Catholic Culture Overview
Catholic Culture Overview

Stories for August 2020

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Monday, Aug. 31

 Archbishop Cordileone urges mayor to ease restrictions on Mass
 Sri Lankan cardinal opposes religious political parties
 German priest punched during Mass in Berlin
 Los Angeles retaliates against church challenging emergency rule
 Catholic archbishop blocked from reentry to Belarus
 Bishop Barron defends St. Junipero Serra: Evangelization is not ‘cultural aggression’
 More than 600 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in 2020, study finds
 US bishop chairmen lament additional federal executions
 Archbishop Gregory announces new anti-racism initiative
 As Covid rages in Brazil, almost 500 diocesan priests infected
 Statue of Christ vandalized in northern Italy
 Hong Kong diocese distances itself from Cardinal Bo’s prayer for Hong Kong
 Japan’s bishops: Look at displaced persons without prejudice
 India’s Catholics called to stand in solidarity with poor
 Vatican envoy praises Vietnam Catholics’ pandemic response
 Amid protest, Brazilian child undergoes abortion
 Papal prayer for Mauritius, ahead of World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
 Pope addresses tension in eastern Mediterranean sea
 Take up the cross and fight against Satan’s temptations, Pope tells pilgrims

Released Friday, Aug. 28

 Judge blocks Trump bid to allocate more aid to private schools
 Pope prays at St. Monica’s tomb on feast day
 Transgender reader for Argentine bishop’s first Mass
 Vatican official: don’t politicize life issue
 Pope Francis spiritually united with pilgrims honoring Our Lady of Czestochowa
 Maryland, DC bishops issue letter on women’s suffrage anniversary
 Covid lockdown in England leaves priests struggling for funds
 After discovering his baptism, ordination were invalid, priest speaks of God’s grace
 Federal court upholds New Jersey’s Covid limits on indoor church services
 Vietnam monks reject state-run TV station’s accusations
 Indian state reinvestigates Catholic priest’s suicide case
 Pentecostal clergymen assaulted in Jharkhand as they prayed for the sick
 ‘Intolerance and extremism are growing in Pakistan,’ religious minority leaders warn
 Notre Dame president challenges Lou Holtz’s RNC speech
 Cardinal O’Malley issues statement following priest’s endorsement of Biden
 Unsealed archives give fresh clues to Pope Pius XII’s response to the Holocaust
 Australia’s new Vatican ambassador will prioritize support for the needy, ‘reinforcing global institutions’
 In wake of Kenosha violence, US bishops’ Committee against Racism chairman urges day of prayer and fasting
 US bishops’ president prays for life and safety as Hurricane Laura makes landfall

Released Thursday, Aug. 27

 Belarus: police block Catholic church; archbishop protests
 Detroit priest sues diocesan official, charging false abuse allegation
 Vatican, WCC join in statement on Covid & solidarity
 In Kerala, Eastern-rite Catholics offer churches to embattled Jacobite Christians
 Filipino archbishop dies of Covid
 ‘War crime’: Turks hold Syria’s Hassakeh region in stranglehold of thirst
 Challenge to California Covid limits on church services rejected
 McDonald’s franchisor settles EEOC religious discrimination suit
 Papua New Guinea bishop decries violence against women accused of sorcery
 ‘What we are experiencing in Bolivia is inadmissible,’ leading bishop preaches
 In Zimbabwe, Anglican prelates stand in solidarity with Catholic counterparts
 Boston priest claims Catholics can support ‘right to choose,’ archdiocese declines comment
 Myanmar bishop: ‘Uproot the old system’ to foster transition to democracy
 Catholic leaders condemn Philippine bombings as ‘unconscionable’
 Nun, at Republican National Convention, praises President Trump’s pro-life record
 Germany: Over 1,400 have accused members of religious orders of sexual abuse

Released Wednesday, Aug. 26

 Donors contest California bishop’s move to take over independent foundation
 Pope says lockdown has exposed inequalities
 Papal audiences will reopen to the public
 Vatican: accused abbot should not return to England monastery
 DC archdiocese cuts chancery staff as budget woes mount
 Oregon court strikes down county zoning code that prevented mosque construction
 Violence on Sierra Leone’s streets: the Church calls for peace in a polarized nation
 Beirut, Maronite Church, and pro-Hezbollah newspaper in unprecedented clash
 Amid election controversy, Moscow Patriarchate replaces leading Orthodox prelate in Belarus
 Filipino priest raises alarm over murder spree
 Uyghur obstetrician accuses Xinjiang hospitals of forced abortions
 New chapter in commercial surrogacy: Japanese, Chinese use American women to bear children for them
 Preservation group objects to removal of items from closed parish
 Lost medieval sacristy uncovered at Westminster Abbey
 As South Korea revises abortion law, Catholics mobilize to protect unborn life
 ‘Be gateways, not gatekeepers,’ new St. Louis archbishop preaches
 Catholic publisher makes 2nd apology for Mormon cover art
 Newspaper criticizes Archbishop Wester for remarks on nuclear weapons

Released Tuesday, Aug. 25

 German bishops to meet with Vatican, discuss parish structure
 New Zealand diocese to demolish historic cathedral basilica, damaged by earthquake
 Australian medical official dismisses Sydney archbishop’s objections to Covid vaccine
 Milwaukee archbishop releases statement on police shooting, violent protests
 Zimbabwe evangelicals defend Catholics from government’s ‘genocide’ accusations
 Woman who punched reader during Mass identified, not facing charges, Philadelphia police say
 Bishop: Californians ‘on edge’ as historic wildfires rage
 Cardinal Dolan’s prayer at the Republican National Convention
 Hispanic Catholics are the future, but priest numbers ‘dismal’
 FBI arrests man for threatening violence against Catholic school
 Bishops’ pro-life chairman applauds Trump administration for ethical scrutiny of fetal tissue research
 Remember Covid victims, Pope urges
 Pope laments terrorism in Mozambique
 Papal prayer for victims of Italian earthquake

Released Monday, Aug. 24

 Wisconsin bishop urges resistance as county closes schools
 Philippines: bishops condemn terror bombings in Jolo
 TikTok video offers cash for Christians to convert to Islam
 Chicago teachers’ unions push for Catholic schools to remain closed
 Worshipers lack standing to sue picketers, federal court rules
 South Korean president turns to bishops to help fight Covid
 In Belgium, Church sees rise in adult baptisms
 Killings: Kaduna bishops warn rulers, youths, religious leaders
 Woman punches reader during Sunday Mass at Philadelphia cathedral
 Church leaders warn Australian PM against vaccines from fetal tissue
 Wildfires wreaking ‘profound damage’ in multiple California dioceses
 Detroit priest wasn’t validly baptized, archbishop tells faithful
 US prelate weighs in on normalization of relations between Israel, United Arab Emirates
 Pope recalls anniversary of 2010 San Fernando massacre in Mexico
 Papal prayer for people persecuted for their religion
 Pope asks pilgrims, ‘Who is Jesus Christ for you?’
 Report examines plight of Tunisia’s Christians, other religious minorities

Released Friday, Aug. 21

 German bishop wants open debate on women’s ordination
 Pontifical Academy to fight Mafia misuse of Marian devotion
 Turkey’s Erdogan converts old monastery into mosque
 Federal court backs community college professor who taught about Islamic terrorism
 Notre Dame suspends in-person classes as Covid cases rise
 Body of missing priest found in Lake Erie
 Catholic college rescinds David Haas’ honorary degree
 Vatican directs Bishop Bransfield to repay $441,000 to West Virginia diocese, offer public apology
 In Chicago, Catholic school teachers ‘terrified,’ call on archdiocese to move school fully online
 Massive windstorm damages Iowa parishes
 Evidence-based guidelines to celebrate Mass safely are working
 Jesuit journal: African Catholics’ zeal is impacting Chinese Catholicism
 ‘Joe Biden’s Catholic faith on display at Democratic convention’s final night’
 USCCB, CRS: Urge your senators to support the Global Child Thrive Act
 Zimbabwe government escalates row with Church, summons papal nuncio to explain ‘insult’
 Bishops’ pro-life chairman praises Trump administration for ensuring US global health assistance doesn’t promote abortion

Released Thursday, Aug. 20

 Founder remains at Bose community despite Vatican directive
 New bishop installed in China
 Seoul closes churches to contain a new wave of infections
 Maronite Patriarch calls for ‘active neutrality’ to unite and save Lebanon
 Construction of Hindu temple halted in Pakistan’s capital
 Christian groups join the new alliance in northeast Syria
 Archbishop: Let priests visit detained Belarus protesters
 Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada pays over $200K to resolve fraud claims
 New Zealand cardinal welcome details of Royal Commission’s abuse inquiry
 Statue beheaded, devotional candles destroyed at Denver church
 In openly criticizing Brazil’s president, 152 bishops spur anger, controversy
 ‘Architectural vandalism’: unannounced renovations by Neocatechumenal Way priests upset parishioners
 Southern African bishops stand with Zimbabwe’s bishops in clash with government
 Distinguish the Church from nationalism, Chaldean Patriarch urges
 Ghana’s bishops condemn student unrest

Released Wednesday, Aug. 19

 Italian court: parents not obligated to support adult children
 Cardinal Dolan to offer opening prayer for Republican convention
 Notre Dame suspends classes as Covid cases spike
 New Chinese bishops not all products of Vatican-Beijing accord
 Pope at audience: hope society is better after pandemic
 Archbishop Wester threatens discipline for homilies over five minutes
 Canadian bishops announce prayer day in solidarity with indigenous peoples
 Church leaders unite in prayer for Belarus as protests grow
 Bangladesh’s bishops launch tree-planting campaign to honor nation’s founder
 ‘Genocide is happening in Nigeria,’ bishop warns
 Pope sends message to annual Rimini Meeting
 5th priest in Alabama archdiocese tests positive for Covid
 In England, archaeologist discovers a trove of Catholic items in Tudor manor house
 New Hagia Sophia planned in Syria with Russian assistance
 Sisters begin missionary work with migrants on Lesbos
 Lay Catholic activist shot dead in the Philippines
 Indian bishop launches campaign for abducted Pakistani girl
 Protestant body rips Zimbabwe’s bishops for criticizing government’s human rights record
 Ohio priest arrested on sex trafficking charges
 Judge halts HHS rule on ‘gender identity,’ ‘termination of pregnancy,’ and sex discrimination

Released Tuesday, Aug. 18

 Columnist honors Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai: his godson
 Archbishop Cordileone’s unique approach to Covid regulations
 Just one priest to be ordained in Ireland this year
 Jesus must be your first, only love, Pope tells Brazil’s religious
 Nationalization ‘undermined Pakistan’s Christian students’
 In popes’ traditional summer retreat, locals move on without Francis
 Evangelical megachurch holds service in defiance of Los Angeles order
 In new lawsuit, man alleges abuse by McCarrick
 In Zimabwe, papal nuncio shows support for bishops in dispute with government
 Pope extends Loreto jubilee to 2021
 Cardinal Pell tells US Catholics: ‘We rely on you’
 In Louisville, Catholics demand justice for Breonna Taylor
 Few expect Covid to alter their worship routines permanently
 Australian bishop urges nation to join nuclear ban
 New Zealand’s bishops urge voters to reject End of Life Choice Act
 ‘Bring our own painful story before God,’ Pope tells pilgrims

Released Monday, Aug. 17

 New Zealand: cardinal suspends public Mass, confessions
 Detroit archdiocese extends Sunday dispensation
 Vietnamese monks harassed as developers campaign to seize property
 Wisconsin bishop leads Eucharistic procession for peace in city
 Father Martin to speak at Democratic convention
 Nicaragua: government encourages Catholic festival that bishops closed
 Italian churches return toward normal
 Christ helped me avoid bitterness, Cardinal Pell says in new interview
 Papal prayer for Lebanon, Belarus at Sunday Angelus
 Indonesian cardinal targets social ills in Independence Day message
 Maronite patriarch calls for early elections and new government to heal a wounded nation
 Istanbul: Hagia Sophia mosaics hidden from visitors
 Nebraska governor signs dismemberment abortion ban into law
 Flap over Black Lives Matter mask leads to protest against Pennsylvania Catholic High School
 New Zealand government awards major grant for cathedral restoration, strengthening
 LCWR, at annual assembly, explores impact of global crises
 For 3rd time, San Francisco officials reprimand archdiocese for violating Covid health orders
 Zimbabwe’s government blasts bishops following pastoral letter on human rights abuses
 Papal appeal for prayer for Nigeria, dialogue over the Nile
 Imitate the Virgin Mary in giving praise and thanks to God, Pope says on feast of Assumption
 USCCB distances itself from staff member’s praise of Kamala Harris

Released Friday, Aug. 14

 Governments should ‘strongly support’ the nuclear family, Vatican official says
 Cardinal calls for dialogue as Ethiopia experiences ‘climate of tension’
 In DR Congo, lay Catholic group takes to streets to demand transparent elections
 Vatican publishes book of Pope’s pandemic texts
 Pandemic forces India’s Catholics to adopt ‘Hindu’ cremations
 Stay anchored in unconditional respect for human life, New Jersey bishop says
 Venezuelan bishops appeal for unity ahead of election
 Be awake to Sen. Kamala Harris’s ‘anti-Catholic assault,’ Texas bishop tweets
 ‘Catholics are under attack in America,’ Louisian senator says
 Iraq’s prime minister urges Christians to return home
 Biden, in new campaign video, cites example of Pope Francis, nuns
 Seoul cardinal dedicates North Korean diocese to Our Lady of Fatima
 New Zealand’s bishops report fake election statement to electoral commission
 Vatican urges sustainable and responsible tourism for rural development

Released Thursday, Aug. 13

 Pakistan: Christian man is murdered for living in a Muslim neighborhood
 Another lawsuit filed against former Albany bishop
 Nigerian singer sentenced to death for blasphemy
 Government-led land grabbers harass monks at Vietnamese monastery
 Police arrest elderly Indonesian Catholic for blasphemy
 In Faridabad, Hindu radicals attack Pentecostal pastor and family
 French Catholics recall anniversary of Father Hamel’s slaying
 ‘This is the worst time to cause a new crisis,’ Peru’s bishops say
 Canceled: Pilgrimages to ‘St. Patrick’s Purgatory’
 Pope asks for Mary’s intercession to overcome pandemic
 Catholic Hong Kong media tycoon’s arrest sparks fear Church could be next
 Church’s silence on Black Lives Matter is deafening, priest writes in op-ed
 Philadelphia prelates, other religious leaders condemn NAACP leader’s anti-Semitic meme
 Vatican overturns Cardinal Dolan’s decision to close church
 KY Catholic schools will return to in-person learning, despite governor’s recommendation

Released Wednesday, Aug. 12

 ‘Philadelphia Statement’ decries lack of civility in public debate
 Most Americans—especially Democrats—support restrictions on churches
 Pandemic shows need for fraternal charity, Pope says
 South Dakota bishop reinstates Sunday obligation
 Chinese diocese: priests must have state recognition
 Court lifts block on 4 Arkansas abortion restrictions
 Catholic Charities: Ask Congress to provide more funding for state and local governments
 Argentine bishop says Vatican ordered seminary closed
 Chinese Catholic business executive arrested in Hong Kong for ‘collusion with foreign powers’
 Pope expresses gratitude to Knights of Columbus for ‘creativity of charity’
 Covid forces Knock shrine to close to discourage crowds
 Cardinal Bo calls for peace in Myanmar
 St. Junípero Serra supported by some indigenous Catholics
 After election in Belarus, Catholic leaders urge restraint, dialogue
 Bolivian bishops to protesters: Stop using pandemic for political purposes
 DC man charged with stealing $2.5M from archdiocese and pandemic relief funds
 Denver, Wichita bishops launch Rosary crusades
 Buhari has failed Nigerians, bishops say
 Cardinal Marx, Lutheran leader win peace prize
 Seminary rectors discusses challenge of formation in time of Covid

Released Tuesday, Aug. 11

 Former Pope recovering from illness
 Vatican-China accord will be renewed: Bishop Sanchez Sorondo
 Birmingham Oratory seeks clarification of ban on Communion on the tongue
 McCarrick’s harassment of seminarians described as ‘worst kept secret ever’
 Disgraced West Virginia bishop is ‘in a dark hole,’ successor says
 5 priests from Rochester diocese alleged to have abused 105 victims
 Rome’s cardinal vicar authorizes distribution of exorcist guidelines
 Pittsburgh bishop explains why he established a new parish for African-American Catholics
 Report examines how Americans understand abortion
 Prayers, little gestures sow seeds of God’s love in the world, Pope tells nuns
 Kerala bishops seek action against terror network
 Nagasaki Christians remember the victims of the atomic attack 75 years ago
 18 Franciscan friars, novices test positive for Covid in Assisi
 Eschew vigilantism, monetization of politics ahead of elections, Ghana’s bishops urge
 Hong Kong Catholic activists arrested, US lawmakers sanctioned in China crackdown
 Boris Johnson visits Catholic schools in London to push for restarting in-person classes
 Catholic churches drop hymns after accusations against composer Haas

Released Monday, Aug. 10

 El Salvador: seminary rector found killed
 Welsh church organs: allowed, despite government warning
 Nigerian bishops plead for end to violence
 Pope baptizes twins born conjoined
 Cardinals join in call for end to China’s campaign against Uyghurs
 Pope calls for world free of nuclear weapons
 Papal appeal for solidarity with Lebanon
 Let us ‘abandon ourselves trustingly to God,’ Pope tells pilgrims
 St. Louis archbishop writes document on transgender theory, gender ideology
 Italy approves abortion pill for outpatient use
 17 nuns have died of Covid in New Jersey convent
 Maryland rescinds 2nd order on closure of Catholic, other private schools
 Mexican cardinal accuses president of leading nation into atheistic Communism
 Sacramento bishop excommunicates priest who denies that Pope Francis is Pope
 Malawi’s government shuts down churches in response to Covid
 Philippine Catholic school under fire for making homosexual activity grounds for dismissal
 Italian bishop investigates alleged Marian visionary
 Archdiocese of Detroit ends Dignity Masses
 Prelates press Congress for emergency aid for Catholic schools

Released Friday, Aug. 7

 Federal court halts Vermont ban on dual enrollment for students at religious high schools
 Charges dropped against Australian priest accused of stealing almost $500,000 from parish
 Catholic high school files lawsuit against California governor to reopen in the fall
 In UK, parish priests hit by Covid financial crisis
 Prayers answered: Rhode Island diocese sees decades-high number of new seminarians
 Maryland county issues 2nd order to stop Catholic, other private schools from opening
 Hong Kong Catholic diocese urges schools to promote national security education
 In Australia, Sydney parish responds to hate crime with love
 Kentucky bishop rebukes President Trump as ‘anti-life’
 Nicaragua’s latest woes put Catholic leadership in an impossible position
 Biden defends his commitment to faith following Trump comments
 ‘Racism makes a liar of God’: How the Church in the US is wrestling with the Black Lives Matter movement
 Pope extends Eastern Catholic Patriarchs’ jurisdiction over Arabian Peninsula
 USCCB calls for prayers for Lebanon, assistance for disaster victims

Released Thursday, Aug. 6

 Pope sends message of solidarity to Hiroshima on anniversary of bombing
 Brazil bishops rap president’s leadership
 Managua cathedral fire was no accident, Nicaraguan cardinal says
 Formula for Baptism cannot be altered, Vatican says
 Six lay women named to Vatican Council for Economy
 Birmingham Oratory reluctantly complies with bishop’s Communion-in-hand order
 International community is ignoring jihadist attacks in Mozambique, EU lawmaker charges
 India’s Supreme Court rejects rape-accused bishop’s petition
 Priest defends housing project stance following Los Angeles Times editorial
 Congressman calls for DOJ investigation into anti-Catholic vandalism
 Democrats ‘want to put the churches out of business,’ President Trump tells EWTN
 Philadelphia archbishop, Argentine rabbi see progress in Jewish-Catholic relations
 ‘Beirut is a devastated city,’ Lebanese cardinal says following blast
 Missouri bishops welcome Medicaid expansion
 Australian bishops issue statement on mental health
 Citing pandemic, New York extends window for abuse lawsuits
 Philippine democracy in peril, bishop warns
 In China, houses of worship forced to donate to the state or stay shut
 Catholic Charities pandemic assistance provides nearly $400M in aid, services

Released Wednesday, Aug. 5

 Pope begins new series of talks on issues raised by pandemic
 Pastor tells lector not to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ t-shirt at Mass
 Wisconsin: Private insurers must cover transgender procedures
 British bishops renew call to abolish nuclear weapons
 Learn from St. John Vianney, Cardinal Parolin preaches at Ars
 Pope sends message of solidarity to Cardinal Brenes after attack on Managua cathedral
 Video released for August papal prayer intention
 SSPX orders staff, priests not to talk to Kansas Bureau of Investigation without attorney
 Chinese bishop denies rumor that government will demolish cathedral
 US bishops reprimand President Trump as often as they praise him
 Stop southern Kaduna killings, archbishop tells governor
 Boston archdiocese pushes back after President Trump says bomber ‘deserves death’
 ‘Reject any vaccine developed using aborted children,’ Texas bishop urges
 US House of Representative votes to block HHS conscience-protection regulations
 Kentucky bishops continue public Masses despite governor’s request for ‘pause’
 Seoul’s cardinal announces consecration of Pyongyang to Our Lady of Fatima
 Bishops from Japan, US call Catholics to work for nuclear disarmament
 Pontifical academy defends Covid document that did not mention God

Released Tuesday, Aug. 4

 Spanish layman to be #2 in Vatican economic secretariat
 Current illness not seen as life-threatening for Benedict XVI
 Philippine bishops criticize president over handling of pandemic
 ‘Let us value our national symbols,’ Dominican bishops emphasize
 Covid emergency in Holy Land
 Federal court upholds limits on street preacher at farmers’ market
 Warsaw cardinal decries ‘desecration’ of Christ statue with rainbow flag
 Jesus gives life its true meaning, Pope tells youth at Medjugorje festival
 Pope Francis urges everyone to obtain ‘pardon of Assisi’
 Christians must courageously share with others, Pope says at Angelus
 Catholic school leaders see challenging year ahead
 After challenging California officials, Catholic home for trafficked girls set to open
 Judge denies abuse claims extension in Rochester Diocese bankruptcy
 Congressional candidate denies defrauding progressive Catholic group
 Police, fire departments investigating Boston-area church fire as arson
 Primate leads tribute to John Hume
 Philadelphia Historical Commission declines to approve demolition of closed church

Released Monday, Aug. 3

 Benedict XVI seriously ill
 Papal nuncio in France to meet with women who ‘applied’ for priestly roles
 Scalfari again interviews Pope Francis
 Massachusetts city recognizes polyamorous relationships
 American on trial for blasphemy in Pakistan is assassinated in courtroom
 Liberian bishop laments attacks on political group
 Superior general challenges Jesuits to live out evangelical poverty during Ignatian Year
 August papal prayer intention: the maritime world
 US ambassador for religious liberty warns Vatican: China can’t be trusted
 Churches in Manila shut doors again
 Washington retreat center to serve as Covid quarantine site
 Italian priest named personal secretary to Pope
 Assist Catholic school students, bishops urge Congressional Black Caucus
 Bishops decry increasing insecurity in southeast Nigeria
 ‘Crazy and outrageous’: Bishop Barron rebukes Rep. Ocasio-Cortez for criticizing St. Damien statue in Capitol
 Nicaragua cathedral attacked with firebomb
 New Jersey diocese suspends payments to clergy abuse victims, citing Covid financial stress

Want more news? Visit the Archives.

Subscribe to Insights...free!
News, analysis & spirituality by email, twice-weekly from CatholicCulture.org.