Catholic News

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A heartbeat law in Texas is still in effect, after an attempt by the U-S Department of Justice to reinstate an injunction. The Biden administration has pledged to ask the Supreme Court to reinstate an injunction. The law bars abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is around six weeks gestation.

The Mayor of Los Angeles announced last week that the city would change the informal name of a local park to no longer honor Saint Junipero Serra. A statue of Serra had been in the park since the 1930s. Last year, protestors toppled the statue, amid racial tensions and claims that the saint was involved in the injustices of the Spanish colonial period. The park will temporarily be called La Plaza Park, until a new name is adopted.

Cardinal Raymond Burke has asked for prayers amid his continued recovery from COVID-19. It has been about one month since the 73-year-old cardinal was removed from a ventilator, and left the hospital ICU. He is reportedly now able to offer daily Mass.

Do good from a spirit of service, not from a desire for personal glory. Those were the words of Pope Francis on Sunday, during his general audience in Rome. The pope said even Catholics can be tempted to use everything in their lives, including relationships, to feed their personal ambition. He said Christians should aim to be servants.

Today, the Church honors Saint Luke, the physician and companion of Saint Paul. Luke’s gospel preserved the most extensive biography of Jesus Christ.

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Lawmakers in Northern Ireland are considering a proposal to require so-called “buffer zones” around abortion clinics. A buffer zone is an area where protests are not allowed. If the proposal passes, it would be the first law of its kind in the United Kingdom. Patients and employees of abortion clinics will be identified as protected persons.

A British lawmaker died today, after suffering multiple stab wounds at a Methodist church in southeast England. Sir David Amess was a member of Parliament since 1983. He was Catholic, pro-life, and reportedly a strong supporter of Catholic education. He was holding a meeting with his constituents when the fatal attack took place. A 25-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the killing.

Pope Francis will visit Assisi on November 12th. The visit will be in honor of the World Day of the Poor, which falls on November 14th. The pope will make a private visit to a chapel in Assisi. He will also meet with a group of 500 poor people, for prayer and conversation. Pope Francis created the World Day of the Poor in 2016, to mark the end of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Teresa of Avila. The Spanish Carmelite reformer and mystic is remembered for her role in the renewal of the Church following the Council of Trent. She founded what is known today as the Order of Discalced Carmelites, with the help of her close collaborator Saint John of the Cross. She was one of the first two women Doctors of the Church.

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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President Joe Biden and his wife Jill will meet with Pope Francis on October 29th at the Vatican. The White House confirmed the visit today. This will be Biden’s first meeting with the pope during his presidency. Biden previously met with Pope Francis in 2016, as vice president. He also spoke on the phone with Pope Francis last year, when the pope congratulated him on his election as president.

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week about whether or not to reinstate a federal death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Tsarnaev was sentenced to death in 2015, but a three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the sentence in 2020. The panel unanimously found that he had not received a fair trial.

A prominent Anglican bishop has entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. The Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali was once considered a potential future Archbishop of Canterbury. He reportedly could be ordained as a Catholic priest as early as the end of the month, within the ordinariate. Benedict XVI created the ordinariate in 2011 for former Anglicans wishing to preserve elements of their patrimony.

Three seminarians abducted from their seminary in central Nigeria this week have been released. Bandits abducted the seminarians Monday evening, and injured six other seminarians. Kidnappings of Christians in Nigeria have become more common in recent years.

Today, the Church remembers Pope Callistus I. Not much is certain about Pope Callistus’ life. He was martyred in 222 by an anti-Christian mob.

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Venerable John Paul I will now be declared “blessed,” after Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to his intercession. John Paul I was often called “the smiling pope.” He died unexpectedly, after just 33 days in office. A priority of his short pontificate was carrying forward the work of the Second Vatican Council.

Three seminarians were abducted from their seminary in central Nigeria this week. Bandits attacked the seminary Monday evening. Another six seminarians were injured. Nigeria has experienced an increase in kidnappings over the past several years due to conflict between herdsmen and farmers.

The dean of the Cathedral in Toledo, Spain, has submitted his resignation following the improper use of the cathedral for a music video. The music video featured sensual and provocative dances inside the cathedral. A Spanish rapper reportedly paid 15,000 euros for the use of the cathedral in the music video. The dean said the situation was complicated by communication failures.

In his general audience today, Pope Francis said the Catholic Church is universal. He said the Church embraces all cultures, because Christ died for all people. The pope based his reflections on Saint Paul’s letter to the Galatians, in which Saint Paul writes about true freedom.

Today is the feast of Saint Edward the Confessor. Edward was born in 1003. He was the son of the Duke of Normandy, and nephew of the King of England. He renounced worldly ambition to devote himself to God. He was called to the throne of England in 1042, and he dutifully accepted. He abolished an unjust tax, and was known to cure people with his touch.

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The Vatican has sovereign immunity, and cannot be sued in local courts for the actions of clerical abusers. That’s according to a ruling this week by the European Court of Human Rights. This was the first time the international court has considered a case related to the Holy See’s immunity.

Denver’s Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was spray-painted with anti-Catholic slogans on Sunday. Eyewitnesses reportedly saw a woman spray-painting the church around 7:45 am, in broad daylight. Parishioners and other volunteers helped remove most of the graffiti on Sunday. Two other Catholic parishes in Denver were the targets of vandalism and theft this summer. Parishes in nearby Boulder and Louisville were similarly targeted.

The image of Our Lady of La Leche, in Florida, was canonically crowned on Sunday. A canonical coronation honors an image’s universal importance for the Catholic Church. The image of Our Lady of La Leche features the Blessed Virgin Mary nursing the infant Jesus. The image has roots in Bethlehem, but it was brought to modern day Florida in 1577 by Spanish settlers. It is only the fourth image in the United States to be canonically crowned.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar. This was the first Marian apparition in history. Our Lady appeared to the apostle Saint James, in Spain. Unlike every other recorded Marian apparition, this apparition took place during the earthly life of the Mother of God. Tradition holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary promised Saint James that she would appear to him to encourage him in his difficult mission to the pagans in modern-day Spain.

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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Texas’ heartbeat law is in effect again, after a ruling by a federal court. The law restricts abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is around six weeks gestation. The law is still the subject of an ongoing court fight.

The pope’s recent restrictions on traditional liturgy are unpopular among regularly practicing Catholics, but most American Catholics have not even heard of the changes. That’s according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. The survey found that about 58% of Catholics who attended Mass weekly had heard about the restrictions. Regular Mass attendees were the most skeptical of the restrictions.

Pope Francis met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday. Pelosi has clashed repeatedly with the archbishop of her home diocese, over her support for abortion. The Vatican has not announced what the pair discussed during their meeting.

On Sunday, Pope Francis formally launched the two year, global consultation process that will culminate in the synod on synodality in 2023. The pope prayed that Catholics taking part in the synodal path should strive to become experts in the art of encounter. He encouraged Catholics to devote more time to prayer, and adoration, listening to what the Holy Spirit wants to say to the Church. The diocesan consultation phase will run through April of 2022. Then a continental phase will begin.

Today, the Church honors Pope Saint John XXIII. Pope John XXIII was elected in 1958. He is remembered for his pastoral heart, and for convoking the Second Vatican Council in 1962.

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California’s governor has rolled back several safeguards surrounding assisted suicide. State law requires patients to make two separate requests for assisted suicide medication. There was previously a required 15 day waiting period, between requests. That waiting period is now 48 hours. The new law also no longer requires patients seeking assisted suicide to make a final attestation for their cause.

The Vatican has indicated that Pope Francis will not attend the United Nations climate summit next month in Scotland. The pope expressed his wish to attend the conference, during a radio interview in September. The Vatican delegation will instead be led by the Vatican’s Secretary of State.

A Catholic archbishop entrusted Poland to Saint Joseph yesterday, in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Poland was also consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June. About 92% of Poland’s population are baptized Catholics.

U-S bishops will elect five new committee chair positions, at their general assembly next month in Baltimore. The meeting is the first in-person meeting of the conference in two years. Committees open for elections include the migration committee, the committee on divine worship, and the committee on laity, marriage and family life.

Today, the Church remembers Saint Thais. Little is known about her life, but it is believed Thais was a sinful woman converted by a monk. She then lived a life of penitence for three years, in a narrow cell.

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A federal judge has blocked a heartbeat law in Texas, about one month after the law went into effect. The heartbeat law restricts most abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat. In a ruling Wednesday, a federal judge blocked enforcement of the law, by the state and private citizens. Pro-life advocates have criticized the ruling as unfettered judicial activism.

Catholic bioethicists say conscience protections built into the government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees are insufficient. Federal employees are now required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by November 22nd. Employees requesting a religious exemption to the mandate, must first establish that their refusal is based upon sincere, religious belief. They must also answer questions about their adult vaccine history and the length of time they have held their religious beliefs that support their objection.

Pope Francis will declare Saint Irenaeus of Lyon a Doctor of the Church. Irenaeus was a second-century bishop and writer. He is remembered for refuting the heresies of Gnosticism, with a defense of Christ’s humanity and divinity. He would be the first martyr to receive the title.

Today is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The feast commemorates a 16th-century naval victory, which protected Europe from Turkish invasion. Pope Saint Pius the Fifth attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The naval victory coincided with a rosary campaign in Europe.

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Pope Francis expressed sadness and shame today, in response to a report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in France. The report estimated that hundreds of thousands of children were abused in the French Church over the past 70 years. Pope Francis said he felt pain for the trauma that victims have endured, and shame that the Church had not adequately addressed the crisis.

Missouri executed Ernest Johnson on Tuesday, despite pleas for clemency by the Holy See. The 61-year-old Black man was sentenced to death for murdering three people in the 90s. His lawyers had argued that he was intellectually disabled, and should be spared the death penalty. The Holy See pointed out his humanity, and the sacredness of all human life.

True freedom flows from the Cross of Christ. That was the message of Pope Francis today, during his general audience in Rome. The pope said the Cross of Christ frees us from slavery to sin. He said it is difficult to remain free from sin, but it is possible to make progress during one’s lifetime.

Today, the Church remembers Saint Bruno, the founder of the Carthusian order of monks.

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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Hundreds of thousands of children were abused in the Catholic Church in France over the past 70 years. That’s according to a new landmark report detailing the abuse crisis in the French Church. The report said an estimated 216,000 children were abused by priests, deacons, monks or nuns, from 1950 to 2020. The number of abused children jumps to 330,000 when including abuse by other Church workers.

Three Swiss Guards have quit their posts, after refusing to comply with the Vatican’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement. Three other guards have been suspended until they are fully vaccinated. Vatican City is requiring all employees and visitors to provide proof of vaccination, proof of recovery from the coronavirus, or a recent negative COVID test. The Swiss Guard is requiring all 135 guards to be fully vaccinated.

The next World Youth Day will take place August 1-6, 2023, in Lisbon Portugal. Lisbon is about 75 miles from Fatima, one of the most visited Marian pilgrimage sites in the world. Portugal also reportedly has one of the highest levels of weekly Mass attendance among young people in Europe. The last World Youth Day was in 2019, in Panama City.

More than 300,000 people participated in a March for Life in Mexico City last weekend. Marchers chanted in the defense of life, and carried posters criticizing the Supreme Court for legalizing abortion, and restricting the right to conscientious objection of health professionals.

Today is the Memorial of Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska. Faustina was born in 1905 to a poor but devout Polish family. She entered the convent at the age of 20, and spent time in convents in both Poland and Lithuania. Jesus appeared to Faustina throughout her life, asking her to become an apostle of his mercy, and to commission the painting of an image of his Divine Mercy.