Stories for September 2016

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, Sep. 30

 Contraceptive users found at heightened risk of depression
 World’s migrant population at all-time high, study confirms
 Terror attack survivor describes murder of Father Hamel
 Pope tells countrymen he cannot visit Argentina before 2018
 Kidnapped Nigerian priest released safely
 Pope Francis' prayer intentions for October
 Italian filmmaker pushed for new probe into disappearance of Vatican employee's child
 Pope admits he does not enjoy travel
 Colombia's president says Pope will visit next year
 Challenge for Pope is to find lost sheep without distressing faithful, says Cardinal Ruini
 Pope arrives in Georgia, puts stress on peaceful coexistence
 Archbishop: ‘in choosing presidents, we choose judges’
 Italian bishops outline 4 priorities
 Canadian bishops discuss euthanasia, indigenous peoples
 Chaldean synod prays for peace, urges priests to return
 USCCB issues Respect Life Month statement

Released Thursday, Sep. 29

 Lebanese prelate says Palestinians have 'natural right' to state status
 K of C leader Anderson to receive Path to Peace Award
 Church doctrine helped fuel anti-Semitism, says Archbishop of Canterbury
 Terror fears prompt tighter security around Canterbury cathedral
 Nicaraguan cardinal: US sanctions would hit the poor hardest
 Newly released prosecutor’s files show details of case against Minnesota archdiocese
 Theme announced for next World Day of Social Communications
 Pope laments continued violence in Syria, Iraq
 Invoke the archangels, Pope tells pilgrims
 Vatican newspaper examines deaconesses and the early Church
 Cardinal Marx warns against nationalism in Europe
 Bishops discuss integration of migrants in Europe
 Florida couple on trial over Christmas display in lawn

Released Wednesday, Sep. 28

 Naples cathedral reports money stolen
 Pope mourns Israeli leader Shimon Peres
 French government proposes law to ban on-line efforts to discourage abortion
 English bishop lowers age for Confirmation, to address falling numbers confirmed
 Maronite patriarchate backs Christian presidential candidate in Lebanon
 Missionary priest asks Mexican government help for migrants headed for US
 Jesuits to elect new superior general
 Pope Francis: look to the good thief as a model
 Aleppo bombers 'accountable to God,' Pope warns
 Pope receives Jewish leaders, discusses immigration
 Jamaican prelate: Church will care for babies born with microcephaly
 USCCB publishes report on implementation of Amoris Laetitia

Released Tuesday, Sep. 27

 Pope's cars to be auctioned; proceeds for Syrian refugees
 Internet search engines block ads for sex-selection abortions in India
 Nuclear weapons offer only 'false security,Vatican envoy tells UN
 Confirmed: Trump, Clinton both to appear at NY fundraiser for Catholic Charities
 North Korea nuclear tests worry Pope Francis
 Cardinal Parolin, in Colombia, welcomes peace accord
 Mexico: smear campaign alleged against murdered priests
 Catholic Charities urges Senate to address Flint lead contamination
 Catholic school sued for not permitting same-sex dance date
 Guam lifts statute of limitations in abuse cases
 Bishop welcomes UN resolution on nuclear treaty

Released Monday, Sep. 26

 Saudi Arabia deports Christians for celebrating Assumption
 Profiling Catholic presence in Georgia, Azerbaijan before papal visit
 Chinese officials again take 'underground' bishop into custody to prevent appearance at prelate's funeral
 Jordan: Islamic party voters reject Christian candidates
 Schedule updated for papal visit to Sweden, Reformation celebration
 Vatican Secretary of State assures nuncios: no major concessions in talks with China
 DRC President Kabila meets with Pope to discuss African country's unrest
 Jordanian journalist murdered at court; was charged with offending Islam
 San Marino liberalizes abortion law
 Rhode Island parishioners protest at Mass after homosexual music director's dismissal
 Realism necessary in handling European immigrants, says Croatian prelate
 US exorcism rate soaring
 Massive demonstration in Mexico against same-sex marriage
 Mexico: kidnapped priest found dead
 Pope recalls World Day of the Deaf
 Pope backs Mexican bishops’ defense of life, marriage
 ‘Angel of Dachau’ beatified
 Focus on the essential message of the faith, Pope tells catechists
 Pope receives families of victims of terrorist attack in France
 Continue to serve the sick with love, Pope tells women religious

Released Friday, Sep. 23

 Catholic bishops suspend involvement in 'national dialogue' talks in Democratic Republic of Congo
 Polish bishops reject campaign by gay-right activists
 Canadian archbishop accepts award from dissident group FutureChurch
 New Vatican rules for testing miracles in causes for canonization
 China plans new restrictions on religious groups
 Vatican becomes signatory of anti-corruption treaty
 Philippine cardinal at Assisi: Islamist terrorists are ‘practical atheists’
 Chaldean synod begins
 Charlotte bishop calls for prayer following violence
 Attack on Catholic church in Aleppo
 Trump campaign forms Catholic advisory group

Released Thursday, Sep. 22

 At UN, Cardinal Parolin outlines Vatican 'foreign policy'
 Another Mexican priest kidnapped
 Archbishop Gerety, world's oldest bishop, dead at 104
 Clinton, Trump invited to NY Catholic Charities fundraiser
 Bishop Olmsted: Amoris Laetitia does not mean Communion for divorced/remarried Catholics
 Inter-faith dialogue thwarts extremists, says apostolic administrator of Jerusalem
 Orthodox-Catholic commission reaches agreement on primacy
 Formal statutes approved for Vatican's new Communications Secretariat
 Report truths, do not spread fears, Pope says to journalists
 Coptic Orthodox leader urges support for Sisi
 Zambia: bishops criticize establishment of government religion ministry
 Archbishop Cupich: dialogue with Muslims more important than ever
 Suspects arrested in murder of Nigerian priest
 Syria: Kurdish soldiers loot Christian homes; archbishop escapes death
 USCCB report highlights plight of Southeast Asia’s refugees

Released Wednesday, Sep. 21

 Slain Mexican priests knew assailants, prosecutor says
 Threats force cancellation of Australian conference by marriage supporters
 Roman rumor: new drive to allow married priests?
 Vatican confirms authority of bishop abducted by Chinese officials
 Cardinal Parolin, in UN meetings, highlights role of religious leaders in fighting extremism
 Archbishop of Canterbury: 'our worship is diminished' by lack of Christian unity
 Papal appeal for Alzheimer’s patients
 Pope Francis: be merciful as the Father is merciful
 Strive for holiness, cardinal tells new bishops
 Priest: fabric of family life being shaken in India
 Prelate: 1/3 of priests have left Damascus
 USCCB welcomes day of prayer for abuse survivors

Released Tuesday, Sep. 20

 'God's name is peace,' world religious leaders affirm at Assisi day of prayer
 Over 500 scholars affirm Church teaching on contraception
 South African bishops appalled by deaths attributed to health-care cost cuts
 Cardinal Parolin to participate in Colombia peace conference
 Two Mexican priests kidnapped, killed
 Australian bishops speak out against 'ageism'
 Pope Francis: ‘I keep dreaming of a new European humanism’
 Nuncios appeal for peace
 Caritas criticizes Calais wall proposal
 Russian Orthodox official renews criticism of Ukrainian Catholics
 Vatican newspaper mourns Belgian euthanasia victim
 USCCB committee chairs: Catholic teaching on nature of marriage cannot change

Released Monday, Sep. 19

 Former Irish president backs challenge to Church teaching on contraception
 Root causes of migrant crisis are man-made, says Cardinal Parolin
 Russian Orthodox official: Eastern-rite Catholics are obstacles to ecumenical unity
 Lay member quietly resigned from papal abuse commission
 Syrians suspicious of US motives, says Syrian bishop
 No injuries as man drives through police barrier in St. Peter's Square
 Regensburg address of Benedict XVI was prophetic: Cardinal Müller
 Miracle of St. Januarius repeated in Naples
 Father Gabriele Amorth, outspoken exorcist, dead at 91
 Apostolic administrator seeks removal of Guam's Archbishop Apuron
 Belgium reports first euthanasia of teenager
 Pope visits neonatal unit, hospice
 Pope appeals for prayers for peace on September 20
 Italian widow beatified
 Pope Francis: choose the Gospel, not the spirit of the world
 Pope thanks Vatican police on 200th anniversary
 Pope addresses nuncios on dealings with governments, selection of bishops
 Have compassion on refugees, Pope tells Jesuit alumni

Released Friday, Sep. 16

 Filipino bishops condemn extra-judicial killings as death-squad violence mounts
 Bishops challenge president to protect Christians in northern Nigeria
 Guam: deacon calls for timely investigation of abuse charges against archbishop
 Archbishop Chaput: 'exhausted' US political system needs spiritual renewal
 Papal condolences on death of Italy's former President Ciampi
 Mercy should guide all pastoral work, Pope tells new bishops
 Pope receives leading Russian Orthodox official
 Buddhist leader meets with Pope
 Catholic-Orthodox dialogue focuses on synodality, primacy
 Nuncios gather in Rome, discuss gender, Islam
 We have dignity because we are children of God, Pope tells biblical scholars
 USCCB committee chair: overcome partisanship, heed Catholic teaching on migration

Released Thursday, Sep. 15

 Canadian bishops: no change in policy on Communion for divorced/remarried
 Australian bishop denies supporting same-sex unions
 Abu Dhabi prince meets Pontiff
 Papal document brings Code of Canon Law into line with law of Eastern Catholic churches
 Cooperation in abortion, homicide, attempted suicide ruled obstacles to priestly ordination
 Cardinal Schönborn clarifies: European squander culture; Islamists exploit weakness
 Disabled Indian woman killed for alleged disrespect of Sikh text
 Patriarch: remove mines from Nineveh Plain
 Gabon’s bishops renew appeal for calm
 Czech bishops oppose adoption by homosexual couples
 Eastern European bishops: ‘Europe, first of all, needs stable families’
 Times explores Russian Orthodox support of Putin in Europe
 USCCB joins criticism of ‘Catholics for Choice’ ad campaign

Released Wednesday, Sep. 14

 German Cardinal Marx favors controversial trade treaty
 Bishops denounce 'Catholics for Choice'
 Council of Cardinals discussed appointment of bishops, papal nuncios
 Pope reflects on the yoke of Christ
 Pope Francis states that Father Hamel is a martyr, emphasizes that killing in God’s name is satanic
 Vatican foreign minister affirms support for Andorra’s form of government
 Vatican, World Council of Churches discuss status of relations
 Congressman calls for safe haven for Iraqi Christians
 Prelate criticizes ‘reckless’ statement by US civil rights commission chair

Released Tuesday, Sep. 13

 New book shows 'astounding measure of self-criticism' by Benedict XVI, says Archbishop Gänswein
 Virginia bishop responds to Kaine's support for same-sex marriage, affirms Church teaching
 Vienna's Cardinal Schönborn sees Muslim threat to Europe
 New British PM encouraging growth of Catholic schools
 Immigration is not the answer, Nigerian cardinal says
 Catholic teacher killed in Indonesia
 Pope to preside at memorial Mass for Father Hamel
 5,000 attend funeral for Chinese bishop; coajdutor still in custody
 Three women charged in Notre Dame bomb plot
 Put people, not profits, at center of economic system: Cardinal Turkson
 Courtyard of the Gentiles to examine economy
 Diocese backs school’s rejection of application from transgender student
 Tanzania’s religious leaders urge opposition not to protest
 Congo’s bishops threat to pull out of national dialogue
 2 million pilgrims in Mecca
 Mideast Christian leaders to explain plight to international community

Released Monday, Sep. 12

 Irish parish welcomes lesbian couple; critic reports threats
 Rome's Grand Mosque refuses to join in anti-violence initiative
 Ukrainian leaders bid for independent status of Ukrainian Orthodox Church
 Devil seeks to attack unity in the Eucharist, Pope tells congregation at morning Mass
 Papal sex-abuse panel will join in orientation sessions for new bishops
 Pope confirms: Amoris Laetitia allows divorced/remarried to receive Communion in some cases
 VP candidate Kaine says Church will someday endorse same-sex unions
 Council of Cardinals meeting with Pope Francis this week
 Schedule announced for papal visit to Georgia, Azerbaijan: September 30- October 2
 Pope confirms ill youth
 USCCB proposes resolution in HHS mandate cases
 Pope Francis: the merciful Father rejoices at the repentance of sinners
 Papal appeal for peace in Gabon
 Polish priest beatified in Kazakhstan
 Live the year of mercy, Pope tells Czech and Romanian Catholics
 Pope reflects on redemption and mercy

Released Friday, Sep. 9

 Reshuffling of Roman Curia will leave many Vatican officials without posts
 California legislature passes bill to criminalize undercover videos at abortion clinics
 French police arrest Islamic radicals involved in gas-canister attack plot
 Vatican releases Pope's schedule for trip to Sweden to commemorate Reformation
 Catholic hospital denies woman's claim she was refused service because of IUD
 Dalai Lama not invited to Assisi prayer meeting
 Pope challenges bishops to be front-line evangelists
 Slaves' descendants challenge Georgetown to set up $1 billion foundation
 Federal court backs Catholic hospital that did not refer for abortion
 Georgetown slave descendants call for $1B foundation
 Papal message to conference on Orthodoxy, martyrdom
 Nicaraguan bishops welcome security-related immigration restrictions
 Take up spiritual weapons, Cardinal Parolin tells Swiss Guard, Vatican police
 English cardinal: don’t ask about prison sentences on employment applications

Released Thursday, Sep. 8

 Chile: 100,000 join in pro-life rally
 Dissident group honors Father James Martin
 Peace begins with 'little things,' Pope tells congregation at daily Mass
 US Civil Rights Commission: non-discrimination laws take precedence over religious liberty
 Nourish a culture of mercy, Pope urges Benedictine leaders
 All believers should show care for earth's resources, Pope tells inter-religious symposium
 Confirmed: Chinese officials abduct bishop
 Ecumenical Patriarch denies involvement in Turkish coup attempt
 Brazil: bishops express confidence in nation’s people
 Catholic hospital system to remove saints’ names from hospitals
 Pope Benedict: governance was my weakness
 South Sudan prelate welcomes UN peacekeeping force
 Cardinal Marx warns against suspension of EU-US trade negotiations

Released Wednesday, Sep. 7

 Vatican signs accord with Central African Republic
 Massachusetts law could force churches to follow transgender-access policy
 Father Paul Check leaving Courage ministry
 Paris police arrest two after finding car filled with gas canisters near Notre Dame
 Indonesia: militant Muslims disrupt Mass
 Chinese bishop dies, police take coadjutor into custody
 'Hundreds of thousands' exploited in sexual trafficking, Nigerian archbishop reports
 Church in Italy has assisted 30,000 migrants, refugees in past year
 Pope Francis: God did not send his Son to ‘crush the wicked,’ but to call them to conversion
 Vatican newspaper tribute to Hugo Rahner book
 Gabon prelate calls for international mediation to stop violence
 New Hungarian government office to assist persecuted Christians
 EU bishops welcome China, US commitment to Paris climate-change agreement

Released Tuesday, Sep. 6

 Philippines: bishops warn about threat of dictatorship as Duterte declares national emergency
 Norway: 25,000 left Lutheran church in August
 Orlando: former diocesan chancellor accused of fraud
 Late Australian bishop’s estate to assist abuse victims
 Brazilian bishops denounce lawlessness in Amazon basin
 Korean bishop speaks out against anti-missile system
 Vatican prelate joins foreign ministers’ discussion

Released Monday, Sep. 5

 Pope hosts pizza party for Rome's homeless to celebrate canonization
 Cardinal Parolin: Mother Teresa 'a clear mirror of the love of God'
 Former UMissouri professor, fired for calling for 'muscle,' to teach at Jesuit institution
 1 dead in Taliban attack on Christian neighborhood in Pakistan
 Pope canonizes Mother Teresa, recalls her commitment to the poor, unborn
 Spanish nun murdered in Haiti
 ‘You are the outstretched hand of Christ,’ Pope tells workers of mercy
 Pope blesses statue of Our Lady of Aparecida in Vatican Gardens
 USCCB decries human/animal chimera research; faithful urged to comment

Released Friday, Sep. 2

 New Jersey priest suspended for homosexual advocacy
 Italian bishop resigns after inquiry into misconduct among diocesan clergy
 Over 100,000 expected for canonization of Mother Teresa
 Islamic State threats against Pope are aimed to radicalize Islam, Patriarch says
 Prayer intentions of Pope Francis for September 2016
 Bishop speaks out against payday lending
 Georgetown addresses past ties to slavery
 Commission urges Obama to address religious freedom while in China
 USCCB: God calls us to be good stewards of creation
 Papal preacher: man’s sovereignty over creation is for glorifying God

Want more news? Visit the Archives.

Mon30 June
Ordinary Time

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church

Image for Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church

The Optional Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church is in honor of the nameless followers of Christ brutally killed by the mad Emperor Nero as scapegoats for the fire in Rome. The pagan historian Tacitus and St. Clement of Rome tell of a night of horror (August 15, 64 A.D.) when in the…

Learn more about this day.

June Calendar ›
Subscribe to Insights...free!
News, analysis & spirituality by email twice-weekly from CatholicCulture.org.
First name:
Last name:
Email address: