Most of the 18 Catholic missionaries murdered in 2022 were not carrying out high-risk missions when they were assassinated but were simply "immersed and submerged in the ordinariness of their lives and their apostolic work," said the editor of Fides, the Vatican's missionary news service.
Efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament got a boost in 2022 with one archbishop calling for widespread conversations on ridding the planet of the threat such weapons pose and peace advocates taking up his message with new enthusiasm.
Canadian and U.S. Catholics will convene in a series of online meetings from mid-December through the end of January as part of Pope Francis' ongoing call to synodality in the church.
The commutation Dec. 13 of all condemned prisoners on Oregon's death row was one key in the Death Penalty Information Center's 2022 report on capital punishment in the United States.
While 2022 finally saw the publication of Pope Francis' constitution reforming the Roman Curia, the biggest news and the biggest changes in his ministry came from Russia's war on Ukraine and from the pope's own problems walking.
With the birth of Jesus, God became flesh to share the joys and sorrows, hopes and fears of all people, especially the poor and those living daily amid danger, Pope Francis said in his Christmas message.