Catholic News

  • We are not condemned to exclusion and inequality, Pope tells popular movements (Vatican Press Office)
    The Pope’s address to the 4th World Meeting of Popular Movements is significant for several reasons: his impassioned pleas, issued “in the name of God”—including pleas to pharmaceutical companies to release Covid vaccine patents, to financial groups to cancel debts to poor nations, and to extractive industries to stop polluting his statement that the principles he mentions are rooted in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (2001) his criticism of “indifference, meritocracy and individualism” on the one hand, and “any authoritarian mindset, any forced collectivism or any state-centric mindset” on the other: “the common good cannot be used as an excuse to quash private initiative, local identity or community projects” his reference to “the protests over the death of George Floyd”: “it is clear that this type of reaction against social, racial or macho injustice can be manipulated or exploited by political machinations or whatever, but the main thing is that, in that protest against this death, there was the Collective Samaritan who is no fool! This movement did not pass by on the other side of the road when it saw the injury to human dignity caused by an abuse of power” his call for serious consideration of “a basic income (the UBI) or salary so that everyone in the world may have access to the most basic necessities of life. It is right to fight for a humane distribution of these resources, and it is up to governments to establish tax and redistribution schemes so that the wealth of one part of society is shared fairly, but without imposing an unbearable burden, especially upon the middle class” his call for serious consideration of a shorter workday: “working fewer hours so that more people can have access to the labor market is something we need to explore with some urgency”
  • 'The disciples want to rise up, and Jesus wants to immerse Himself,' Pope tells pilgrims (Vatican Press Office)
    “And let us pray to the Madonna: she—even though she was the greatest—did not seek to rise up, but was the humble servant of the Lord, and is completely immersed in our service to help us encounter Jesus,” Pope Francis said at the conclusion of his October 17 Sunday Angelus address Sunday Angelus address (video), in which he reflected on Mark 10:35-45, the Gospel of the day.
  • 17 Christian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti (Washington Examiner)
    A group of 17 Christian missionaries from the US and Canada were seized by an armed gang in Haiti on October 16, as they were traveling home from work at an orphanage. The kidnapping victims were representatives of Christian Aid Ministries; they were reportedly taken captive by members of a gang that has targeted religious groups.
  • Patients come first, Pope reminds biomedical researchers (Vatican Press Office)
    “The patient comes before the illness,” Pope Francis reminded members of the Biomedical University Foundation during an October 18 audience. The Pontiff thanked the group for “promoting the human development of research,” with a focus on care for the person, as a time when others “pursue the profitable paths of profit.”
  • UK police prevented priest from giving last rites to murdered MP (Business Insider)
    Sir David Arness, a pro-life Catholic lawmaker, was killed on October 15. Police prevented a priest from giving Arness last rites “per crime scene management rules,” according to the report.
  • Los Angeles removes St. Junípero Serra's name from park (Fox News)
    Father Serra Park is temporarily being renamed La Plaza Park until a new name is decided on. Mayor Eric Garcetti said that an “indigenous cultural easement” would be created “to give local indigenous communities priority access to the park for practice of traditional ceremonies.”
  • 127 martyrs beatified in Córdoba (YouTube (Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba))
    Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, was the principal celebrant of the Mass of beatification on October 16.“The priest, Juan Elías Medina, and 126 companion martyrs – priests, religious, seminarians and lay people – were killed in hatred of the faith during the violent religious persecution of the 1930s in Spain,” Pope Francis said the following day. “May their fidelity grant us all strength, especially persecuted Christians in various parts of the world, the strength to witness to the Gospel courageously.”
  • Sicilian archdiocese imposes moratorium on godparents (New York Times)
    The Archdiocese of Moratorium has imposed a three-year moratorium because “the once-sacred role has become secularized and merely a way for parents to network and secure connections with local power brokers, including the mafia,” according to a summary of the report.The Code of Canon Law addresses baptismal sponsors in Canons 872-874.
  • Pope tells new bishops to serve, not rule (Vatican News)
    As he ordained two new bishops on October 17, Pope Francis reflected that “episcopacy is the name of a service, not of an honor, since the bishop must strive to serve rather than to role.” The Pontiff charged the two newly consecrated bishops—Bishop Guido Marini of Tortona and Bishop Andres Gabriel Ferrada Moreira, secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy—to “be the custodians of faith, of service, of charity in the Church.” Rumors had circulated around Rome that Pope Francis might announce a consistory for the creation of new cardinals on the same day. The rumors proved inaccurate.
  • Myanmar's military strikes 2 churches (AsiaNews)
    According to the report, Myanmar’s military destroyed a Baptist church in Chin State (map) and shelled a Catholic church in Kayah State (map).Buddhism is the official religion of the Southeast Asian nation of 56.6 million (map); the nation is 77% Buddhist, 8% ethnic religionist, 8% Christian, and 4% Muslim.
  • Private papal visit to Assisi announced (Vatican News)
    The Pontiff’s fifth visit to Assisi will take place next month. During the private visit, Pope Francis “will share moments of listening and prayer with about 500 people from all over Europe in preparation for the World Day of the Poor on 14 November,” Vatican News reported. (The Pope established the World Day of the Poor in 2016.)
  • Catholic, Muslim dignitaries in Bosnia call for tensions to be defused (Euractiv)
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Balkan nation of 3.8 million (map), is 48% Muslim, 37% Orthodox, and 12% Catholic.
  • Mystery fire destroys old church in Australia (NCA News Wire)
    Old St. Patrick’s Church is located in Nimbin, a coastal village of 1,500 in New South Wales (map).
  • French prime minister meets Pope amid furor on abuse, confessional seal (Agence France-Presse)
    Pope Francis met on October 18 with Prime Minister Jean Castex of France. The meeting came as a heated controversy continues in France over the publication of a scalding report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, and a subsequent debate about the secrecy of sacramental confession.
  • Cardinal Gregory pours praise on America's embattled press (Get Religion)
    “You are the professionals with just the right words, who immerse yourselves in a community, a situation or even a crisis – to bring us the facts, the people and the takeaways that can help us work toward living in true peace and equality for all, without the threat of violence or harm,” Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington said recently at the National Press Club. “It is you, the modern-day American journalist who amplifies community voices speaking out against injustice and inequality who are asking for needed change in our systems and long-held prejudices. It is the powerful impact of your multimedia images and carefully written words that help us connect with the world’s citizens fighting for the exact same hopes and dignities.”
  • Nebraska priest charged with siphoning funds from colleague with dementia (KETV)
    The former chancellor of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, faces felony charges for alleged theft and abuse of a vulnerable adult. Father Michael Gutgsell allegedly took over $150,000 from the savings of another priest who suffered from dementia. The accused priest says that he had exhausted his own savings by giving funds to a homeless man, who had promised to repay him.
  • Study predicts 30% of US churches will close (Washington Times)
    A new study by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research predicts that within the next two decades, about 30% of the religious congregations in the US will disappear, as smaller churches close. The study, based on a survey of over 15,000 congregations, includes local communities of all religious groups: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths.
  • US nuncio says he'll stay on, confirms Pope-Biden meeting at end of month (CNS)
    Archbishop Christophe Pierre, 75, who was appointed apostolic nuncio to the United States in April 2016, said that Pope Francis has asked him to stay in his position beyond the customary five-year term and retirement age.Warning against polarization and “cultural war” and praising synodality, he confirmed indirectly that President Biden and Pope Francis will meet when the president visits Rome later this month, despite the “tense situation because of the agenda of the Democratic Party on abortion.”“The Pope is not a dictator, he is a mobilizer,” the nuncio added. “What he wants is to help the Church be Church here (in the US).”Asked why a portrait of his predecessor, papal critic Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, remains in the nunciature, Archbishop Pierre said, “Because we are not Americans (who) want to take away the statues. We respect history.”
  • Biden to meet Pope October 29: confirmed (Reuters)
    Pope Francis will meet with US President Joe Biden at the Vatican on October 29, the White House has confirmed. Biden will be in Rome for a G20 meeting. He is also scheduled to attend the UN’s climate-change meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, after his visit to Rome. Pope Francis had been hoping to attend that meeting if his health allowed it, but apparently will not make the trip.
  • Leading French bishop discusses confessional seal with nation's interior minister (CNA)
    Commenting on French law on the mandatory reporting of the sexual abuse of children, Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French bishops’ conference, told a reporter that “the seal of confession imposes itself on us, and in this, it is stronger than the laws of the Republic.”“I told him what I say to all religions: there is no law that is superior to the laws of the National Assembly and the Senate,” said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who summoned the prelate to a meeting. “The French Republic respects all religions from the moment they respect the Republic and the laws of the Republic.”“Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort was able to discuss with Gérald Darmanin the clumsy wording” of his remark, the bishops’ conference said in a statement following the meeting. “The state has the task of organizing social life and regulating public order. For us Christians, faith appeals to the conscience of each person, it calls to seek the good without respite, which cannot be done without respecting the laws of the country.”The conference’s statement led Reuters to report, “France’s top bishop acknowledges that law takes precedence over confession secrecy.”
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