Catholic Culture Liturgical Living
Catholic Culture Liturgical Living

Stories for April 2017

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, Apr. 28

 Trump names noted pro-life leader to HHS post
 Pope decries violence, underlines Christian unity, on first day of Egypt visit
 Chinese police raid ‘underground’ Catholic parish
 Filipino President Duterte cited for ‘crimes against humanity,’ bishop backs charge
 Irish theologian raps ‘service-station approach’ to liturgy
 Venezuelan bishop: international pressure needed to prod government to end crisis
 Pope arrives in Egypt
 USCCB: bishop calls for changes to House Republicans’ health care bill
 French cardinal rues ‘democracy gone mad’ in ‘worst-ever election campaign’
 Algeria: bishops distance themselves from monk’s crowdfunding campaign for beatification cause
 Belgian bishops ask forgiveness for removal of children from African mothers
 Bishops’ commission: EU must do more to protect children from violent, pornographic images
 Prayer for peace in all of Nepal’s Catholic churches
 Ethiopian state bans small churches

Released Thursday, Apr. 27

 Alvin Plantinga, American philosopher, wins Templeton Prize
 Zambian bishops rap government’s arrest of opposition leader
 Venezuela: Vatican ready to offer mediation when parties are willing
 Papal encouragement for Catholic Action
 A Christian must be a ‘witness to obedience,’ Pope tells congregation
 Special report: Internal documents show split within Knights of Malta
 Foster unity and peace, Pope tells Papal Foundation
 16 nations named ‘egregious’ religious-freedom violators
 Jesuit Islam expert: Pope is visiting Egypt to foster ties with al-Azhar
 USCCB, Catholic Charities: don’t cut domestic anti-poverty programs
 Cardinal Dolan criticizes Democratic Party chairman’s pro-abortion comments
 Vatican support for Venezuelan cardinal

Released Wednesday, Apr. 26

 Tensions mount as Knights of Malta face vote for new leader
 Council of Cardinals concludes meetings, sets new session for June
 Brazilian bishop backs national strike to oppose government austerity plan
 Friar killed, deacon hurt as robbers hit Madagascar friary
 Pakistan: tight security measures make Christian schools like prisons
 Irish Catholic hospital agrees to provide legal abortion services
 Study finds increasing repression of religious believers
 Mexico: archdiocese denounces killing of women
 Prelates call on Europe to be ‘free of populism,’ return to ‘Christian and human values’
 Pope Francis gives surprise TED talk at conference on ‘the future you’
 Pope offers Mass for Coptic patriarch
 Pope reflects on ‘the promise that gives hope’

Released Tuesday, Apr. 25

 Norcia monastery to move outside town
 Indian archbishop accused of attempting to poison former archdiocesan spokesman
 Tight security, a ‘new normal,’ for papal trip to Egypt
 Catholic bishops deplore failure to find consensus in Democratic Republic of Congo
 Council of Cardinals studying tribunals, staffing issues
 Catholic vote divided in French presidential run-off
 Pope issues message to people of Egypt
 Pope, in video message, pays tribute to priest-educator
 Pope to make pilgrimage to pray at priests’ tombs
 French bishops’ conference reacts to presidential vote
 ‘In China, unregistered churches are driving a religious revolution’

Released Monday, Apr. 24

 Lebanese Orthodox prelate confident that kidnapped bishops remain alive
 Boston archdiocese opens first new church in 60 years
 ‘Newman Guide’ colleges show steady growth, report says
 Pope decries ‘rigid’ and ‘rationalistic’ theology
 Gay activist hired for communications job in Oslo diocese
 Australian bishops oppose drive to legalize assisted suicide
 100,000 attend Divine Mercy devotions in El Salvador
 Papal reference to ‘concentration camps’ for Europe’s refugees draws criticism
 French priest beatified in Spain
 Pope Francis: mercy opens the door of the mind and the heart
 +Cardinal Attilio Nicora, 80
 Pope honors new martyrs, says Satan foments persecution
 Pope receives Liechtenstein’s monarch
 Vatican message to Buddhists focuses on nonviolence

Released Friday, Apr. 21

 Santa Fe archdiocese backs tax on soft drinks
 No Mass in Irish diocese for a day
 Cardinal Sarah sees dangers to Church unity
 At UN, Vatican envoy decries ‘new lows of barbarism’ in Middle East
 Canadian court: Saskatchewan forbidden to fund non-Catholic students at Catholic schools
 Vatican Museums exhibit shows restoration in progress
 Pope will celebrate contemporary martyrs
 Transgender plaintiff sues Catholic hospital for refusing to perform sex-reassignment surgery
 Israeli president visits Catholic Patriarchate to offer Easter greetings
 Jesuit priest feared kidnap victim in Nigeria
 As unrest spreads, Venezuelan bishops warn government losing authority
 Pope sends encouragement to Coptic leader
 India: man convicted in rape of nun re-arrested, 11 years after escape

Released Thursday, Apr. 20

 Al Azhar University rejects charges of extremism
 Ugandan army ends manhunt for Joseph Kony, guerrilla leader
 Marist Brothers receive Pope’s encouragement
 Trump plans meeting with Pope in May
 Fatima seers to be canonized May 13
 Pakistan: Christian-Muslim campaign for peace
 Cardinal Tagle: ‘get in touch with a migrant’
 EU bishops’ commission backs European Solidarity Corps
 USCCB: Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act would protect religious liberty
 Shooting outside Catholic Charities building in California; 3 dead
 Egyptian bishop: we have no need of Western protection

Released Wednesday, Apr. 19

 Bill O’Reilly met Pope just before losing slot on Fox network
 French Cardinal Barbarin defends handling of abuse complaints
 Filipino archbishop chastises cafeteria Catholics, urges readiness to suffer for faith
 Dublin archbishop decried ‘judgmental’ attitudes in Good Friday sermon
 Indonesia: Christian government defeated in bid for re-election
 Islamic terrorists attack ancient Orthodox monastery in Egypt
 No papal visit to Brazil this year, Vatican discloses
 Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew to join Pope in visit to Egypt
 Pope Francis: the Resurrection is historical reality
 Arson attack on Nepal’s cathedral
 UK bishop welcomes global decline in executions
 New book interprets Amoris Laetitia in continuity with previous popes
 USCCB president’s Easter message
 Thousands entered Church in US at Easter

Released Tuesday, Apr. 18

 Czech bishop raps government’s reluctance to accept Chinese Christian refugees
 Posters in Rome laud Pope Francis as hero of tolerance
 Islam is ‘religion of the sword,’ Jesuit scholar tells Vatican newspaper
 Pope’s delegate orders former head of Knights of Malta not to attend election of new leader
 Pakistani Islamic leader: execute accused blasphemers, or lynchings are inevitable
 Cardinal Lehmann’s successor named
 USCCB publishes World Refugee Day toolkit
 Canadian bishops issue message for nation’s 150th anniversary
 Moscow patriarch’s Easter message
 Chinese police take another ‘underground’ bishop into custody
 Korean bishop downplays threat of war
 Bishops’ commission welcomes EU emphasis on resilience

Released Monday, Apr. 17

 Tombs of archbishops of Canterbury found under museum
 Irish church desecrated; tabernacle stolen
 Vatican tribunal for Guam archbishop hears more testimony in California
 Chinese bishop concelebrates with Beijing-appointed prelate
 French presidential candidate Le Pen: ‘I am angry with the Church’
 Turkey’s President Erdogan drops plan to pray at Hagia Sophia?
 Proclaim the Resurrection, Pope exhorts faithful
 Shrine of Renunciation to open in Assisi
 Pope preaches off-the-cuff Easter Sunday homily
 Vatican newspaper: ‘the Milky Way is lost’
 Good Friday homily at St. Peter’s Basilica: the cross, the only hope of the world
 Pope Emeritus Benedict turns 90

Released Sunday, Apr. 16

 Pope Francis’s Easter Vigil Mass homily: full text, link to video
 Pope Francis’s Easter Message ‘Urbi et Orbi’ (To the City and the World): full text

Released Friday, Apr. 14

 Leftist mob assaults Venezuelan archbishop at Mass
 Chicago archdiocese agrees to pay another $3.15 million to McCormack victims
 Cardinal Marx laments persecution of Christians in Muslim nations
 Korean Christian body decries Trump nuclear-carrier decision
 USCCB president expresses solidarity with persecuted Copts
 Nigerian bishop: Boko Haram is demonic, must be fought spiritually
 Pope Francis’ Via Crucis at the Colosseum: full text of meditations
 EWTN, America editor named consulters to Vatican body

Released Thursday, Apr. 13

 Forgive sinners, stop warmakers, Pope says in new interview
 Cause opened for beatification of French priest slain at altar last year
 Palestinian leader hopes papal visit to Egypt will strengthen moderate Muslims
 USCCB calls for renewed efforts for Syrian peace
 Patriarch calls for Catholic-Orthodox cooperation to decrease East-West conflict
 2 Franciscan friars minister in area under ISIS control
 Cardinal pays tribute to late Italian priest
 Pope to visit Pius VI’s birthplace and Bologna
 Pope Francis, at Chrism Mass, preaches on the joys of the Gospel

Released Wednesday, Apr. 12

 Jailed former head of St. Luke Institute agrees to mental-health counseling
 Italian bishops’ spokesman says West responsible for refugees’ plight
 Coptic Catholic leader sees bombings as test for Egyptian Catholics
 Papal liturgy will honor ‘New Martyrs’
 Spanish priest cleared of abuse; Pope Francis had backed accuser
 New Vatican stamps for 90th birthday of Benedict XVI, 100th anniversary of Fatima apparitions
 Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel to close, as her religious order shrinks
 Top Anglican leaders issue statement lamenting Reformation break in Christian unity
 Cardinal Burke reveals Pope has not answered request for a meeting
 ‘Earthly hopes fall down before the Cross,’ Pope tells weekly audience

Released Tuesday, Apr. 11

 2018 Synod needs input from all young people, not just Catholics, cardinal says
 South Sudan: bishop begs leaders to stop, cites civilian suffering
 Noted Evangelical, ‘Bible Answer Man,’ becomes Orthodox
 Bambino Gesu hospital is like a family, Pope tells young patients
 Papal congratulations to Portuguese radio station on 80th anniversary
 Franciscan brother killed in Venezuela, food stolen
 Belgian Catholic university removes faculty member for pro-life stand
 Pope will be ‘totally safe’ in Egypt, Al Azhar representative promises
 Vatican consistory to approve canonization of Fatima saints, others
 Irish archbishop asks for help discovering remains of ‘disappeared’
 Chinese officials take ‘underground’ bishop into custody before Chrism Mass
 Franciscans seek canonical change to allow a brother’s election to lead order

Released Monday, Apr. 10

 Cardinal Müller: do not expect Vatican ruling on Medjugorje soon
 Vatican opens free laundromat for Rome’s homeless
 Protect life, respect nature, Pope encourages bioethics committee
 Jerusalem’s Christian leaders issue joint Easter Message
 Jesuit superior rejects charges of heresy
 Venezuelan bishops back anti-government protests, civil disobedience
 Pope Francis refers to the end of his pontificate
 Pontiff asks prayers for Copts after bombings
 Pope presides at Palm Sunday services, World Youth Day observances
 New Hampshire bishop: parish churches cannot offer sanctuary for immigrants
 Dozens killed in bombings at Coptic churches; Islamic State claims responsibility

Released Friday, Apr. 7

 Irish census shows drop in Catholic population, jump in ‘no religion’ responses
 Vatican Museums give discounts to blood donors
 Turkish President Erdogan to pray at Hagia Sophia, raising questions about secular status
 St. Louis archdiocese, priest exonerated in sex-abuse lawsuit
 Syrian bishop sees US strikes as hasty, dangerous
 Mali: four arrested for nun’s kidnapping, but no news on her condition
 Malta archbishop open to contraceptive use by married couples?
 Explore causes of immigration, Pope urges media
 Papal preacher devotes Lenten sermon to Protestant Reformation
 Pope prays for flood victims in Argentina
 Number of seminarians declines for 4th straight year
 Cardinal Marx: ‘we believe more than ever in the European project’
 Ex-ambassador cautions Vatican on negotiations with China
 Trump administration, citing forced abortion, ceases support of UNFPA

Released Thursday, Apr. 6

 Irish religious orders fail to implement child-protection plans, watchdog says
 Use yoga for physical, not spiritual health: Indian bishops
 Pope said to thank Maltese bishops for guidelines on Amoris Laetitia
 Monk who ran ‘sex club’ allowed to remain at English boarding school
 Philadelphia priest faces charges for skimming funds from priests’ retirement home
 Iraqi priest to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass in town liberated from Islamic State
 Rumors that Pope Benedict resigned under pressure are ‘groundless’- Archbishop Gänswein
 French bishop resigns at Vatican’s request, ‘inappropriate’ behavior cited
 Filipino archbishop sees assault on Christian principles in Catholic nation
 Pope will wash prisoners’ feet at Holy Thursday service
 Worldwide Catholic population up slightly: surge in Africa, decline in Europe
 Syria: Catholic agencies provided $200M in assistance to 4.6 million in 2016
 Mob attacks Christian school in Sudan
 More attacks on priests, nuns in Congo
 Russia may ban Jehovah’s Witnesses
 Federal court: 1964 Civil Rights Act bars discrimination on basis of sexual orientation
 Leading US bishops deplore chemical attack in Syria

Released Wednesday, Apr. 5

 Muslim leaders from Britain meet with Pontiff
 SSPX accused of abuse cover-up
 Papal envoy sees ‘immense’ spiritual benefits at Medjugorje
 Falling fertility rates should change world leaders’ priorities, Vatican envoy tells UN
 Church in Colombia braces for influx of refugees from Venezuela
 Cardinal Cupich announces anti-violence drive in Chicago
 Vatican bank wins ‘white list’ rating from Italian regulators
 Pope laments attacks in Saint Petersburg, Syria
 Pope Francis reflects on ‘accounting for the hope’ that is within us
 Christian leaders question Pakistan-Afghanistan border wall
 Indonesian prelate: vote against extremism
 SSPX welcomes Vatican letter on marriages
 Cardinal Parolin: God is the source and goal of human development
 State Department honors Aleppo nun

Released Tuesday, Apr. 4

 Prince Charles visits Pontiff
 British PM ridicules decision to drop ‘Easter’ from annual egg hunt
 Priests in hiding in Congo after series of attacks
 Salvation comes only from the Cross, Pope says in homily
 What is ‘integral’ human development, Pope asks—and answers
 Guilty plea in plot to kill Pope during 2015 visit to US
 New head for Vatican office handling abuse cases
 Vatican rules SSPX priests may officiate at marriages
 Church in Myanmar backs Rohingya inquiry
 Patriarch laments subway bombing
 Ohio court dismisses suit by ex-seminarian
 In defeat for Planned Parenthood, Congress nullifies Title X regulation
 Prelates call for bipartisan health care reform

Released Monday, Apr. 3

 Vatican, Poland mark 12th anniversary of death of St. John Paul II
 Mexican priest released unharmed by kidnappers
 Chilean institution offers care for children with HIV
 2nd Montana diocese files for bankruptcy
 Vatican welcomes three more Syrian refugee families to Rome
 Pope seeks more effective action against human trafficking
 Cardinal Sandri asks generous support for annual collection for Church in Holy Land
 Venezuelan bishops encourage resistance as government moves to eliminate opposition
 Pope visits northern Italian region devastated by 2012 earthquake
 Papal appeals for Colombia, Congo, Venezuela, Paraguay
 Pope warns seminarians against ‘clerical academicism,’ careerism
 Pontifical council given oversight of shrines
 ‘Be evangelized so as to evangelize,’ Pope tells Peru’s Catholic university

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