, to protect civilians and to ensure humanitarian agencies can deliver emergency aid to the people.