Catholic News

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Pope emeritus Benedict the Sixteenth has personally requested forgiveness, from survivors of clerical sex abuse. Benedict released a letter today, responding to a report that faulted his handling of cases while he was archbishop of Munich. Benedict also defended himself, saying he was not aware of sexual abuse, or suspicion of sexual abuse, committed by priests in any of the cases mentioned in the report.

A Catholic priest in Phoenix has apologized and resigned as pastor of a parish, after it was determined that he failed to baptize validly over his two decades of priestly service. The priest had been baptizing people using an invalid formula. He had served as a priest in Brazil, the Diocese of San Diego and the Diocese of Phoenix.

Human trafficking is an open injury on the body of Christ. Those were the words of Pope Francis today, in a video message for the International Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking. The pope condemned the trafficking of laborers, and sex trafficking.

Today is the feast of Saint Josephine Bakhita. Josephine was a religious sister who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Sudan.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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Pope Francis gave his first interview to a television talk show Sunday night, asking viewers who do not pray to send him “good thoughts, good vibes.” Speaking with Italy’s most popular prime-time talk show, Che Tempo Che Fa, the pope said that he needed prayers and closeness right now. During the interview, the pope made a heartfelt plea to end the production and sale of weapons.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250312/pope-francis-makes-first-tv-talk-show-appearance

Statistics from the National Catholic Educational Association show that enrollment numbers at Catholic schools across the United States are rebounding, after a difficult 2020-2021 school year. Overall, enrollment in Catholic schools in the U.S. is up from 1.63 million last year to 1.69 million this year, an increase of more than 3.5%. Despite the increase, enrollment numbers do not appear to have yet reached 2019 levels, which saw 1.74 million students enrolled.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250302/catholic-school-enrollment-numbers-rebounding-in-some-of-the-largest-dioceses-and-the-us-overall

The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, concluded a five-day visit to Lebanon on Friday, marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and the Holy See. The week included meetings with political authorities, Christians, and victims of the Aug. 4, 2020 port explosion. Archbishop Gallagherreportedly told politicians to “stop using Lebanon and the Middle East for outside interest and profit.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250306/vatican-foreign-minister-visits-lebanon-still-suffering-from-financial-and-political-crises

Today, the Church honors St. Richard, an English saint who rejected an inheritance and instead chose to live an ascetic lifestyle.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-richard-140

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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A Tennessee law restricting abortions on the basis of sex, race, or prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome is back in effect. But legal challenges against the law continue to play out in court. The 6th U-S Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the law last September. This week, the same court allowed the law to go back into effect. The court last year allowed a similar ban in Ohio to remain in effect.

Catholics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are praying a novena for a young priest who was murdered in the country this week. The 36-year-old priest was assassinated by armed men while driving to his parish. He had just offered Mass .

The pope has appointed a new archbishop of Glasgow. Bishop William Nolan is a longtime bishop from southwest Scotland. He also leads the Scottish bishops’ commission for justice and peace. The previous archbishop of Glasgow died suddenly last year, two days after his 70th birthday.

Today is the feast of the Franciscan Saint, Joseph of Lenissa.

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Pope Francis prayed for the Burmese people, and for the success of the Winter Olympics, during his general audience yesterday in Rome. Burma is home to a small Catholic population, but Catholics have played a large role in protests since a military coup last year. The Winter Olympics begin today.

A shouting man was physically removed from the pope’s general audience yesterday. The man was reportedly shouting about masks in churches. At the end of his catechesis, Pope Francis asked for prayers for the man.

The cause for sainthood has advanced, for a Pakistani man who helped prevent a suicide bombing, at a Catholic church in the country in 2015. The 20-year-old physically blocked a suicide bomber who attempted to enter a Catholic church. His actions saved more than 1,000 Catholics inside from a direct blast.

Today is the feast of the bishop and martyr, Saint Blaise.

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The pope will meet with a delegation of indigenous leaders from Canada in March. The visit was originally planned for December, but it was rescheduled after a surge in coronavirus cases. The visit comes almost a year after the discovery of what may be unmarked graves at former residential schools. Canada’s residential school system operated from the 1870s until 1996. The Catholic Church, or Catholic religious orders, ran more than two-thirds of these schools.

The bishop of Las Vegas has asked all Catholic politicians who do not agree with Church teaching on abortion, not to present themselves for Holy Communion. The statement was in response to a recent pro-abortion column, written by a Catholic politician. Bishop George Thomas said he welcomes a private conversation with any Catholic politician who considers themselves to be pro-abortion.

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The feast commemorates Jesus’ first appearance in the Temple.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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Advocates of the traditional Latin Mass are petitioning the bishop of Arlington Virginia to lift restrictions on the sacraments in the Extraordinary Form. A petition was reportedly brought to the bishop’s office on Monday, bearing nearly 2,800 signatures. The bishop or Arlington has not restricted any of the existing Traditional Latin Masses, but he has banned new sacraments in the Extraordinary Form, including baptisms and weddings.

The Catholic Church in France has secured more than $22 million in compensation for victims of child sex abuse. The news comes about four months after a report estimated that hundreds of thousands of children were abused in the Catholic Church in France, over the past 70 years.

Today is the feast of Saint Brigid of Kildare. The feast will be a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, beginning next year. Brigid is Ireland’s female patron saint. It will be the first Irish public holiday named after a woman.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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A Catholic police officer in Kentucky has won a 75,000 dollar settlement with the city of Louisville, after he was suspended for praying outside an abortion clinic. The officer was off-duty when he stopped to pray with his father on the public sidewalk outside an abortion clinic in his city. He was then suspended for more than four months and placed under investigation.

An Anglican pastor was shot dead after church on Sunday, in northwest Pakistan. The pastor’s car was ambushed by two gunmen on motorcycles. He died instantly. The local Catholic archbishop has promised his solidarity with the Anglican community of Pakistan. He has called on authorities to quickly identify and arrest the gunmen.

The Lord always surprises us. This is the beauty of an encounter with Jesus. Those were the words of Pope Francis on Sunday, during his general audience in Rome. The pope encouraged Catholics to open their hearts, to the newness Jesus wants to bring in their daily lives. He reflected that the Lord asks us for an open mind and a simple heart. He said the Blessed Virgin Mary is a model of these traits.

Today is the feast of Saint John Bosco. The 19th-century Italian priest is remembered for his ministry to young people.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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Being properly informed with scientific data is a human right. Those were the words of Pope Francis today, during a meeting with a Catholic fact-checking group, focused on misinformation surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. The pope warned of what he called an ‘infodemic,’ in which reality has become distorted by fake news.

A grotto at a Catholic parish in northern Virginia was vandalized this week. The grotto depicted Our Lady of Fatima speaking to the three child visionaries. Unfortunately, the statues were damaged beyond repair.

Donations to Peter’s Pence fell by some fifteen percent last year. Peter’s Pence is the Holy See’s annual collection, to finance the pope’s charitable works and other priorities, including the Roman Curia. The collection is usually taken up in June, in Catholic churches across the world.

Today is the feast of the 13th-century theologian, Saint Thomas Aquinas.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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Justice Stephen Breyer will retire from the U-S Supreme Court. The 83-year-old associate justice served for 27 years. It is unclear when exactly his retirement will go into effect. He is a member of the liberal wing and has consistently supported abortion throughout his time on the court. President Joe Biden is expected to appoint someone of a similar ideology to the court.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx has offered a personal apology to abuse survivors, in the wake of a report criticizing the handling of cases in his archdiocese of Munich and Freising, in Germany. The report accused Marx of mishandling two cases of abuse. It also accused Pope emeritus Benedict the 16th of mishandling four cases, when he was archbishop of Munich.

The pope will reportedly travel to Malta for two days in April. Francis was initially scheduled to visit Malta in May of 2020, but that visit was postponed. The Vatican has yet to confirm the new trip. An overwhelming majority of Malta’s population are baptized Catholics. Catholicism is the state religion under the Constitution of Malta.

Today the Church honors the foundress of the Ursuline Sisters, Angela Merici.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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Lawmakers are asking the Food and Drug Administration to oversee non-invasive prenatal testing, after a bombshell investigation that was published this month. The New York Times found that noninvasive tests are wrong far more often than they are correct. About one in three pregnant women take non-invasive prenatal testing during their pregnancies. Positive results are wrong around 85 percent of the time. Many women are pressured or moved to consider abortion after a test comes back positive. The tests have had very little regulation by the FDA.

Catholics across the world are uniting in prayer today for peace in Ukraine. The day of prayer was initiated by Pope Francis. The pope made an earnest appeal to those in power today, to do what they can to prevent war.

Today the Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus. The men were close companions of the Apostle Paul, and bishops of the Catholic Church in its earliest days.