Catholic Culture Dedication
Catholic Culture Dedication

Stories for December 2011

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, Dec. 30

 Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for January 2012
 Murder charges for abortionists in Maryland
 'Frankenstein' film clip turns up in Vatican archives
 British government blocked effort by Pope John Paul II to end IRA hunger strike
 Ten Vatican stories that deserved more attention, plus one story that never happened
 Proposal for papal address to Parliament was raised, rejected before 1982 visit by John Paul II
 Massachusetts diocese seeks laicization of Filipino priest
 Effort to gain release of 'underground' Chinese bishops, in custody for years, status unknown
 26 priests, religious, lay pastoral workers slain in 2011
 The Popes and the World Day of Peace (background)
 USCCB calls for justice for Nigerian terrorists, 2-state solution in Holy Land
 Nigerian bishops declare day of prayer and fasting; death toll rises to 200

Released Thursday, Dec. 29

 Papal spokesman notes highlights of 2011 for Benedict XVI
 Philippines: suspect arrested in October murder of missionary priest
 Journal article shows Vatican acceptance of St. Egidio community's diplomatic influence
 Nigeria's Boko Haram sect: a reaction against colonial influence
 Islamic brotherhood asks Egyptian military to protect Coptic Christmas celebration
 Pope's encouragement to Taizé meeting
 Christmas with the Ratzinger brothers
 Teacher sues Catholic schools following dismissal for artificial insemination
 Uganda: acid attack against Protestant leader, a convert from Islam
 Nigeria: Christian family killed in machete attack

Released Wednesday, Dec. 28

 Times sums up arguments in Illinois adoption controversy
 Cardinal George explains comparison between Gay Pride parade, KKK rallies
 Musical tradition continues despite cloudy future for Detroit's Assumption Grotto
 Cardinal Ranjith underlines urgency of 'reform of the reform'
 USCCB official donated to organization led by Emily’s List head
 Pope to elevate new cardinals in February?
 Muslims must recognize threat of Boko Haram, says Nigerian archbishop
 Monks brawl at Bethlehem basilica
 Pope offers Holy Family as a model for household prayer
 Victory for New Jersey nurses told to participate in abortions
 Iran: authorities storm Protestant church, detain all members

Released Tuesday, Dec. 27

 Cardinal George hopes to continue beyond mandatory retirement date
 Indian state sets up subsidy of Holy Land pilgrimages
 Prominent US Jesuit: it’s a ‘myth’ that there is biblical consensus on Jesus’ birth
 Maronite leader calls for disarmament of Hezbollah
 Pakistani minister: poverty and ignorance are breeding grounds for violence against Christians
 Victim recounts horror of Nigerian church bombing
 Leading English prelate laments plight of Bethlehem Christians

Released Monday, Dec. 26

 RealCatholic TV responds to Detroit archdiocese on use of 'Catholic' name
 India: 6 million girls 'missing' from sex-selection abortion
 Pilgrims pack Bethlehem for rainy but peaceful Christmas
 Christmas Day review of ex-nun’s book critical of Mother Teresa
 Cuba to release prisoners before papal visit
 Washington's Cardinal Wuerl asks for new appreciation of religious freedom
 Profile of FOCUS leader Curtis Martin
 Nigeria: 3 churches are targets of bomb attacks; Vatican condemns ‘absurd hatred’

Released Sunday, Dec. 25

 Video, full text of Pope Benedict's Urbi et Orbi Christmas Message

Released Saturday, Dec. 24

 Pope Benedict's Midnight Mass: homily (full text), video

Released Friday, Dec. 23

 American ordinariate to be created January 1; bishop is chosen
 Papal homage to Havel at Czech leader's funeral
 More Americans skip church services on Christmas
 Pakistani police plan special Christmas patrols to secure Christian churches
 RealCatholic TV instructed not to use 'Catholic' name
 Anger after Cardinal George compares some gay activists’ rhetoric to Ku Klux Klan
 Leading evangelicals join bishops in opposing contraceptive coverage mandate
 Christmas in Libya: prayer for national reconciliation

Released Thursday, Dec. 22

 Jerusalem patriarch has Christmas hopes for peace, democracy
 Veteran Irish diplomat will be first non-resident ambassador to Holy See
 New fears in Orissa prompt cautions on Christmas celebrations
 On dreary liturgical translations
 Vatican seeking closer ties with Taiwan
 Philadelphia: prosecutors seek wider testimony from 'whistle-blower' priests
 Porn merchant angling for Vatican web traffic?
 Europe suffers from 'faith fatigue,
 Vatican Radio pays tribute to painter, critic Schloss
 Los Angeles cathedral hosts contemporary nativity scene
 500,000 German children to sing carols, collect funds for needy children
 Caritas warns of massive hunger in North Korea
 US bishops welcome new EPA standards on mercury, air pollutants
 Zambia: religious leaders blast US over link between gay rights, foreign aid

Released Wednesday, Dec. 21

 Bishop Lahey will receive double credit for jail time before sentencing
 Shroud is fake: British journalist
 Making the Psalms boring
 Korean schoolchildren celebrate Pope's ordination anniversary
 Electronic monitors in Sistine Chapel record dust collection, climate changes
 Proposed 'compromise' on health coverage would jeopardize religious freedom
 SSPX response to 'Doctrinal Preamble' surprises Vatican
 Nativity 'permeates all of history,' Pope reminds audience
 270 baptisms at Chinese cathedral
 Caritas: European austerity measures threaten social services
 Only 51% of US adults are married
 Alabama’s bishops urge governor to change immigration law
 UN condemns discrimination against believers
 Czech prelate pays tribute to Havel

Released Tuesday, Dec. 20

 Pope plans full liturgical schedule for Christmas season
 Catholicism will enter Downton Abbey story line
 Canadian bishop faces January 4 sentencing on child-porn charge
 American boy's healing paves way for Blessed Kateri's canonization
 American intellectuals have mixed record on sexual exploitation of children
 No Vatican 'second thoughts' about Manila's new archbishop
 Boston archdiocese loses appeal on tax for closed parish property
 Nigerian bishops plead for peace as Boko Haram bombings continue
 Final report on abuse underlines failures of Cloyne diocese
 Retired Dutch bishop charged with abuse
 Pakistani woman, in prison on blasphemy charges, seen in poor health
 Castro set to welcome papal visit to Cuba
 500th anniversary of fiery Hispaniola sermon
 CRS welcomes budget increase in international anti-poverty aid
 Holy See diplomat criticizes protectionism
 Malaysia: prelate criticizes government for appointing Catholic school principal
 El Salvador: prelate calls for clean election
 UK is a Christian nation, Cameron emphasizes

Released Monday, Dec. 19

 Dublin archbishop felt alone in confronting sex-abuse scandal
 Iraqi prelate blesses monument to 'Christian martyrs' since US invasion
 San Francisco parish drops gay-friendly speaker at archbishop's request
 Sentencing hearing continues for Canadian bishop in child-porn case
 Vandal damages bronze door of Roman basilica
 Christians remain world's largest religious bloc
 Illinois governor, bishops differ sharply after discussion on abortion advocacy
 Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, Bl. Marianne Cope to be canonized
 Korean bishops see uncertainty, opportunity after dictator's death
 Hear God's call daily, Pope encourages Italian youth
 Virgin birth is warranty of Christ's divinity, Pope tells Sunday audience
 Pope visits prisoners, says poor conditions amount to 'double sentence'
 New Zealand urgently needs new evangelization: Pope, Synod council
 Naples archdiocese closes Jubilee year with papal exhortation
 Vatican spokesman: prisons reflect society’s level of civilization
 Tributes to Cardinal Foley
 42 Christians arrested in Saudi Arabia
 US Senate reauthorizes religious freedom commission
 Myanmar: continued crisis for Kachin Christians
 Religious liberty under fire in Sri Lanka

Released Friday, Dec. 16

 Virginia adoption agencies may follow religious standards
 Syrian patriarchs call for peace, reject foreign intervention
 Vatican lights its Christmas tree, a gift from Ukraine
 Put patient trust in God, Pope counsels university students
 US bishops launch new poverty-awareness campaign
 Michigan mother sues school district after son disciplined for opposing homosexuality
 Myanmar: Buddhist monastery may expel monk for democracy activism
 Leading Jesuit scholar criticizes ‘rigidity’ of pre-conciliar liturgy
 Cardinal George meeting with Illinois Governor Quinn to discuss abortion advocacy
 Murder of catechist in Orissa stirs new fears of Hindu violence
 Pope calls for moral education of youth in annual message for World Day of Peace
 Archdiocese: Host was ‘blood red’ because of fungus
 Cardinal denounces proposed UK welfare cuts
 Vatican’s Christmas message to seafarers
 Bishops urge EU not to fund embryonic stem-cell research
 Commission finds that 800 Dutch priests, religious committed abuse

Released Thursday, Dec. 15

 Vatican official suggests worldwide environmental regulatory agency
 Funds from migrant workers abroad boost Third World economies
 Minnesota priest sentenced to 1 year for sexual exploitation of troubled woman
 Iraq: 2 more Christians murdered in Mosul
 Israel expected 90,000 pilgrims for Christmas
 Use of 'morning-after pill' soars in Spain
 Sri Lanka: nun cleared of adoption-profiteering charges
 Australian lesbian couple declines offer to enroll child in Catholic school
 Pope speaks of shared global responsibilities in talk to new ambassadors
 Catholic U. president bolsters bishops' argument on religious freedom
 Additional anti-Catholic slurs in Minnesota bankruptcy case
 Wisconsin bishops urge Catholics to work for immigration reform
 30,000 youth to attend Taizé meeting in Berlin
 Survey examines Catholics’ views on nuclear weapons, climate change
 Colombian prelate criticizes adoption of boys by gay US journalist
 Burma: tens of thousands of Kachin Christians flee homes

Released Wednesday, Dec. 14

 Catholic Republicans swinging toward Gingrich?
 Will purchase of Crystal Cathedral save money for Orange diocese?
 No scientific explanation for Shroud of Turin, scientists conclude
 Papal support for embattled Italian schoolteacher
 Sex-abuse scandal rocks Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community
 Relic stolen from Italian church
 Irish Church faces unprecedented crisis: Archbishop of Dublin
 Religious violence flares again in Moluccas
 Pray for favors, but trust in God's will, Pope says
 Op-ed explains Church teaching on ordination of women
 Illinois diocese sends evidence of Sheen miracle to Rome
 Vatican newspaper pays tribute to winner of Nobel literature prize
 Bishop ‘appalled’ that Catholic school denied admission to child of homosexual couple
 The ‘Maria Goretti of Pakistan’
 Caritas: Durban climate deal insufficient
 Burundi’s bishops urge nation to turn back from ‘abyss of war’

Released Tuesday, Dec. 13

 Nun's excommunication lifted in Phoenix hospital abortion case?
 Archbishop Hepworth to resign as head of Traditional Anglican Communion
 Turkish court finds bishop's killer competent to stand trial
 Chile, Vatican in accord on culture-of-life issues
 Papal encouragement for Latin American faithful
 ‘When a Catholic terrified the heartland’
 Catholics urged to lobby on behalf of religious freedom commission
 US bishops call for continued unemployment benefits
 India: pastor who baptized Muslims appears before sharia court
 North Korea threatens military action over Christmas lights
 Hispanic bishops decry ‘disdain for immigrants,’ inaction on immigration reform

Released Monday, Dec. 12

 San Francisco archdiocese approves parish facility for cremated remains
 Congo: archbishop says election was unfair
 US commission on religious freedom may be closed
 Archbishop Chaput warns of 'painful' year facing Philadelphia archdiocese
 Italian Church leaders will review properties, consider tax payments
 Rabbi, Pope discuss Europe's moral crisis
 Russian Orthodox Church calls for calm amid election protests
 Secretariat of State gains power over Roman Curia
 Papal warning for Christmas preparation: don't be distracted by the lights
 Spiritual preparation ensures Christmas joy, Pope tells parish
 Prime-time TV ads urge Catholics to 'come home'
 Armenian president meets with Pontiff
 Italian cooperatives receive papal encouragement
 Pope confirms plan to visit Cuba, Mexico in early 2012
 Chile’s leading prelate: respect prisoners’ dignity
 Vatican spokesman: treat migrants with dignity
 USCCB spokeswoman welcomes decision on over-the-counter morning-after pill
 Cardinal Foley, ‘patriarch of American Catholic press,’ dead at 76
 Vatican congregation paves way for US nun’s canonization
 Baghdad: some Christians reduced to dhimmitude

Released Friday, Dec. 9

 Irish media unearth abuse complaint against deceased Archbishop of Dublin
 Michigan bishop explains how contraception decimates parishes
 Small religious congregations face zoning restrictions
 Foreign-born priests becoming more common in US
 Vatican, Mozambique reach diplomatic accord
 Papal preacher: Mary is model for New Evangelization
 Another Kennedy acts as theologian
 Rising border tensions between Sudan, South Sudan
 Pope will visit Cuba--and Mexico?--next year
 Church fears nothing but sin, Pope says on Marian feast
 Pope's 3 wishes for the Christmas season
 Arab Spring voting will lead to Islamic rule, author predicts
 Lawyers say testimony of ailing cardinal should be excluded
 2 Americans named consultors to pontifical council
 FDA urged to revise contraceptive labels over blood clot risks
 Mexican archdiocese’s editorial sees ‘xenophobic’ attitude in US
 100th anniversary of Myanmar cathedral: prelate hopes for democratic future
 Sebelius, with Obama’s support, rejects over-the-counter morning-after pill
 Promotion of gay rights worldwide is a US foreign policy priority, says Clinton

Released Wednesday, Dec. 7

 Pope explains Christ's key to prayer
 Australian opposition leader will fight acceptance of same-sex marriage
 'Ad campaign' parodies logic of condom-distribution advocates
 Parliament committee questions on allowing Catholics in royal family
 Anthony Esolen on poety and liturgical translation
 Vatican official suggests international recognition of persecution against Christians
 Vatican extends papal offerings on YouTube: French now available
 Indian priest hospitalized after hunger strike against archdiocesan decision
 80-year-old Chicago priest beaten, kicked during robbery
 Archbishop Dolan on building a culture of vocations
 Vatican astronomer discusses earth-like planet
 Catholics who attend Mass frequently among the happiest Europeans
 Morning-after pill: FDA may drop age restriction, permit over-the-counter sales
 Pakistan: Christian laborer jailed following blasphemy accusation

Released Tuesday, Dec. 6

 US Navy rescinds ban on Bibles for patients at Walter Reed hospital
 Sri Lanka: Church officials will file complaint for raid on Catholic orphanage
 Vatican spokesman highlights duty to protect children
 Vatican officials meet with Jain leaders
 Dutch priest, suspended for living with woman, threatens legal challenge
 Vatican's giant Christmas tree arrives; Pope to illuminate mountainside above town
 ‘Rigid hierarchy’ blamed for removal of priest who fathered child
 Ad campaign warns US public about threats to religious liberty
 USCCB releases radio announcements on behalf of foreign aid
 Camaldolese hid Jews, others in Roman monastery
 Holy See joins International Organization for Migration
 Pakistan: Christian couple tortured by police, resist pressure to convert to Islam
 Egypt: churchmen express ‘alarm’ over election results

Released Monday, Dec. 5

 Three arrested in India for derogatory depiction of Jesus in movie
 India: 'people's tribunal' charges police complicity in Orissa's anti-Christian violence
 Gingrich issues contrasting statements on life at conception
 News story summarizes known facts in case involving Bishop Finn, accused priest
 Vatican issues stamp for beatification Cardinal Newman
 Slain Pakistani teenager proclaimed as martyr
 Congo: bishops will monitor voting to ensure fair elections
 Arabic edition of Pope's book appears this week
 Spanish court rules Opus Dei must remove ex-member's name from archives
 Quiet contemplation, inner conversion are keys to Advent, Pope tells Sunday audience
 Foundation funds pro-homosexual events on Catholic campuses
 Pope encourages old Advent traditions, making 'islands of faith' amid commercial excess
 Egypt: missionary predicts disenchantment with Islamist rule
 Peruvian provincial: governor’s accusation of homosexuality is defamatory
 Prelate pleads for justice for Bhopal victims
 Vatican spokesman highlights Church’s efforts on behalf of African children
 Archbishop Wenski: Obama administration ‘running roughshod’ over conscience rights
 Violence against Iraqi Christians following imam’s sermon
 Cardinal: failure to address climate change is ‘moral apartheid’
 Holy See voices ‘great concern’ over Syria

Released Friday, Dec. 2

 US judge denies move for Vatican testimony in abuse case
 Vietnamese Catholics beaten, arrested in latest confrontation with police
 Cardinal Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, hitting stride on 77th birthday
 Vatican readies Christmas decorations for St. Peter's Square
 Many priests decline appointment as bishops, Vatican prefect discloses
 Many Catholic institutions already offer contraceptive coverage, NPR notes
 False accusation against Irish priest illustrates new development in abuse saga
 Pope to theologians: focus on the Trinity
 Guard against 'brain drain' for international students, Pope urges
 Papal preacher focuses on Christian duty to evangelize
 Myanmar just beginning move toward democracy, archbishop says
 Saudi religious official says female drivers lead to societal decay
 Numerous anti-Catholic slurs in bankruptcy lawyer’s memo
 Holy See publicizes updated diplomatic corps list
 Detroit: retired bishop blasts proposed church closings
 Catholic University president defends single-sex dorms
 Report offers evidence for massive organ-harvesting program in China
 White House seeking ‘balance’ between contraceptive coverage, respect for religion
 Key figure in dialogue with SSPX examines assent owed to Vatican II

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