Pope Benedict Dec. 12 named two new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Quebec: Servite Father Gaetan Proulx, 64, and Father Denis Grondin Jr., 57.

The Cuban bishops announced that 2012 would be a Marian jubilee year and that Pope Benedict would come to Cuba as a "pilgrim of La Caridad," the popular name for the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, the country's patroness.

The introduction of the English translation of the Roman Missal topped the religious news stories of 2011, and Pope Benedict was again the top newsmaker, according to the annual poll conducted by Catholic News Service.

Following the Gospel is not adhering to a doctrine or code of ethics but entails truly following the person of Christ in one's life, Pope Benedict said.

Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega has been named archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico, replacing Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, 78, whose resignation was accepted by the Vatican.

The dignity of the human person is "a primary doctrine" of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York told an audience at the University of Notre Dame.

With help from the Knights of Columbus, the only papal tomb transferred from the old to the new St. Peter's Basilica has been restored.

Catholic News Service announced that Francis Rocca will join its staff as the new chief of the CNS Rome bureau.

A woman walks past carcasses of cattle in the drought-stricken Eladow area in Wajir, northeastern Kenya, Aug. 4.

It is curious that Bishop Murray Chatlain chose to devote so much of his catechesis at Nothing More Beautiful Dec. 9 to silence. After all, he was talking about Scripture, which is a veritable bounty of words. Despite that, for the bishop from the North, "In my experience, God is not chatty."

God may not be chatty, but Western society surely is. We assume that the more words we pile up, the more we contribute. The more we make our views known in conversation, the more others are convinced by our point of view. Our words increase our power the more we broadcast them. However, when there are too many words, we may not hear any of them.