Catholic News

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, a leading theologian of the 20th century and the first pope to resign from office in nearly 600 years, has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced.

His death was announced in Rome on Dec. 31. His funeral Mass will be held on Jan. 5, 2023, in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican said.

The Vatican press office director, Matteo Bruni, said Dec. 31: “With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.”

Benedict XVI’s body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica beginning on Jan. 2, 2023.

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Pope Emeritus Benedict the sixteenth’s medical condition is serious but stable, the Vatican said on Thursday. Pope Francis, at the end of his general audience on December 28, asked for prayers for a “very ill” Benedict, who, “in silence, is sustaining the Church.” The Vatican confirmed later the same day that Benedict was under medical care following a sudden decline in his health. Stay tuned to Catholic News Agency dot com for the latest on Pope Benedict’s condition.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253176/vatican-benedict-xvi-s-condition-serious-but-stable

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253169/vatican-shares-prayer-for-benedict-xvi-s-health

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Thomas Becket, a twelfth century English bishop who was famously martyred in his church by the knights of Henry II.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-thomas-becket-99

Thank you for listening. This daily news briefing will return on Thursday, December 29. In the meantime, visit www.catholicnewsagency.com for the latest news. Christ is born! Merry Christmas from your friends at Catholic News.

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Pope Francis has urged Catholics not to forget the many children in Ukraine this Christmas who are suffering without electricity and heating amid the war. Speaking near a large nativity scene in Paul VI Hall on December 21, the pope recalled an encounter that he had with Ukrainian war refugees in which the children seemed unable to smile. “On this feast of God becoming a child, let us think of Ukrainian children. … These children bear the tragedy of that war which is so inhuman, so harsh,” he said. “Let us think of the Ukrainian people this Christmas, without electricity, without heating, without the main things necessary to survive, and let us pray to the Lord to bring them peace as soon as possible.” In his last general audience before Christmas, Pope Francis said, “Jesus reveals a God who is full of compassion and tenderness.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253130/pope-francis-let-us-think-of-the-ukrainian-children-without-heat-this-christmas

Rhoda Jatau, a Christian and mother of five, was charged with blasphemy in a Nigerian court yesterday for forwarding a video defending a lynched Christian student. Jatau was arrested after forwarding a video of a Muslim denouncing the mob killing of Nigerian Christian college student Deborah Yakubu. During her arraignment on Monday, Jatau was officially charged with blasphemy, inciting a mob, and exciting contempt of religious creed. She is being tried in the northeast Nigerian state of Bauchi’s high court. Bauchi practices a form of Sharia law, under which blasphemy is a crime punishable by execution. Jatau, a 45-year-old medical worker, was arrested by Nigerian authorities on May 20 and has been held without the ability to communicate and without a trial for over six months, which is against both Nigerian and international law, according to religious rights advocates.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253128/nigerian-mother-charged-with-blasphemy-for-defending-murdered-christian

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Peter Canisius, an important figure in the Catholic counter-reformation that responded to the 16th century spread of Protestantism, a Jesuit priest, and Doctor of the Church. His efforts as a preacher, author, and religious educator strengthened the Catholic faith in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and parts of Central Europe during a period of doctrinal confusion.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-peter-canisius-91

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The Vatican investigator who uncovered allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse by Jesuit artist Father Marko Ivan Rupnik says the claims are true, according to a letter he sent to Italian priests obtained by the Associated Press. Bishop Daniele Libanari also said the women Rupnik is alleged to have abused have “seen their lives ruined by the evil suffered and by the complicit silence” of the Church, the AP reported Monday. He urged the members of the hierarchy who hid his crimes to “humbly ask the world to forgive the scandal.” Libanori’s letter comes on the heels of revelations in the past week that Rupnik, a Slovenian priest well-known for his mosaics that adorn chapels and churches around the world, had been excommunicated for abusing the sacrament of confession. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sexual abuse cases, declared the excommunication in May 2020 but lifted it that same month, reportedly after Rupnik repented. The Jesuits, meanwhile, are asking any other potential victims to come forward with claims, the AP reported. Stay tuned to Catholic News Agency dot com for updates to this story.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253118/report-vatican-investigator-says-father-rupnik-and-hierarchy-s-complicit-silence-ruined-victims-lives

Pope Francis has appointed Monsignor Juan Esposito-Garcia and Father Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Washington. As auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Washington, Esposito and Menjivar will assist Cardinal Wilton Gregory in the episcopal duties of the archdiocese while holding the full rank of bishops themselves. Originally from Chalatenango, El Salvador, Menjivar, 52, came to the US as a teenager to flee violence. He attended Saint John Vianney College Seminary in Miami and the Pontifical North American College in Rome and was ordained to the diocesan priesthood in 2004. He has served as the pastor at Saint Mary’s parish in Landover Hills, Maryland, since 2017. He is fluent in three languages: Spanish, English, and Italian. Esposito, 48, was ordained a diocesan priest in 2008 and has served in the Dicastery for Bishops in Vatican City since 2018. Born in San Luis, Argentina, Esposito is also fluent in Spanish, English, and Italian. He attended seminary and earned an undergraduate degree in Argentina. After immigrating to the US, Esposito earned a master’s of divinity and a master’s of arts degree in moral theology from Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Maryland, and a licentiate and doctorate in canon law from The Catholic University of America. As a canon lawyer, Esposito’s previous assignments include being a judge on the archdiocesan Metropolitan Tribunal as well as the judicial vicar for the archdiocese.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253114/pope-appoints-two-new-auxiliary-bishops-to-archdiocese-of-washington

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Dominic of Silos, a Spanish monk who in the eleventh century renewed the spirit of the monastery of San Sebastian in Silos, reforming its structure, its finances, and its works of charity. Dominic was known for miracles of healing, which he obtained through prayer, and for his work of ransoming Christian prisoners from the moors.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-dominic-of-silos-90

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Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, has been dismissed from the priesthood by the Vatican. In a statement addressed to Church leaders and posted on his organization’s website Saturday, Pavone vowed to continue his ministry despite his dismissal from the clerical state. Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, wrote in a letter on December 13 that Pavone had been dismissed from the clerical state for “blasphemous communications on social media” and “persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop.” Pavone contends that he was not properly informed of the Vatican’s decision, and has vowed to take legal action and make a direct appeal to his supporters. An outspoken supporter of former president Donald Trump, Pavone served on official Trump campaign outreach positions in 2016 and was originally a co-chair of Trump’s 2020 pro-life coalition as well as an advisory board member of Catholics for Trump. Canon law forbids clerics from having an active role in political parties unless they receive the permission of their bishop. Pavone hosted the show “Defending Life” on EWTN for many years until the bishop of Amarillo, Texas, revoked Pavone’s permission to appear on the network

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253110/frank-pavone-cancels-mass-after-vatican-dismisses-him-from-priesthood

Pope Francis celebrated his 86th birthday on Saturday with the Missionaries of Charity, honoring three people who care for “the poorest of the poor” with the Mother Teresa Award. On December 17, the pope presented Gian Piero, Father Hanna Jallouf, and Silvano Pedrollo with the award and a message of gratitude. On his birthday, Pope Francis prayed for the intercession of St. Teresa of Calcutta, whom he canonized as a saint in 2016. “May Mother Teresa help us from heaven to live poverty with simplicity and prayer, so that we can help others,” he said.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253103/pope-francis-honors-people-who-care-for-poorest-of-the-poor-on-his-86th-birthday

The diocesan phase of the beatification processes of 140 priests and laymen murdered in Spain during the religious persecution of the 1930s was concluded today. Among the candidates is the priest who hid the body of Saint Isidore so that it would not be desecrated. There are three causes for beatification: one covering 61 diocesan priests from Madrid, another for 71 laypeople, and a third for eight members of the Catholic Association of Propagandists, all of whom were murdered during the religious genocide unleashed during the Second Spanish Republic and civil war. The religious persecution of those years “was the bloodiest suffered by the Church in our country, although not the greatest in history; yes, perhaps the most intense,” according to an auxiliary bishop of Madrid, Juan Antonio Martínez Camino. These causes are promoted by the Archdiocese of Madrid, the Diocese of Getafe, the Catholic Association of Propagandists, Catholic Action of Madrid, and Catholic Action of Getafe.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253100/another-140-spanish-laymen-priests-martyred-for-their-faith-considered-for-beatification

Today, the Church celebrates Blessed Pope Urban V. he is perhaps best known for his decision to return the papacy to Rome and end the Avignon exile of the popes.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-pope-urban-v-89

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Pope Francis has decided to give the Greek Orthodox archbishop of Athens three fragments of Parthenon sculptures that have been kept in the Vatican Museums for centuries.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253091/pope-francis-gives-greek-orthodox-archbishop-fragments-of-parthenon-sculptures-from-vatican-museums

After a five-day journey meeting with Church hierarchy and government officials in Poland and Ukraine, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly of the Knights of Columbus said American Catholics must continue to stand in solidarity with the suffering Ukrainian people this winter. Kelly emphasized that Ukraine is headed toward a difficult trial with the coming winter cold, as the country is already suffering from major power outages nationwide, something that he experienced himself when visiting the war-torn nation. Knights of Columbus Charity Convoys have produced and delivered more than 100,000 care packages from Poland to people in need in Ukraine. Thirty-five thousand more care packages of all kinds of food are currently being prepared. More aid from the Knights is provided by its Ukraine Solidarity Fund, which has now raised nearly $20 million. The fund supports humanitarian relief for those affected by the war.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253086/kofc-supreme-knight-to-american-catholics-remember-our-brothers-and-sisters-in-christ-in-ukraine-this-winter

In testimony to a U.S. congressional human rights commission, two prominent human rights experts decried the ongoing repression of the Catholic Church by Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and urged additional action by the U.S. to oppose Ortega’s regime. Ortega’s government has in recent years detained, imprisoned, and likely tortured numerous Catholic leaders, including at least one bishop and several priests. His government has also taken action to repress Catholic radio and television stations, and driven Catholic religious orders, including the Missionaries of Charity, from the country. The regime also expelled Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, the former apostolic nuncio in Nicaragua, from the country, a move the Vatican called “incomprehensible.” The experts speaking Dec. 15 to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) called on Pope Francis to explicitly condemn Ortega’s actions. In August, Pope Francis called for “peaceful coexistence” between people and institutions in Nicaragua, drawing ire from Ortega.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253088/us-vatican-urged-to-counter-nicaraguan-regime-in-congressional-testimony

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Adelaide, wife of King Otho the Great of Germany, In the tenth century, she used her power as the effective empress to increase evangelization efforts, especially in northern Europe, and built many monasteries and churches, and also gave much aid the poor.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-adelaide-86

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The Jesuit Superior General, Father Arturo Sosa, has confirmed that Jesuit artist Father Marko Rupnik incurred an automatic excommunication in 2019 for abusing the sacrament of confession, a fact his religious order was aware of but did not disclose until now. Rupnik is a world-renowned artist whose works include projects in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, the Knights of Columbus' National Shrine to John Paul II in Washington, DC, the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de Almudena in Madrid, and the Fatima Shrine. Abusing the sacrament of confession in the manner that Rupnik did is one of the most serious crimes in the Catholic Church. Rupnik, 68, is also alleged to have sexually abused members of a women’s institute of religious life in Ljubljana, Slovenia, while serving as the chaplain there in the early 1990s

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253079/jesuit-superior-says-that-fr-marko-rupnik-was-excommunicated-in-2019

Four statues at Saint Joseph Parish in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, were vandalized overnight between December 10 and December 11, and police are asking for help identifying a suspect caught on camera. Father Stephen Leva, the pastor of the church, said in an online post December 11 that the four statues affected were of Saint Anthony, Saint Joseph, Our Lady of Lourdes, and the Holy Family. The Downingtown Police Department asked for the public’s assistance Tuesday in identifying the perpetrator who was caught on camera. Those photos of the perpetrator can be seen on the department's Facebook page. The church is the second largest parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia with more than 5,000 families, according to the parish’s website.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253080/suspect-caught-on-camera-vandalizing-pa-catholic-church

Cardinal Joseph Zen has filed an appeal with Hong Kong’s High Court following his conviction last month for failing to register a fund that helped pay for the legal fees and medical treatments of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters. The Hong Kong Free Press reported on December 14 that the 90-year-old cardinal and former bishop of Hong Kong filed an appeal of the verdict this week together with four other trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund who were fined about 500 US dollars each. Zen’s trial from September to November focused on whether it was necessary for the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund trustees to apply for local society registration between 2019 and 2021.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253073/cardinal-zen-appeals-conviction-in-hong-kong-court

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Virginia Centurione Bracelli. She founded a refuge center in Genoa in 1625, which soon became overrun with the needy, and she rented an empty convent in 1631 where she cared for the sick with the help of other women, and she instructed the women in the faith in addition to their work. She constructed a church dedicated to Our Lady of Refuge, and soon the women who worked with her in the hospital were formed into two congregations: the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge in Mount Calvary, and the Daughters of Our Lady on Mount Calvary. Victoria retired from the administration of the orders, and performed manual labor and begged for alms, but was called back to administrative duties soon after. She was canonized by Pope Saint John Paul II on May 18, 2003.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-virginia-centurione-bracelli-85

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Yesterday, December 13, marked Pope Francis’ fifty third anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. Happy anniversary, Pope Francis.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253064/pope-francis-celebrates-53-years-as-a-priest

The pope is inviting everyone to have “a more humble Christmas” this year. At the end of his weekly general audience on December 14, the pope asked people to consider spending less on gifts and parties in order to help the people of Ukraine. “It is good to celebrate Christmas, to have parties — but let’s lower the level of Christmas spending,” he encouraged. “Let’s send what we save to the Ukrainian people, who are in need, suffering so much; they go hungry, they feel the cold, and so many die because there are no doctors, nurses at hand." “Let’s have a more humble Christmas, with more humble gifts,” he said. He said the ongoing war in Ukraine does not mean we should forget about celebrating Christmas altogether, but we should do so “with Ukrainians in our hearts.” Pope Francis encouraged everyone to increase their spiritual preparation as Christmas quickly approaches.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253071/this-is-why-pope-francis-wants-you-to-spend-less-money-this-christmas

President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA) into law Tuesday during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. The bill repeals the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and recognizes same-sex marriages on a federal level. The bill has drawn criticism from Catholic leaders for not providing strong enough protections for those who believe marriage is between one man and one woman — a belief in line with Church teaching. While it would not require any state to allow same-sex couples to marry, the RFMA would require states to recognize any and all marriages — regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin” — performed in other states. In his remarks, Biden, a Catholic, noted that he had expressed support for same-sex marriage in 2012. Biden’s signature comes after the U.S. House of Representatives voted 258-169 to pass the RFMA on December 8.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253069/biden-signs-same-sex-marriage-bill-into-law-amid-catholic-bishops-concerns

Canadian food bank clients and disabled retirees facing financial insecurity are now considering doctor-assisted suicide to avoid living in poverty, several sources have reported. In 2021, over 10,000 Canadians died by euthanasia, also called medical aid in dying or doctor-assisted suicide. This is 10 times the number who died by euthanasia in 2016, when the procedure was first legalized. Canadian law allows people with nonterminal illnesses to seek assisted suicide, provided their medical condition is “grievous and irremediable.” The law requires two doctors to assess and approve assisted suicide requests. Archbishop J Michael Miller of Vancouver has called the country’s assisted suicide law “depraved.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253067/hungry-poor-and-disabled-canadians-seeking-assisted-suicide

The highest-ranking woman in the general secretariat of the Synod of Bishops has said that the ordination of women as Catholic priests is “not an open question” at this time.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253063/synod-on-synodality-official-women-priests-not-an-open-question-for-the-church

Today, the Church celebrates Saint John of the Cross, a 16th century Carmelite priest best known for reforming his order together with Saint Teresa of Avila, and for writing the classic spiritual treatise “The Dark Night of the Soul.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-of-the-cross-84

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Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis presided December 10 at the solemn ceremony of beatification for Isabel Cristina Mrad Campos, a young martyr known as “the Maria Goretti of Brazil.” The Archdiocese of Mariana in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais reported the Mass was held at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Barbacena before thousands of faithful present. The newly beatified Brazilian was 20 years old when she was brutally murdered in 1982 by a man who unsuccessfully tried to rape her, as also happened with Saint Maria Goretti, the Italian girl who died defending her virtue and who before dying forgave her murderer. Isabel’s tomb is located in Barbacena, where she was beatified. She also was baptized and received her first Communion there. The church is now a place of pilgrimage for many faithful in Brazil, who pray before her remains asking for her intercession.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253059/young-martyr-known-as-the-maria-goretti-of-brazil-beatified

The EWTN Global Catholic Network on Monday night presented the 2022 Mother Angelica Award to former NFL star and coach Danny Abramowicz in honor of his lifetime of service to the new evangelization. While the world remembers the former New Orleans Saint wide receiver as a football legend, the award was given to him for his work evangelizing young men aged 25 to 40. Abramowicz’s effort started with a small prayer group decades ago and eventually led him to create a widely-known national men’s ministry with men’s conferences, speaking, and other evangelization efforts, including the popular EWTN television series “Crossing the Goal.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253058/ewtn-honors-former-nfl-star-danny-abramowicz-with-2022-mother-angelica-award

An independent review board in the Archdiocese of Chicago has said there is “no reason to suspect” Father Michael Pfleger is guilty of allegations that he sexually abused a minor more than 30 years ago, Cardinal Blase Cupich announced Saturday. Pfleger, a famous Chicago priest known for his social justice activism, has now been exonerated on four different sexual abuse allegations brought against him since 2021. Pfleger has consistently denied each of the allegations. In the archdiocese’s October announcement about the allegations against Pfleger, it said that the allegation was reported to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and law enforcement officials, per diocesan policy.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253056/chicago-s-father-michael-pfleger-reinstated-to-ministry

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Lucy, a third century consecrated virgin who was brutally tortured and martyred by the local governor. Owing to a miracle related to her eyes, she is the patroness of the blind, eye trouble, and other eye ailments.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-lucy-83