A CNN report monitored by vigil 360 revealed that Pope Francis issued a strong defense of immigration in his Christmas Eve mass Sunday, saying faith demands foreigners be welcomed, even as support for far-right parties has risen in Europe. Mary and Joseph, he said, were immigrants, who struggled to find a safe place to stay in Bethlehem.

A United States Roman Catholic Cardinal, Cardinal Bernard Law, who was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston in 2002 over sex abuse scandals, has died at the age of 86 in Rome. Cardinal Law was accused of moving paedophile priests from parishes rather than confront accusations or administering sanctions to priests found guilty of the allegations. The Cardinal after leaving Boston took a post at the Vatican where he worked until 2011.

Austria’s new coalition government, which includes that far-right Freedom Party, has been sworn in on Monday, a spokesman of the Interior Ministry said. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen presided over the ceremony at Vienna’s Hofburh Palace. Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s 31-year-old migration hardliner and former foreign minister, was sworn in as chancellor on Monday, heading a coalition with right-wing populists that has stoked fears of an anti-EU shift in national policy.

Cuban President Raul Castro will step down in April 2018 straight after his successor is chosen by a top governing council, according to a vote Thursday in the nation’s National Assembly. The Cuban lawmakers voted to postpone the date for general elections, which were initially to be held at the end of February. The delay was necessary due to the disruption caused by Hurricane Irma, which ravaged much of Cuba in September.

The French lower house of parliament has approved a law that provides for the gradual abandonment of the exploration and production of oil, gas and coal by 2040, the French Ecology Ministry said in a communiqué. French Ecology Minister, Nicolas Hulot, said that: “this law links the legislation with the obligations taken within the Paris climate accord.” By 2040, French authorities are expected to not only refuse to issue new licenses for the exploration and production of hydrocarbon fields but also to limit the extension of old licenses.

A train and a school bus have collided near Perpignan in southern France, leaving at least four children dead and many other people injured. Twenty people were injured and 10 of them were in a critical condition, after the crash on a level crossing between Millas and Saint-Féliu-d’Amont.