January 24, 2023

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez on Sunday offered prayers for victims of a Saturday shooting at a Monterey Park, California, ballroom dance studio. “We pray for those killed and injured in this shooting, we ask that God stay close to their families and loved ones,” the archbishop said in a statement released Sunday. “We pray for the wounded to be healed, and we ask that God give strength and guidance to the doctors and nurses who are caring for them.” Ten people were killed and at least 10 more were wounded after a gunman opened fire late Saturday night at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park. Twenty minutes after the shooting, the 72-year-old suspect entered another nearby dance studio but was disarmed by two community members, the Los Angeles Times reported. The suspect then fled in a white cargo van. The shooting, one of the worst in Los Angeles County history, took place in the midst of a two-day Lunar New Year festival that attracted tens of thousands of participants to what is considered a core of the Southern California Chinese community, according to the Times. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253430/los-angeles-archbishop-prays-for-peace-in-our-hearts-after-shooting-at-dance-studio The parliament of Pakistan moved this week to tighten its already far-reaching blasphemy laws, under which numerous Christians and other minorities have been prosecuted and subjected to mob violence, often for dubious charges of blasphemy against beliefs or figures associated with Islam. Insulting the Prophet Muhammad is already, at least on paper, a capital offense in Pakistan. Under the newest legal changes, those convicted of insulting the Prophet Muhammad’s wives, companions, or close relatives will now face 10 years in prison, a sentence that can be extended to life, along with a fine of 1 m