Catholic News

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The Vatican has decided to shut down the religious community of sisters co-founded by accused abuser Father Marko Rupnik, the Slovenian Archdiocese of Ljubljana announced Friday. Sisters from the Loyola Community were presented with a decree on December 14 from the Vatican Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life on the dissolution of their community “due to serious problems concerning the exercise of authority and the way of living together,” the archdiocese said. According to the December 15 statement, the dissolution of the community must take place within one year. The Vatican decree ordering the dissolution of the Loyola Community was issued on October 20. Rupnik co-founded the Loyola Community with Sister Ivanka Hosta in Ljubljana, Slovenia, more than three decades ago. The priest and mosaic artist was removed from the Jesuits in June after having been accused of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse of religious sisters. Since then, the Vatican has announced that Rupnik will face a canonical process over the abuse allegations after Pope Francis decided to waive the statute of limitations on the claims.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256290/breaking-vatican-closing-down-loyola-community-co-founded-by-rupnik

The Vatican’s doctrine office published a letter on Thursday confirming that single mothers can receive Communion after going to confession and urging the need for further “pastoral work” in parts of the world where single mothers might still face harsh judgment.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256278/vatican-doctrine-office-encourages-single-mothers-to-receive-communion-after-confession

Pope Francis on Thursday urged global leaders to adopt an international treaty to regulate the development and use of artificial intelligence, saying technological research must be directed toward “the pursuit of peace and the common good.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256279/pope-francis-calls-for-global-regulation-of-ai-for-peace-and-common-good

More than two dozen human rights advocates are urging Congress to call on the State Department to put Nigeria back on a list of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256276/human-rights-leaders-call-for-nigeria-to-be-redesignated-as-religious-freedom-violator

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 labour 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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Pope Francis celebrated 54 years as a priest yesterday. On December 13, 1969, just four days before his 33rd birthday, Jorge Mario Bergoglio — who today is Pope Francis — was ordained a priest by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano, archbishop emeritus of Córdoba, Argentina. Bergoglio continued his Jesuit formation from 1970 to 1971 in Spain. On April 22, 1973, he made his perpetual profession in the Society of Jesus.

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

Pope Francis has said that he wants to be buried in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome because of his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He said that a “place is already prepared” for his burial in one of the oldest and most important Marian shrines in the West.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256261/pope-francis-says-that-he-wants-to-be-buried-in-marian-basilica-in-new-interview

The US Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it will once again consider a high-stakes abortion pill case that could impose new national limits on abortion. The Supreme Court will be reviewing a lower court’s August ruling that reimposed restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone. The Biden Justice Department and the abortion drug manufacturer Danco Laboratories appealed the decision in September.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256262/breaking-supreme-court-to-review-high-stakes-abortion-case

The bishops who lead the dioceses of Columbus and Steubenville in Ohio could present a merger plan to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops as early as June 2024, according to the bishops of both dioceses. It could take about three or four months to determine whether a merger is feasible, Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus and Bishop Paul Bradley of Steubenville said.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256268/local-bishops-steubenville-columbus-diocesan-merger-back-in-play

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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Under certain circumstances, it may be permissible for a Catholic to keep a small portion of a deceased loved one’s ashes in a personal place of significance if some conditions are met, according to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256253/vatican-small-part-of-cremated-ashes-can-be-kept-in-personal-place-in-certain-cases

Illinois has agreed to halt its enforcement of a law that restricts the speech and advertising of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers following a lawsuit that challenged its constitutionality on First Amendment and other grounds.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256256/illinois-agrees-to-halt-speech-restrictions-on-pro-life-pregnancy-centers-amid-lawsuit

A new gene-editing therapy called Casgevy, which is designed to help treat patients suffering from sickle cell disease, has been endorsed by the National Catholic Bioethics Center and its president, Doctor Joseph Meaney.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256248/groundbreaking-gene-editing-therapy-receive-ethical-thumbs-up

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

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Pope Francis on Monday received the prefects of the Italian Republic in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace and expressed his concern about the low birth rate in the country, lamenting that many times “dogs take the place of children.” Pope Francis reflected on the environmental issue and the “emergencies that are now frequent and involve everyone; linked to atmospheric phenomena that should be unusual and extraordinary, they have become common due to climate change.” He also highlighted his concern about the low birth rate in Italy, “a country that lacks children and the migrants come.” “I am concerned about the problem of the low birth rate here in Italy. They’re not having children,” the Holy Father pointed out. Finally, he invited the prefects to think about the responsibility “that Italians have to have children to raise them and also to welcome immigrants as sons and daughters.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256242/pope-francis-expresses-concern-about-italy-s-low-birth-rate

The bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento, California, announced on Saturday that “after careful consideration and consultation” the diocese will be filing for bankruptcy amid a slate of over 250 clergy abuse lawsuits. Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto said in a Saturday statement that Chapter 11 bankruptcy is the “only respectful, transparent, and fair way to address the substantial number of claims” and “sustain the sanctifying, teaching, and charitable work” of the diocese. The diocese, which has 102 parishes serving over 1 million faithful, will likely file for bankruptcy in March 2024, according to the bishop. Without bankruptcy, he said the diocese would likely not be able to give all the abuse survivors filing lawsuits “fair consideration of their claim.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256241/diocese-of-sacramento-to-file-for-bankruptcy-amid-over-250-clergy-abuse-lawsuits

A Catholic priest in Nebraska died Sunday after being stabbed at a parish rectory, the Archdiocese of Omaha said. Police identified a suspect in the case late on Sunday. The sheriff’s office named the suspect as 43-year-old Sioux City, Iowa, resident Kierre Williams. No motive was given in the press release, though the sheriff’s office said the incident involved an “attempted break-in.” The priest grew up in Omaha and attended the College of Saint Thomas — now the University of Saint Thomas — and Saint Paul Seminary; he was ordained in 1984. In 2007, Gutgsell pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $100,000 from Saint Patrick Catholic Church in South Omaha. He received five years of probation in connection with that case. He returned to priestly ministries later that same year.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256239/nebraska-priest-dies-after-stabbing-in-parish-rectory-suspect-arrested

Today, the Church celebrates Our Lady of Guadalupe. In the 1530s, a Native man named Juan Diego, at Mary’s direction, found roses growing on a hill near Mexico City, even though it was winter. He gathered them into his cloak, or tilma. When he unfurled the cloak in the presence of the bishop to show him the roses, a miraculous image of Mary was on the tilma. It wasn’t until the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared that the native people began to accept Christianity on a large scale. Today, the image forms an inextricable part of the history of Mexico, and facilitated the evangelization of an entire people.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/our-lady-of-guadalupe-82

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Pope Francis highlighted the importance of listening to God by embracing the example of John the Baptist, “the voice of one crying in the desert,” during his Angelus message on the second Sunday of Advent. Noting that the image of the barren desert as a place of preaching may “seem like two contradictory images,” they are in fact reconciled through the figure of John the Baptist as his voice “is linked to the genuineness of his experience and the clarity of his heart.” The pope also noted that the desert is a “place of silence and essentials, where someone cannot afford to dwell on useless things but needs to concentrate on what is indispensable in order to live.” Following the recitation of the Angelus prayer, the Holy Father commemorated the anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. The pope also took a moment to draw attention to a recent prisoner exchange between the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256237/pope-angelus-through-silence-and-prayer-we-make-space-for-jesus

The Vatican unveiled its annual Nativity scene on December 9, paying special tribute to the origins of the beloved tradition on its 800th anniversary. The scene in Saint Peter’s Square depicts not only Mary and Joseph standing beside the manger but also Saint Francis of Assisi, who organized the first Nativity scene in a cave in the Italian village of Greccio on Christmas Eve in 1223. Over a thousand people gathered in the square for the event, which included moments of catechesis, an explanation of how the scene was put together, and the signing of seasonal hymns. The Vatican’s Greccio-inspired Nativity scene does not include live animals and people as Saint Francis’ original did, but it does feature life-sized terracotta figures, crafted by renowned Neapolitan sculptor Antonio Cantone. At the center of the scene is the now-empty manger, where a figure of the newborn savior will be placed on Christmas Eve.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256236/vatican-unveils-nativity-scene-honoring-st-francis-of-assisi-and-devotion-s-800-year-old-origin

Today, the Church celebrates Pope Saint Damasus. Throughout his papacy, Damasus spoke out against major heresies in the church and encouraged production of the Vulgate Bible with his support for Saint Jerome. He helped reconcile the relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch, and encouraged the veneration of martyrs.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-damasus-pope-81

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Pope Francis had seven meetings Thursday morning where he read out three speeches unassisted for the first time in nearly two weeks. The pope, who has been recovering from a bout of bronchitis, said that he was feeling “much better” on Wednesday but opted to have an aide read his general audience catechesis, explaining to the crowd that he still had difficulties if he “talks too much.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256201/pope-francis-reads-speeches-unassisted-for-the-first-time-in-nearly-two-weeks

Pope Francis on Thursday accepted the resignation of Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, based in India, commending his faithfulness after decades of leadership in that Church. Canon law dictates that bishops must submit their resignations to the pope at age 75. Alencherry turned 78 this year.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256204/pope-francis-accepts-resignation-of-head-of-syro-malabar-church-cardinal-alencherry

The US House and Senate reached a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday in which they dropped House amendments banning military spending on abortion and sex change surgeries.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256214/congress-drops-amendment-banning-military-spending-on-abortion-and-sex-change-surgeries

A Wisconsin circuit court judge has affirmed her earlier ruling that an 1840s law protecting unborn children does not outlaw abortion.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256211/wisconsin-court-rules-that-pro-life-law-doesn-t-apply-to-abortion

Today, the Church celebrates The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which recognizes the long-held belief of the Church that Mary was conceived free from original sin. Mary was granted this extraordinary privilege because of her unique role in history as the Mother of God. Even though Mary is unique in all humanity for being born without sin, she is held up by the Church as a model for all humanity for her holiness and her purity in her willingness to accept the Plan of God for her.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/solemnity-of-the-immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-77

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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Father Gabriel Romanelli, the pastor of Holy Family Parish, the only Roman Catholic church in Gaza, gave an update December 1 on the plight of the Christians in northern Gaza as the Israeli-Hamas war continues and spoke about the significance of Gaza to Christianity in the Holy Land. Since the conflict began, hundreds of Christians and other Gazan civilians have taken refuge in the parish, which is on the northern end of the Gaza Strip. Romanelli said that though there is “great shock and sadness” among the Christians of Gaza, “they have great trust in God’s divine protection.” Though a small minority in Gaza, the Christian community has been greatly impacted by the war. Despite the suffering, Romanelli said that the faith of the Roman Catholic community in Gaza, which numbers about 135 and includes several priests and religious, has only strengthened.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256192/these-are-very-hard-times-pastor-of-gaza-catholic-church-gives-update-on-christian-s-plight

Months after former cardinal Theodore McCarrick was ruled not competent to stand trial on criminal sexual abuse charges in Massachusetts, similar charges against him in Wisconsin now hang in the balance after a competency exam ordered by the court was filed in November. McCarrick is facing misdemeanor sexual assault charges in Wisconsin related to an incident that allegedly occurred in April 1977 near a house by Geneva Lake. The results of the competency exam are not yet available to the public and lawyers in the case could not comment on its contents. The next hearing is on January 10, 2024, at the Walworth County Judicial Center.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256191/theodore-mccarrick-case-in-wisconsin-hangs-in-the-balance-after-new-competency-exam

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Ambrose, the brilliant Bishop of Milan who influenced Saint Augustine's conversion and was named a Doctor of the Church. Like Augustine himself, the older Ambrose, born around 340, was a highly educated man who sought to harmonize Greek and Roman intellectual culture with the Catholic faith.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-ambrose-76

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A priest from the Diocese of Okigwe in Nigeria was kidnapped November 30 while traveling to administer the sacrament of the anointing of the sick to a parishioner. The diocese announced December 1 that Father Kingsley Eze, who serves as the parish priest of Saint Michael’s Umuekebi Catholic Church in Nigeria’s Imo state, was kidnapped at approximately 8 pm and his whereabouts are unknown. The bandits are said to have first robbed the street vendors, shooting indiscriminately and wounding a passerby, and then forced the priest and his companion to follow them. Saint Michael’s Parish serves parts of Imo state in southern Nigeria, which has been the center of massive attacks that mostly target Christians. From January 2021 to May of this year, security forces and “allied militias” killed 900 unarmed citizens, wounded 700, and arrested 3,500 people, most of them innocent Christians in Imo state.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256179/parish-priest-in-nigeria-abducted-while-answering-sick-call

The beatification cause for Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect known as “God’s architect” and designer of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain, just completed an important step on the path to officially declaring him a saint in the Catholic Church. Gaudí’s cause for beatification has been transferred from a civil association to an ecclesial association and has entered its “final process,” according to the Archdiocese of Barcelona.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256178/canonization-cause-advances-for-god-s-architect-antoni-gaudi

The board of trustees of the University of Notre Dame has elected as the university’s new president Father Robert Dowd, a Congregation of Holy Cross priest and associate professor of political science who serves as a current vice president.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256181/notre-dame-board-elects-father-robert-a-dowd-as-new-university-president

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Nicholas of Myra. A bishop in the early church who was known for generosity and love of children, Nicholas was born in Lycia in Asia Minor around the late third or fourth century. One of the most famous stories of the generosity of Nicholas says that he threw bags of gold through an open window in the house of a poor man to serve as dowry for the man’s daughters, who otherwise would have been forced into prostitution. The gold is said to have landed in the family’s shoes, which were drying near the fire. This is why children leave their shoes out by the door, or hang their stockings by the fireplace in the hopes of receiving a gift on the eve of his feast.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-nicholas-of-myra-75

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In preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year, two of the massive entry doors at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, have been sealed. Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, blessed and sealed the two doors, which are scheduled to be reopened on Christmas Eve next year as a Holy Door for pilgrims. The ceremony took place on the first Sunday of Advent — a little more than one year before the start of the 2025 Jubilee Year, which will center on the theological virtue of hope. Broglio said the jubilee theme “Pilgrims of Hope” indicates that “we are on a journey and not pessimistic travelers,” highlighting the need for a message of hope amid ongoing crises around the world. Holy Doors, which are traditionally sealed prior to jubilee years, provide special graces for pilgrims who walk through them. A pilgrimage through a Holy Door also permits one to receive a plenary indulgence when the other normal conditions for such an indulgence are met. The 2025 Jubilee Year begins on December 24, 2024 (Christmas Eve), and concludes on January 6, 2026 — slightly more than one calendar year.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256174/holy-doors-sealed-at-nation-s-largest-catholic-church

Climate activists in Italy over the weekend disrupted a Mass celebrated by Turin Archbishop Roberto Repole, with the demonstrators reading from Pope Francis’ works on the environment during the incident. Activists with the climate group Extinction Rebellion appeared at the Turin Cathedral on Sunday during the archbishop’s Mass there, according to the Italian newspaper la Republicca. The incident reportedly took place “in the moments before the homily,” the paper said, in which “activists stood up one at a time and read aloud the two writings.” The paper said the demonstrators quoted in part from Laudato Si’ by repeating Francis’ call for “a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256172/climate-activists-disrupt-archbishop-s-mass-in-turin

The bishop of Saltillo in the Mexican border state of Coahuila, Hilario González García, has announced the automatic excommunication (“latae sententiae”) of the one or more thieves who broke into a Catholic church and stole and desecrated the Eucharist. The incident occurred the morning of November 25 at Sacred Heart of Jesus chapel, part of Our Lady of Schoenstatt Parish located on the outskirts of the city. “For the very serious offense committed against Our Lord,” González invited all the faithful to join in prayer, “performing acts of reparation and promoting love for Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.” For now, he explained, Mass will not be possible until reparation is made for the offense.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256176/mexican-bishop-states-thief-who-stole-eucharist-is-excommunicated

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Gerald, an English monk, and the bishop of Mayo in Ireland.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-gerald-bishop-of-mayo-74

The Church also celebrates Blessed Phillip Rinaldi, a 19th-century Salesian who served as Salesian provincial superior in Spain, where he opened many new houses and then served as vicar-general of the Salesians before becoming the Rector Major in 1922, Don Bosco’s third successor. His humble and quiet leadership of the order combined with his tremendous saintly virtue and apostolic zeal, and a healing miracle attributed to him at the end of the Second World War, prompted his cause for canonization.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-phillip-rinaldi-408

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Pope Francis called the destruction of the environment “an offense against God” in a message given to the participants in the UN climate summit on Saturday. The keynote address that the pope had intended to give in person at the COP28 conference was distributed to the attendees in Dubai, where Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin read a shortened version of the pope’s speech to the assembly on December 2. Pope Francis, who turns 87 in two weeks, canceled his scheduled trip to the United Arab Emirates days before the climate summit at the request of his doctors after coming down with a flu infection that left him with breathing difficulties and acute bronchitis. Care for creation has been an important theme in Francis’ pontificate.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256165/pope-francis-to-cop28-environmental-destruction-is-an-offense-against-god

Pope Francis for the second consecutive Sunday was assisted by an aide in praying the Angelus as he continues to recover from an acute bronchial infection.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256167/pope-francis-on-first-sunday-of-advent-im-improving-but-my-voice-still-doesnt-work

At least three people were killed and others injured Sunday morning in an explosion during a Mass held in a university gymnasium in the southern Philippines. Authorities are investigating whether pro-Islamic State militants were responsible for the blast, which set off a panic on the campus of Mindanao State University in Marawi on the island of Mindanao.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256166/philippine-catholic-mass-explosion-three-killed

Today, the Church celebrates Saint John of Damascus. Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics, whose tradition has been particularly shaped by his insights, celebrate the saint's feast on the same day as the Roman Catholic Church. Among Eastern Christians, John is best known for his defense of Christian sacred art, particularly in the form of icons.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-of-damascus-407