Stories for week of January 21, 2018

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, Jan. 26

 CELAM backs Venezuelan bishops against government accusations
 Venezuelan bishops’ leader sees ‘so much desperation’
 Portuguese archdiocese says divorced-and-remarried may receive Communion
 Dutch archbishop says Pope must clarify Amoris Laetitia
 Haitian president meets with Pontiff
 Pope salutes Pontifical Academy for Theology at 300th anniversary
 Irish government threatens to cut funding for Church counseling over homosexual issues
 Irish bishop fears referendum could give government ‘blank check’ on abortion
 Ukrainian primate: Vatican-Moscow accords to end violence still not taking effect
 Pope thanks CDF for defense of faith
 US Senate to vote on Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
 Faith leaders ask government to revise Canada Summer Jobs program requirements
 US bishops name young adult delegates to pre-synod gathering in Rome
 2018 Catholic social ministry gathering to focus on racism, environment, immigration
 Indonesian president addresses Catholic university students
 Singapore prelate calls on catechists to be Christ’s missionary disciples
 Religious sister criticizes Israeli practice of paying Rwanda to accept some African refugees
 World cycling champion gives the Pope a bicycle
 Pope sends condolences for Italy train crash victims
 Prelate: Church in US needs to take more decisive action against racism
 Papal encouragement for Brazil’s basic ecclesial communities
 How the Catholic Church is fighting the drug war in the Philippines
 Pope presides at ecumenical Vespers service
 Papal audiences (1/25)
 International regulations needed to moderate ‘savage globalization,’ says Vatican newspaper editor
 OAS leader: a presidential election would lead Venezuela to 6 more years of dictatorship
 At Davos, Macron hails French recovery, Merkel warns against populism

Released Thursday, Jan. 25

 Cardinal Zen hand-delivers plea to Pontiff: recognize threat to Chinese Church
 Venezuelan government announces elections, ignoring opposition calls for guarantees
 Pope joins Lutheran delegation to conclude Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
 Vatican to release catechetical series preparing for World Meeting of Families
 President of Central African Republic meets with Pontiff
 Taiwan leery of new Vatican moves toward closer ties with Beijing
 Vatican announces new academic post to study Christian, secular thought
 Kidnapped priest ransomed in DRC
 Congo bishops: no violence occurred when police showed restraint
 German bishops choose not to change the Lord’s Prayer
 Coptic Pope Tawadros sees growing acceptance after years of repression in Egypt
 Damascus bombing kills 9 in Christian districts
 10 Catholic schools to close in Memphis
 Priest’s stunning recovery from cancer may be miracle for Dachau martyr’s sainthood
 Senate, in 50-49 vote, approves Brownback as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
 Cardinal Burke, in new interview, laments growing confusion about fundamental truths
 Bishop Barron, evangelical philosopher conduct dialogue
 American religious groups vary widely in their views of abortion
 Caritas: it is time for European governments to commit to social rights
 Famed Roman Marian icon restored
 India: prelates praise state government for protecting Catholic school from Hindu radicals
 Catholic Relief Services turns 75
 Charges to be filed in 2011 murder of Italian missionary?
 Caribbean Redemptorists criticize reported Trump remarks on Haiti, other poor nations
 Yazidis who fled ISIS say they are very thankful for Pope’s support
 Pope Francis appeals for peace in DR Congo
 Libya car bomb death toll rises to 33 and wounds 71 in Benghazi
 New York may give public school districts authority to control religious, other private schools
 Islamic State attacks Save the Children charity in Afghanistan

Released Wednesday, Jan. 24

 Pope condemns ‘fake news’ in annual message on Social Communications
 Pope meets with representatives of Iraq’s embattled Yazidis
 Congo’s Cardinal Monsengwo lashes out at government violence
 At Wednesday audience, Pope recounts highlights of trip to Chile, Peru
 Pennsylvania nuns want court to hear their religious objections to natural gas pipeline on their land
 Cardinal laments Kentucky school shooting
 USCCB: urge lawmakers to find immediate solution for Dreamers
 New Vatican stamp honors priest slain for opposing mafia
 Vatican diplomat: put human person at center of economic development
 Turkey’s Erdogan to visit Vatican, thank Pope for position on Jerusalem
 Holy Land bishops denounce Israeli policy on African asylum seekers
 President Trump’s proclamation for National Sanctity of Human Life Day
 Catholic retreats in Texas prisons bring healing
 Japanese volcano unexpectedly erupts
 Suffering in silence: the 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2017
 Palestinian Christians slam Pence’s pro-Israel faith
 Indian PM Modi defends globalization at Davos economic summit
 ‘Why does the Church hate gay people?’: Boston auxiliary bishop listens to youth concerns
 Vatican newspaper decries violence against women, discusses Hollywood sexual harassment
 Patients dying in hospital corridors in England
 Resignations and appointments (1/23)
 Leading Italian bishop calls for compassion toward migrants

Released Tuesday, Jan. 23

 Priests, nuns arrested in Congo; Church leaders say protests will continue
 Pope urges Davos forum: seek inclusive policies for global economy
 Final ruling soon on Peruvian founder of troubled lay movement, Pope reveals
 40,000 brave rainstorm to join March for Life in Paris
 Dutch ethicist quits board that supervises euthanasia, citing non-consent of dementia patients
 Leader of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church sees resolution dispute over real-estate deals
 Fighting eases, but peace remains far away, says nuncio in Syria
 Number of Quebec parishes falls from 130 to 64 as reorganization continues
 Prelate welcomes House passage of Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
 New Orleans archbishop announces ‘safe haven’ initiative to address pornography
 Bangaladesh’s Christians face discrimination, intimidation
 Missionary discusses the Church in Cameroon
 Protestant leaders condemn President Trump’s reported remarks on Haiti, Africa
 Vocation directors reflect on drawing men to the priesthood
 23 Italian Nativity scenes on display at Moscow cathedral
 Ecumenical body marks 70th anniversary
 Cardinal Wuerl pays tribute to pro-life youth
 British bishops welcome ‘positive aspects’ of migrant treaty between UK, France
 Vatican conference on media and truth
 Vatican prefect calls for discussion of ordination of older married men to the priesthood
 Leading prelate pleads for unity to preserve Ukraine’s independence
 DR Congo: tear gas fired outside churches to prevent pro-democracy protests

Released Monday, Jan. 22

 US envoy at UN says Venezuela ‘targeting’ Catholic bishops
 Muslim mob damages cathedral in Kenya
 Church leaders in Israel urge government to accept asylum candidates
 Vatican reportedly asking ‘underground’ Chinese bishops to yield to government-supported prelates
 Pope defends words on abuse, in-flight wedding
 Trip ended, Pope prays at St. Mary Major
 Pope denounces injustices committed against Amazon region’s indigenous peoples
 In Sarajevo, Catholics and Orthodox pray for Christian unity
 Ecumenical statement calls for Christian witness in secular Europe
 The Church needs the missionary prayer of contemplative nuns, Pope preaches in Peru
 Lund cross placed in chapel to express Catholic-Lutheran commitment to unity
 Pope prays before relics of Peruvian saints
 Prime Minister May commits to government-wide drive to tackle loneliness
 During Hawaii missile alert, Honolulu bishop led penance rite
 Pope appeals to Congolese authorities to avoid violence
 Cardinal O’Malley: Pope’s words were ‘source of great pain’ to abuse victims
 Jesus walks with His followers in the city and awakens hope, Pope preaches at Mass in Lima
 Pope Francis bids farewell to Peru
 Resignations and appointments (1/19)
 Prelates applaud new HHS Initiatives on conscience and religious freedom
 French secularism is in crisis. What does that mean for Muslim youth?
 1.3 million children displaced by Iraq’s war with Islamic State
 Millions of children’s lives hang in the balance as South Sudan conflict grinds on
 UN migration agency appeals for $1.4B to help over 80 million people in 50 countries
 Venezuela’s bishops denounce massacre of regime opponents

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Sun22 February
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From the Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent, Year A: At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones…

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