1. Five Years Ago, ISIS Executed 21 Christians on a Beach in Libya

2. Pastor among 2 dozen killed after gunmen storm church service in Burkina Faso

3. In the New York Times:

A humanitarian calamity is unfolding on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey, where some 900,000 people are fleeing an assault. Most are living out in the cold. At least 12 children have died of exposure.

At the Turkish border with Syria, tales of the desperation unfolding on the other side, where some 900,000 people are fleeing a Syrian assault.

4. China Expels Three Wall Street Journal Reporters: China’s Foreign Ministry says move was punishment for a recent opinion piece published by the Journal

5.

Today I presented His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex with fragments salvaged from an ancient bible which had been burned by ISIS. This is what #Kurdistan stands for: united in protecting our tradition of tolerance between different faiths from those who try to drive us apart. pic.twitter.com/HU96ffXwmN — Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) February 19, 2020

6. The Lonesome Death of Thomas Valva



7. Opioid epidemic pushes Ohio to the brink of foster care crisis

8. Admitting Your Child to a Mental Health Hospital

9. The actor Orson Bean has died. He’s the father of Susie Bean Breitbart and father-in-law of the late Andrew Breitbart. He was always just a peaceful and joyful presence whenever I was around him. Prayers for all who love him, especially Susie, who has been a friend to many of us over the years.

Here, Terry Mattingly points to his faith.

10. Judge James Buckley deserves the Medal of Freedom for a lifetime of public service

11. The librarian of Baghdad, rebuilding Iraq’s rich history one book at a time

12. After 500 years, Raphael’s tapestries return to the Sistine Chapel

PLUS: An upcoming Lent event in NYC involving A Year with the Mystics and one of my favorite contemporary writers on spirituality, Fr. Donald Haggerty