Catholic News

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Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick pleaded ‘not guilty’ today, to several charges of sexual assault. McCarrick appeared for the first time today in a Massachusetts court. The 91-year-old has been charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14. The incidents allegedly took place in the 1970s. Each of the criminal charges carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. McCarrick’s next court date is October 28th.

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has released its plan for implementing the pope’s new restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass . Several parishes may continue to celebrate Traditional Latin Masses, but several others must stop. The archbishop of Galveston-Houston warned clergy and lay faithful against the dangers of letting personality and personal preference dominate celebrations of the Mass.

A bishop in Central England is urging Catholics to resist a bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales. The bill passed its first reading in the House of Lords on May 26th, and is awaiting a date for its second reading. The bill would legalize physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with less than six months to live. Patients will need to secure the approval of two doctors and a high court judge. Some pro-life advocates believe the bill has the potential of passing.

Today is the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great. Gregory was a central figure of the medieval western Church, and one of the most admired popes in history.

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A divided Supreme Court has declined a petition to block a new heartbeat law in Texas, allowing the law to stand for now. The law prohibits abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy. The law is enforced by allowing private lawsuits in cases of illegal abortions. The court denied the petition by a 5 to 4 decision.

The leaders of several traditional Catholic institutions in France, have appealed to the country’s bishops, to discuss the pope’s recent restrictions on the traditional liturgy. The institutions have asked to create a mediator to address the challenges of the new restrictions. France is one of the world’s leading centers of Catholic traditionalism. French bishops have said they respect communities that celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.

A historically Black Catholic parish in Denver was robbed this week. Thieves stole vessels used for Mass, a laptop used for live streaming Masses, and a soundboard used to connect the church’s microphones. They also stole the tabernacle and several consecrated hosts. The parish has no leads on the robbery. This is the first break-in the church has had. The thieves also damaged the church’s furnace, and flooded the church basement.

Scientists may have identified the relics of three of Korea’s oldest Catholic martyrs, using DNA testing. Blessed Paul Yun Ji-chung and two of his companions were among the first of thousands of Catholics to be tortured and executed under the 500-year rule of the Choson dynasty. Their remains were discovered during renovations of a historic Catholic site in South Korea.

Today, the Catholic Church remembers the September Martyrs, a group of 191 Christians martyred during the French Revolution.

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All Masses in the Extraordinary form will be permanently suspended at the North American College, the most important American Catholic institution in Rome. The college will also no longer teach the Extraordinary Form to seminarians. The rector of the college said the decision is in line with the pope’s new regulations on the traditional liturgy.

The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon has said its Catholic schools will comply with a statewide vaccine mandate for school administrators. Oregon has mandated that all school teachers, staff and volunteers become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-October. The archdiocese said individual Catholics are free to seek religious exemptions, but clergy are not to write any letters supporting such exemptions.

The pope will reportedly visit Cyprus in December. A local official told the Associated Press the visit will take place December 2-3. The Vatican has not confirmed the trip. The pope did express interest in visiting Cyprus in an interview broadcast today. Cyprus has a population of about 875,000 people, including approximately 10,000 Catholics.

In his general audience Wednesday, Pope Francis said Catholics must reflect on how they live their faith. He said Christ must be at the center of everything in life. The pope warned that otherwise the faith can be reduced to mere formalities. Pope Francis based his reflections on a passage from Saint Paul’s letter to the Galatians. In the passage, Saint Paul berates the Galatians for becoming distracted from the truth of the crucified Christ.

Today is the feast of Saint Beatrice da Silva Meneses. The Portuguese saint abandoned her noble background in the mid-15th century to enter the convent, and eventually started a new religious order.

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Abortion advocates are asking the Supreme Court to block a Texas law that would allow private citizens to sue abortion providers for offering illegal abortions. The law bans most abortions in the state after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, which can happen as early as five weeks into pregnancy. The law is scheduled to go into effect this week. Abortion advocates have asked the Supreme Court to block the law.

Vandals attacked the cathedral in Buenos Aires late last week. The vandals spray painted the walls with slogans against the Church, Catholic priests, and the Bible. Some of the tags bore the anarchist symbol. Others were directed against police shootings. The vandalism took place around the time of a protest against police shootings. Organizers said they had nothing to do with the graffiti.

Pope Francis has asked all Christians to intensify their prayer, penance, and fasting for those affected by the situation in Afghanistan. The pope also entrusted the souls of those who have died to God’s mercy. He said he is following the situation in Afghanistan with great concern.

Today is the feast day of Saint Raymond Nonnatus. Raymond was a Catholic priest in Spain in the early 13th century. He is remembered for his quiet persistence in prayer and study. He is the patron saint of pregnant women, childbirth, and newborns.

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More U-S bishops are weighing in on COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and conscientious objection. One of the latest was the archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas, who also leads the U-S bishops’ pro-life committee. Archbishop Joseph Naumann encouraged Catholics to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. He said the act of receiving the vaccine is not in itself supportive of legal abortion. Many Catholics have avoided the COVID-19 vaccine because of its connection to cell lines derived from abortions decades ago.

Cardinal Raymond Burke has said he is healing, and recovering from COVID-19. The 73-year-old American cardinal was placed on a ventilator two weeks ago, due to complications from COVID-19. He is still hospitalized, but is no longer in the intensive care unit. The cardinal spoke about his condition, and thanked his doctors and nurses, in a personal statement on Twitter.

The Catholic Church in Poland will hold a day of solidarity with the people of Afghanistan on September 5th. The Polish bishops’ conference is asking Polish Catholics to offer prayers, and financial support to the people of Afghanistan, who are now under Taliban rule.

Complaining and blaming others is a waste of time. The way to defeat evil is to conquer it first within our own hearts. That was the message of Pope Francis on Sunday, during his Angelus address in Rome. The pope encouraged Christians to ask God to purify their hearts, to make the world a better place.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Jeanne Jugan, who founded the Little Sisters of the Poor in the 19th century.

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A Catholic Charities at the US-Mexico border can continue its ministry to migrants, after a federal court decision this week. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on a Texas state order that would have restricted the ministry. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued the executive order in July. The order restricted transportation of migrants in the state to law enforcement, due to the pandemic. The order directed law enforcement to stop any vehicle upon reasonable suspicion it was carrying migrants.

The pope met Thursday with Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad. Murad is a survivor of enslavement by the radical Islamic group, ISIS. She has been outspoken in her concern for the future of Afghan women under Taliban rule. It is not clear what the pair spoke about during their private audience on Thursday.

The Supreme Court of Colombia has ruled that minors as young as 14 can legally marry or cohabit with an adult, without parental consent. The court said minors must have a responsible intention to form a family. The ruling is in response to an inheritance lawsuit involving a 14-year-old boy and an adult woman, who later died.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine. Monica’s holy example, and fervent intercession, led to her son’s conversion to the Catholic Church, one of the most dramatic conversions in Church history.

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The Archdiocese of Chicago will require all archdiocesan employees and clergy to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Employees and clergy will have six weeks to receive the vaccine. The archdiocese will allow exemptions only for medical reasons. Chicago’s archbishop, Cardinal Blaze Sue-pitch, said the new directive follows the lead of Pope Francis. The pope has said getting vaccinated is an act of charity.

Religious sisters from the Missionaries of Charity, and fourteen disabled children from an orphanage in Afghanistan, have arrived safely at Rome’s international airport. They arrived on one of two evacuation flights from Kabul. Italy has welcomed more than 2,600 evacuated Afghans, about a third of them children.

Pope Francis has named a religious sister to the second-highest position in the Vatican’s social development office. The 46-year-old Salesian sister is from Italy. She is an economist and professor. She will serve as secretary of the office on an interim basis. She is now one of two women to hold a second-ranking position in an important Vatican office.

Today is the feast day of Saint Jeanne Elizabeth des Bichier. Jeanne was born in 1773 to a noble family in France. She cofounded the Daughters of the Cross. By the time of her death in 1838, the community had more than sixty houses all over France.

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Catholic school students in the Diocese of Palm Beach will be required to wear masks indoors for at least the first sixty days of school. The policy went into effect Monday. Administrators will review the policy after the first sixty days of school. Students who refuse to wear a mask will be sent home. Parents have the option to apply for a medical accommodation, but the child must continue to wear a mask until the application is processed and approved. Florida is in the midst of a COVID-19 case surge brought on largely by the spread of the Delta variant.

Catholics in Sri Lanka wore black and raised black flags last weekend, to protest what they consider to be the government’s failure to respond to the Easter Sunday attack on churches in 2019. The archbishop of the capital of Colombo has urged the government to name the perpetrators behind the coordinated bombings. More than 260 people died and more than 500 people were injured in the bombings.

The Holy See is urging countries around the world to welcome refugees from Afghanistan. During an emergency session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a Vatican diplomat stressed the right to life, the freedom of religion, the right to freedom of movement, and the right to peaceful assembly. He said that the Holy See had been following the situation in Afghanistan with great concern, and was hoping for a peaceful and swift resolution through dialogue.

Hypocrisy within the Church is detestable. Those were the strong words of Pope Francis today, during his general audience in Rome. The pope said there are many hypocritical Christians and ministers. He urged Christians to remember the words of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew: ‘Let what you say be simply Yes or No. Anything more than that comes from evil.’

Today is the feast day of the French king, and patron of builders, Saint Louis the Ninth.

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The pope will send $230,000 to Haiti, to support victims of a recent earthquake. The donation is reportedly an initial contribution, to help Haitians as their recovery process is in an emergency phase. The money will be distributed to the Catholic dioceses most in need, through collaboration with the Vatican’s embassy in Haiti. The earthquake killed more than 2,200 people. Hundreds are still missing and thousands are injured.

More bishops are weighing in on the COVID-19 vaccine. The Bishop of Spokane in Washington has said conscience rights should be respected, but that priests should not sign any religious exemptions for parishioners. The five bishops of Wisconsin have encouraged vaccination, but said nobody can be forced to accept a vaccine.

The first ever March for Life in California will take place tomorrow, at the state capitol in Sacramento. Large pro-life events have taken place in several major California cities, but the California March for Life is the first of it’s kind in the state. The pro-life rally was organized by the national March for Life organization and the California Family Council, which is a state affiliate of Focus on the Family.

Today is the feast day of one of the Twelve Apostles, Saint Bartholomew. Bartholomew is believed to have preached in the East, after the Ascension of Christ. He is believed to have died a martyr.

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Cardinal Raymond Burke has been removed from a ventilator and will move out of the ICU, as he continues to battle COVID-19. The cardinal’s family shared the news of his recovery on Saturday. The 73-year-old was placed on a ventilator on August 14th, due to complications from COVID-19. It is not clear if Cardinal Burke was vaccinated against COVID-19, but he has been a vocal opponent of closing churches, as well as mandatory vaccines.

A priest in Northern Costa Rica has been suspended after celebrating the Ordinary Form of the Mass in Latin. The priest also reportedly celebrated the Mass ad orientum, or facing away from the congregation. Costa Rica’s bishops banned the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, following the release of the pope’s new restrictions on the liturgy.

Vandals have stolen a cross from a Catholic church in the Holy Land. The church was built on the site where tradition holds that Jesus performed the miracle of multiplying the five loaves and two fishes to feed five thousand people. The six-inch iron cross was embedded in an outdoor altar. Israeli police are investigating the theft.

Do not water down the reality that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus. That was the warning of Pope Francis on Sunday, during his general audience in Rome. The pope said the truth of the Eucharist - and the humanity of Christ - can cause scandal, and they are difficult for people to accept. He warned we may have watered down these revelations, if they do not throw us into crisis.

Today is the feast of Saint Rose of Lima, the first saint of the New World. Rose was born in Lima, Peru in 1586. She consecrated her life to God at a very young age, and practiced intense prayer and penance daily. She joined the Third Order of Saint Dominic.