Catholic Culture Overview
Catholic Culture Overview

Stories for August 2016

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Wednesday, Aug. 31

 Spanish priest rebuked, may face discipline, after blessing same-sex union
 Egypt's parliament approves new policy for building churches
 Georgetown appoints Hindu chaplain
 Pakistani Catholic to head provincial government's bid for inter-religious relations
 Orthodox patriarch urges Europe to screen refugees, block Islamic radicals
 Missionaries remain in South Sudan despite violence against foreigners
 Pope declines Vatican role in choosing truth commission for Colombia's peace process
 Italian bishop: don't use God as 'scapegoat' for earthquake damage
 Pope reflects on healing of woman suffering from hemorrhage
 Pope creates new curial dicastery, names Cardinal Turkson prefect
 Indian bishop criticizes surrogacy bill
 Philippine prelate: pray for end to extrajudicial killings
 Venezuela’s bishops defend right to protest against government
 Russia: 6 charged with illegal missionary activity
 Mormons donate $1.25M to USCCB refugee efforts

Released Tuesday, Aug. 30

 Turkey: early release for young man convicted of priest's 2006 murder
 Bishop decries rash of civilian killings in South Sudan
 French interior minister sees 'urgent' need to avoid religious conflict with Muslims
 Philippine bishops welcome peace deal between government, Maoists
 Texas: Catholic college president removed for offensive remarks
 Chaldean patriarch calls upon Muslims to repudiate ISIS
 Egypt, Coptic Orthodox Church agree to new law on church construction
 Federal court backs law removing religious exemption from vaccinations

Released Monday, Aug. 29

 Cardinal Tagle: abortion as bad as vigilante killings
 Missionaries of Charity robbed, beaten at home in Argentina
 Pope promises to visit Italian earthquake victims
 Murder of Father Hamels was attack on French secularism, says author in Jesuit journal
 'Vatileaks' convict begins serving 18-month sentence
 New evangelization will succeed despite current Church weakness, Pope tells ecumenical gathering
 At audience, Pope urges Christians to unite in prayer for environment
 Facebook's Zuckerberg meets with Pontiff
 In preface to biography of Benedict XVI, Pope Francis welcomes 'innovation' of 'Pope-emeritus' role
 Mississippi man arrested for murder of nuns
 Conservative clerics move to set up alternate structures within Church of England
 Axe-wielding Islamic radical attacks Indonesian priest during Mass
 Ugandan archbishop decries culture of domestic violence
 Understanding mercy means awareness of sin, Pope tells American bishops
 Norcia: 'months, even a year' to repair basilica after earthquake

Released Friday, Aug. 26

 Child abuse least frequent in intact families, study shows
 French court overturns burkini ban-- after official says it should apply to nuns' habits
 US bishops join Iranian Muslim leaders in call for end to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction
 Indian cardinal: victims of anti-Catholic pogrom were martyrs
 Colombia’s bishops call for ‘serene reflection’ on peace agreement
 Pope Francis to write message on nonviolence
 2 nuns murdered in Mississippi
 Update from Norcia monks: church has ‘mostly withstood’ tremors
 USCCB president: pray a Rosary for victims of natural disasters

Released Thursday, Aug. 25

 Vatican sex education program significantly flawed: Cardinal Newman Society
 Pope laments 'black-and-white' mentality in priest-confessors
 Archbishop of Canterbury to meet with Pope in October
 Mexico City archdiocese decries 'aggressiveness and intolerance' of gay activists
 Nigeria: bishops decry government efforts to promote contraception
 Pope appeals for peace in Ukraine
 States, Catholic hospital network file suit against HHS transgender regulation
 Iranian religious leaders, US bishops condemn terrorism, weapons of mass destruction
 Emergency collection for Louisiana flood victims

Released Wednesday, Aug. 24

 Benedict discusses resignation in new interview
 Irish bishops recognize problems at Maynooth seminary, seek to end anonymous complaints
 Soros bankrolling efforts to sway US bishops toward 'progressive' policies
 Vatican Secretary of State offers reassurances on talks with China
 Earthquake damage drives monks from Norcia monastery
 Nigerian mob kills Muslim who saved Christian from lynch mob
 Syria's Christian leaders urge end to international sanctions
 Pope postpones general audience, leads Rosary for earthquake victims
 Vatican newspaper article: Pope’s apostolic exhortation is magisterial teaching
 Nigerian Christians, Muslims open peace center in strife-torn region
 9th consecutive year of membership decline for Southern Baptists
 US bishops’ Labor Day statement focuses on crises of work, family in middle America

Released Tuesday, Aug. 23

 Conventional arms can be 'weapons of mass destruction,' Vatican envoy reminds UN
 South Africa: Bishops welcome election results
 Court rules against SNAP for refusing to disclose information in abuse case
 Pope wants more lay leadership in Rome, Archbishop Farrell says
 Cardinal Burke, in interview, says Pope Francis encouraged his candor
 China's Catholic population hitting plateau after years of rapid growth
 Papal message thanks Poland's Catholics for World Youth Day welcome
 Relic of Cross stolen from San Francisco church
 Former NY cathedral offers burial plot for $7M
 Ayatollah welcomes papal remarks on Islam and violence
 Morocco’s king condemns terrorism in the name of Islam
 Court halts enforcement of Obama administration’s transgender directive
 US bishops hire new spokeswoman

Released Monday, Aug. 22

 No scientific evidence to support gender ideology, scholars argue
 Oklahoma appeals court overturns conviction for blocking building during Black Mass
 At Rimini meeting, exhibiter covered statue of Virgin because of fears of Islamic attacks
 Former Benedictine abbot, wanted on abuse charges, arrested in UK after 5-year manhunt
 Brazil's president, battling impeachment, receives personal message from Pontiff
 South Sudan’s Christian leaders pray for peace
 Papal telegram for Waldensian synod
 Liturgical week message: penitents should be encouraged to show compassion
 Nuncio: Pope would like to visit Belarus
 Papal prayers for Turkey following terrorist attack
 Pope Francis: the door to salvation is narrow and open

Released Friday, Aug. 19

 Islamic radicals target Christians in Democratic Republic of Congo
 Cardinal Marx under fire for handling of abuse charge
 Indian bishop, priests arrested for withholding evidence in woman's death
 Indian cardinal asks faithful to tone down feast-day celebrations
 Louisiana flooding 'historic,' bishop reports
 Papal message for Communion and Liberation gathering
 New leader of Chemin Neuf community
 Sisters of Charity file $50M suit against hospital system
 Wisconsin parish defaced with swastika
 German priestly ordinations fall to record low

Released Thursday, Aug. 18

 Italian bishop raps French 'burkini' ban
 Australian Church leaders plan Synod for 2020
 Muslims outnumber Christians among refugees entering US
 Pope plans another visit to Assisi in September
 Annual seminar for former Ratzinger students scheduled for August 26-28
 Rome's homeless enjoy beach outings, pizza at Pope's expense
 Chinese priests, facing requirement to register, concerned about Vatican-Beijing talks
 Obama administration to issue transgender rules for homeless shelters
 New Philadelphia mayor sought additional $4M reimbursement for papal visit
 Pittsburgh: Mass attendance down 40% since 2000
 Pope calls for collaboration between pontifical academy, institute
 Russian patriarch pays tribute to Fidel Castro
 Major battle for Aleppo imminent, says bishop

Released Wednesday, Aug. 17

 Many European women want more babies than they have, study finds
 Christian-Muslim cooperation will thwart jihadists, Vatican cardinal says
 Colombia's bishops welcome government decision against gender ideology in schools
 Mexican bishop, threatened with prosecution, vows to continue speaking out on public issues
 Australian police near decision on questioning Cardinal Pell about abuse claims
 French President Hollande meets with Pontiff
 Pope establishes new Vatican office for Laity, Family, and Life
 Pope Francis reflects on multiplication of loaves and fishes
 Changes in Roman Curia: Dallas bishop named prefect of new dicastery
 Same-sex, humanist weddings exceed Catholic weddings in Scotland
 Priest who wrote speeches for Nixon dead at 89
 Caritas workers kidnapped in Congo
 India: bishop who led diocese through anti-Christian pogrom passes away
 Court upholds legality of disinheritance on basis of religion

Released Tuesday, Aug. 16

 Oklahoma Christians counter Black Mass with prayer rally
 'Sexting' charge against former vicar general of California diocese
 French bishop plans speedy cause for beatification of Father Hamel as martyr
 Evangelical Lutheran Assembly approves 'historic' statement of accord with Catholics
 Milwaukee's archbishop pleads for end to urban violence
 Quebec monastery opens award-winning hotel
 Turkish government says it will not tear down seized churches
 Papal prayers for Congo
 Mary precedes the faithful into heaven, Pope says on Feast of the Assumption
 Church needs missionaries, not managers, Pope says

Released Friday, Aug. 12

 Oklahoma archbishop calls for prayers as Satanists plan Black Mass
 Argentine cardinal raps corruption of former president's administration
 Archbishop Chaput: both major presidential candidates are 'problematic'
 Vatican prelate challenges Islamic scholars to give peaceful interpretation of Qu'ran
 'Burkini' wear banned at beaches of Cannes
 German bishops praise Luther as 'teacher of the faith'
 Pope visits women rescued from sexual trafficking
 French police tighten security for annual pilgrimage to Lourdes
 Papal condolences following death of bishop involved in Bloody Sunday
 Vatican newspaper tribute to 'underground' Chinese bishop
 Ukrainian Catholic leader: the Church must save the family
 Arizona employee cleared in Lourdes trip email investigation
 Archbishop at US-Mexico border: we need to tear down walls

Released Thursday, Aug. 11

 California legislator backs off bid to force equal treatment for gay students in religious schools
 Indian cardinal sees Father Hamel as model for clergy
 Pope has lunch with Syrian refugees
 Catholic editor, facing threats, leaves Bangladesh
 Islamic-Christian relations deteriorating in Philippines, missionary priest reports
 LCWR calls for civility in presidential campaign
 Westminster Cathedral to be lit in red to raise awareness of persecution
 Russian patriarch: no contradiction between religion, science
 State Department highlights blasphemy laws in annual religious freedom report
 Diocese: government aggressively pushing HHS mandate despite suit

Released Wednesday, Aug. 10

 Turkish media see 'mentality of the Crusade' behind alleged coup leader
 17th arson attack on Chilean church
 Former Irish seminarians cite secrecy demands at Maynooth
 US fertility rates hit all-time low
 Pope makes unscheduled visits to two Italian convents
 Myanmar plans demolition of Buddhist monasteries
 Aggressive prosecutor seeks new conviction in landmark Philadelphia abuse case
 Cardinal Bagnasco says Europe marginalizes Christians out of fear
 Pope Francis reflects on baptism and raising of widow’s son
 Papal condolences for hurricane victims in Mexico
 Czech cardinal calls for frank dialogue on causes of terrorism
 Abuse victims wounded by bishops’ defensive posture, says papal commission member
 Canada: Catholic school board suspends teacher following remarks at anti-Israel protest
 Colorado priest, 2 laity receive USCCB pro-life award

Released Tuesday, Aug. 9

 Over 13 million Jubilee pilgrims to Rome thus far
 New Iraqi priests ordained in refugee camp
 Boko Haram's new strategy: arm Muslim herdsmen to attack Christian farmers?
 Papal condolences following terrorist attack in Pakistan
 Vatican message for atomic bomb anniversaries
 Vatican newspaper highlights ‘Earth Overshoot Day’
 African-American bishop reflects on Black Lives Matter
 Kosovo will not extradite fugitive British ex-abbot
 Priest cited in Spotlight commits suicide
 Migrant protest ends in German diocese
 Illinois weakens conscience-protection law

Released Monday, Aug. 8

 Employees of Catholic Relief Services contribute heavily to pro-abortion political candidates
 Papal encouragement for refugee team at Rio Olympics
 Most US churchgoers hear political messages, but not endorsements
 Constantinople denies plan to create new Orthodox jurisdiction in Ukraine
 Coptic Orthodox leader distances himself from demonstrations in US
 Plans for canonization of Mother Teresa include new Vatican stamp, catechesis by Pope
 Irish seminary trustees to meet as criticism of gay culture mounts
 Zambian prelate blasts state-run media
 Aleppo Carmelite: ‘we are constantly hearing the shells’
 Vatican newspaper op-ed: address climate change now before it is too late
 US bishops chide Biden for same-sex wedding ‘counter witness’
 Pope prays for Syria
 Pope Francis reflects on almsgiving, vigilance

Released Friday, Aug. 5

 New vice-provost at Jesuit school also chairs board of abortion provider
 Debates on Amoris Laetitia will bear fruit: Cardinal Ouellet
 Chaldean prelate looks forward to rebuilding Iraq after defeat of Islamic State
 Hong Kong cardinal says Rome-Beijing close to accord
 Bishop fears South Sudanese refugee crisis
 Peruvian bishops: faith is ‘most powerful force’ for changing society
 Protests threatened at Catholic churches in Mangalore
 Philippine bishops speak out against divorce bill
 Hungarian prelate warns against Muslim immigration
 16th arson attack on Chilean church
 Guam legislature holds abuse hearings; administrator apologizes

Released Thursday, Aug. 4

 Forgiveness is theme of Pope's visit to Assisi
 'First contemplate, then teach'- Pope reminds Dominicans of founder's words
 Al Azhar welcomes Pope's claim that Islam is not violent
 Boko Haram plans more attacks on Christians, leader says
 Hong Kong prelates, past and present, reflect on Vatican-Beijing talks
 Vatican diplomat decries violence against children in war
 Irish bishops express confidence in seminary
 Ohio priest sentenced for stealing $1.9M
 Pope Francis strongly criticizes transgender ideology
 Papal message for Olympics
 Report finds ‘serious flaws’ in US treatment of asylum seekers

Released Wednesday, Aug. 3

 Syriac Patriarch raps Western indifference to persecution of Christians in Middle East
 Pope Francis: Europe has no future unless rooted in ‘Christian vision of man’
 Slain French priest’s last words: ‘Go away, Satan’
 Pennsylvania diocese to sell bishop’s mansion
 Australian government body reviews priest’s exorcism recommendations
 Philadelphia priest released on bail after conviction reversed
 Louisiana court: woman may testify about what she said to priest in Confession

Released Tuesday, Aug. 2

 South African bishops denounce political killings
 Italian bishop disagrees with Pope, sees 'ongoing assault by Islam on Christianity'
 Over 20,000 at funeral for Chinese 'underground' bishop
 Bishops welcome World Youth Day to Panama-- Americas' oldest diocese
 French authorities close 20 mosques in crackdown on radical Islam
 Irish police to probe complaints of homosexual cabal at seminary
 VP Biden presides at same-sex wedding
 Philadelphia priest seeks bail after conviction reversed
 French prosecutor dismisses case against Cardinal Barbarin
 Moscow rips Ukrainian Catholic Church; Constantinople differs
 Retired Kraków cardinal dead at 89
 Pope institutes commission to study women and the diaconate
 Justice Department issues report on religious discrimination
 Father Lombardi named chairman of Ratzinger Foundation
 Accompany the unemployed with compassion, Pope asks Argentine bishops

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