January 5, 2016. Father Azziz Dhiya, who is a pastor in Yacoubieh, has been released. He was missing since December 23rd when he returned to his parish to preside Syrian Christmas celebrations. The Custody of the Holy Land said in a statement that they can not give more details of his release and give thanks to those who have contributed to the rescue. Father Dhiya was also abducted in July 2015 and later released on around the same timeframe.

December 22, 2015. Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Msgr.Félix Lázaro Martínez as Bishop of Ponce (Puerto Rico). Msgr. Rubén Antonio González Medina will take his place. He has also appointed Gerard County as bishop of Kingstown (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). In Canada, Claude Hamelin has been named Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil.

December 21, 2015. PopeFrancis has appointed Dr. Greg Burke to be Vice Director of the HolySee Press Office, beginning February 1. It is considered the numbertwo position in the Vaticans press relations structure. The Pope hasalso appointed Stefano D’Agostini Director of the VaticanTelevision Center.

December18, 2015. The Vatican announced today that the death of Msgr. JozefWesolowski, a former Holy See diplomat who was accused of sexuallyabusing minors, "was ascribable to natural causes (acute myocardial infarction), excluding other exogenous causes.”

December 7, 2015 The Vatileaks II trial resumed Monday. The defense team for Francesca Chaouqui asked a series of people to testify, including two cardinals: Pietro Parolin and Santos Abril y Castelló. They claim that their testimonies would show that the accused always acted to safeguard the interests of the Pope. The court then said that those witnesses would be called. It also agreed to include a psychiatric expert that Vallejo Balda had seen in recent months. Its unclear when the next session will take place.

December 7, 2015.The Vatican, through a statement, explained that their legal systemensures due process for the accused. The Vatican said in a statementthat "the current Vatican legislation, applied by the legalauthorities, is perfectly in line with procedural law in the majorityof jurisdictions throughout the world.” A spokesman furtherexplained that it is necessary that the accuseds lawyers are expertsin their specific code, the Canon Law. As a foreign lawyer cannotalways defend an accused in another country, an Italian lawyer is notautomatically qualified to defend an accused by the Vaticanprocedural code.