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WASHINGTON – A panel of academics at a Feb. 6 conference on the clergy sex abuse crisis noted that the current crisis is not the first scandal to confront the church, and that the church has had trouble putting those scandals to rest.

PHILADELPHIA – “Changes of heart and mind and culture” are needed to move the Catholic Church from anger over the clergy sexual abuse crisis to justice, reform and personal renewal among the faithful.

WASHINGTON – Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles told a crowd of priests, women religious and students the story of a Spanish missionary named Montesinos.

WASHINGTON – Days after the pope acknowledged abuse of nuns and sisters by priests and bishops, the largest U.S. organization of women religious thanked the pontiff for shedding “light on a reality that has been largely hidden from the public,” but the group also called for measures to address the issue.

WASHINGTON – After the canonization of St. Oscar Romero finally came to fruition, Salvadorans and the saint’s admirers must give him new life by learning about him, pondering how his teachings apply to the present and helping others around the world based on his work toward ending injustice and exclusion, said the head of Pontifical Missions for El Salvador, the homeland of the newly minted saint.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations have joined in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of the more than 10,000 children currently being held by the Trump administration in detention centers across the country.

WASHINGTON – The conclusion reached by a Pennsylvania grand jury that six of the state’s Catholic dioceses acted “in virtual lockstep” to cover up abuse allegations and dismiss alleged victims over a 70-year period starting in 1947 is “inaccurate,” “unfair” and “misleading,” said a veteran journalist in an in-depth article for Commonweal magazine.

WASHINGTON – Church officials confirmed that Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, retired archbishop of Washington, had forwarded an allegation of sexual misconduct against his predecessor, former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, to the papal nuncio in Washington in 2004.

MCALLEN, Texas – Sister Norma Pimentel was “truly disappointed” after not being given an opportunity to speak during a roundtable discussion with President Donald Trump during his Jan. 10 visit to McAllen.

WASHINGTON – Although the weeklong retreat for U.S. Catholic bishops emphasized quiet reflection, several bishops spoke out on social media during the retreat and after it wrapped up Jan. 8 with positive reaction about it and to give shoutouts to the retreat leader, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, who has preached to popes and top officials of the Roman Curia for nearly 40 years.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fifty years after his death, Father Thomas Merton is still helping to draw others nearer to Christ through his writings and the communities they tend to create, said Father Lawrence Morey.

NEW YORK – Since Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin introduced the “seamless garment” approach to life issues 35 years ago, the notion has been both divisive and formative for the church, according to speakers at a Dec. 11 panel in New York.

WASHINGTON – 2018 will no doubt be remembered as a dark time for the U.S. Catholic Church.

WASHINGTON – The revelation in late November that a Chinese researcher had edited genes in human embryos and then implanted them in a woman was “a train wreck of a thing to do,” said an ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.

WASHINGTON – The Advent calendar with one tab or box to open each day for 24 or 25 days taps into something people really like: countdowns. It also highlights the anticipation that is at the heart of the four-week liturgical season of Advent.

IJAMSVILLE, Md. – “How can we pray when we feel betrayed?” The song continues, offering more questions, but no answers.

MOBILE, Alabama – Saying that Jesus provides light for the church to overcome darkness, Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile released the names of priests, deacons and religious brothers who had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with minors.

WASHINGTON – The leaders of two U.S. provinces of the Society of Jesus released the names of more than 150 clergy with credible sexual abuse claims against them dating to the 1950s.

“Paul Writes (a Letter)” by Chris Raschka. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2018). 40 pp., $17.

“A Future of Faith: The Path of Change in Politics and Society” by Pope Francis with Dominique Wolton. St. Martin’s Press (New York, 2018). 304 pp., $29.99.