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Stories for December 2020

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Thursday, Dec. 31

 Lawmakers in Paraguay mourn Argentina’s legalization of abortion
 ‘Underground’ Bishop Andrew Han JIngtao dead at 99
 After abortion is legalized in Argentina, bishops decry chasm between politicians and the people
 Nigerian archbishop denies report that abducted bishop is dead
 Nuns who work for Vatican mission in Hong Kong arrested as Beijing turns up heat on Church
 Gloria Purvis’ radio show ‘Morning Glory’ pulled from EWTN’s airwaves
 Indonesia’s new religious affairs minister calls for interfaith respect, esteem
 New apostolic letter brings transparency to Vatican finances, APSA president says
 Guatemalan cardinal, El Paso bishop call on Biden to change US policy toward Central America
 Papal appeal for assistance for quake-stricken Croatia
 20 missionaries killed worldwide in 2020
 Pope, in general audience, reflects on prayer and thanksgiving
 US archbishop, nuncio to Switzerland, announces retirement
 Pope will not preside at New Year’s Eve Te Deum, January 1 Mass in St. Peter’s

Released Wednesday, Dec. 30

 Brazil’s Benedictines grapple with slaveholding past
 Man who killed Catholic roommate for praying at hospital to be arraigned on murder, hate crime charges
 Christmas trees burned in front of two Israeli Christian churches
 Government ban on new students may force leading English Catholic prep school to close
 Argentina’s Senate approves bill to legalize abortion
 Leading German bishop urges shift on women’s ordination, homosexuality
 Chile’s bishops deplore legislature’s approval of euthanasia
 Desire to control natural resources is root of Islamist insurgency, Mozambique bishop says
 Nigerian bishop blasts nation’s president, denies calling for coup
 President Trump recalls 850th anniversary of St. Thomas Becket’s martyrdom
 Church bells in NY, Brooklyn, Boston dioceses to toll in memory of Covid victims
 New Vatican document calls for ‘equitable and universal access’ to Covid vaccine

Released Tuesday, Dec. 29

 Former Steubenville diocese comptroller sentenced to prison for tax crimes, embezzlement
 Historic Indianapolis church vandalized
 Nigerian bishop kidnapped; police launch rescue operation
 1st native bishop appointed for Barbados
 USCCB committee chairman praises Covid relief package
 Middle East Catholic patriarchs urge Christmas hope amid despair
 ‘Among the oldest mosaics in Christianity’: experts restoring Rome’s first baptistery
 Papal condolences on death of Father Reginald Foster
 The ‘pandemic of indifference and fear’ kills the soul, Angolan bishop warns
 Bishop Dermot Farrell appointed Archbishop of Dublin

Released Monday, Dec. 28

 Pope formally removes funds from Secretariat of State
 Belarus archbishop, back from exile, calls for unity
 Indonesian seminarian found slain
 People with disabilities were denied care In Oregon hospitals at beginning of pandemic
 Interfaith leaders warn against ‘vaccine nationalism’
 Father Reginald Foster dies at 81; served 4 popes as Vatican’s foremost Latin authority
 Slovakia gives 4,000 Covid test kits to Pope
 Over 40 pro-life leaders call on Senate to reject Biden’s nominee to head HHS
 Chad’s bishops, in Christmas message, call for a new society
 ‘Amoris Laetitia Family’ year to begin March 19
 The Holy Family is the model and inspiration for all families, Pope says on feast day
 Pope Francis: Be witnesses to Jesus, as St. Stephen was
 Be filled with the hope of Christ: papal message to Taizé youth meeting

Released Friday, Dec. 25

 Pope Francis: Christmas Message Urbi et Orbi (To the City and the World)

Released Thursday, Dec. 24

 ‘To us a son is given,’ Pope Francis emphasizes at Christmas Eve Mass
 ‘See with the eyes of the Spirit,’ Jerusalem Patriarch writes in Christmas message
 Central African Republic bishops ask: ‘Are we at the center of a Franco-Russian proxy war?’
 Florida court dismisses suit by fired parish office manager
 Los Angeles County ends ban on indoor religious gatherings
 US bishops stress need for Christmas hope after challenging year
 ‘It is hard to believe how our life has changed’: Ukrainian Catholic leader’s Christmas pastoral letter
 Restoring spiritual serenity: Chaldean Patriarch’s Christmas message
 Pope issues appeal for stricken Lebanon
 Pope, in Christmas message, urges South Sudanese leaders to renew peace process

Released Wednesday, Dec. 23

 Vatican sent billions to Australia
 Archbishop Naumann: no obligation to use Covid vaccine
 Bishop Strickland: wanted stronger Vatican message on vaccines
 Christmas more than a ‘sentimental festival’, Pope says
 Exiled archbishop returning to Belarus for Christmas
 Argentine priest suspended after assaulting bishop
 Congressional Covid relief bill brings urgent aid for Catholic schools
 El Paso bishop reopens churches for Christmas
 Cardinal Gregory, Maryland bishops urge President Trump to stop a federal execution
 Archdiocese, DC mayor agree on eased attendance limits for worship services
 Russia returns Orthodox icon to Bosnia-Herzegovina amid Ukrainian objections
 Ghana’s bishops appeal for post-election calm
 Vietnamese government returns 5 former churches to archdiocese
 2 Vatican cardinals test positive for Covid, source says
 8 beatification causes advance

Released Tuesday, Dec. 22

 Uruguay: bishops, on government’s request, bar public Masses
 Argentine bishops blast ‘obsession’ with abortion
 Exiled archbishop denies Belarus government charges of sedition
 Bishop ordained in China
 70 Masses to be celebrated at Abu Dhabi cathedral complex around Christmas
 Bishop labels killing of Christian farmers in Nigeria’s Middle Belt ‘calculated genocide’
 Moscow Patriarch congratulates Biden
 Vermont review of Catholic orphanage finds misconduct but not murder
 Eviction moratorium only delaying the inevitable, says Catholic Charities head
 India: priest, nun found guilty in 1992 murder of nun
 Abducted Nigerian priest released
 Christian politicians have ‘not been up to the task’ in Lebanon, Syriac Patriarch says
 Canadian bishops implore legislators to change course on assisted suicide
 EU high court upholds Flemish restrictions on halal and kosher slaughter

Released Monday, Dec. 21

 Hamas advises Muslims to avoid Christmas celebrations
 Work together to beat Covid epidemic, Pope urges Vatican City employees
 Pope, Vatican workers to receive Pfizer vaccine
 Crisis is healthy for Church, Pope tells Curia
 Vatican approves, encourages Covid vaccine use
 Cardinal Pell says his conservative views drove public against him
 ‘Monster in our midst’: After disgraced deacon’s exposure, recriminations but no justice
 9th Circuit orders injunction against Nevada’s Covid limits on churches
 Iraq’s Parliament recognizes Christmas as a public holiday throughout the country
 Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem tests positive for Covid
 State Catholic conferences confront the scourge of payday lending
 Actively say ‘yes’ to God, as the Virgin Mary did, Pope tells pilgrims
 Congregation for Divine Worship issues Note on the Sunday of the Word of God
 Be witnesses to Emmanuel, Pope encourages theology students
 Pope Francis expresses closeness to Mozambicans in Cabo Delgado
 Don’t put off doing good, urges Cardinal Tagle, reflecting on his Covid experience
 Cardinal Cantalamessa devotes final Advent sermon to the Incarnation

Released Friday, Dec. 18

 European bishops’ conference questions EU restrictions
 Vatican acknowledges abuse conviction of papal nuncio
 Poland: public support for Church fading, poll says
 Belarus president meets papal envoy on archbishop’s exile
 In Christmas message, Jerusalem Church leaders offer hope
 Catholic school alumni demand answers after graduate alleges abuse, commits suicide
 8 elderly religious sisters dead from Covid at Wisconsin convent, 4 on same day
 For Belarus Catholics, winter brings fears of renewed repression
 Malaysia archbishop suspends all public Masses from Christmas until Epiphany
 Dutch bishop to celebrate ‘drive-in Mass’ on Christmas Eve
 Bishop chairmen commend Trump administration for enforcing conscience laws on abortion
 Nuclear deterrence gives ‘false sense of security,’ Vatican foreign minister says
 Persecution of Christians reported in Uganda’s Muslim region
 Ukrainian Catholic leader warns against nouveau riche oligarchs
 HHS facilitates safe clergy access for patients at NY hospital system following complaint
 Sri Lanka’s bishops plead for justice in church bombings
 Miami archbishop receives Covid vaccine
 Archdiocese of Chicago, Catholic Charities raise $35M for Covid relief
 81% of newly ordained priests are satisfied in their ministry, study finds

Released Thursday, Dec. 17

 Many nations use Covid epidemic as excuse for human-rights violations
 Former nuncio found guilty in French court
 Pope’s World Peace Day message: Catholic social teaching as a compass
 Cardinal Parolin back at work following surgery
 Vatican allows priests to celebrate Mass four times on Christmas
 ‘Education is an act of hope,’ Pope says in video message
 Pope Francis reflects on the prayer of intercession
 Future uncertain for exposed pipe organ in remains of New Zealand cathedral
 Texas bishop issues letter on vaccines
 A glimmer of hope in pandemic for nation’s ailing Catholic schools, but long-term worries persist
 Cardinal Pell on Trump, Benedict XVI and a plot against him
 Police launch manhunt for kidnappers of Nigerian Catholic priest
 Arkansas bishop contracts Covid
 Italian theology dean: cardinals need to reveal what they knew about Maciel
 Court won’t rehear case over Arkansas abortion restrictions
 Cardinal Burke: Marxist materialism ‘now seems to seize the governing power over our nation’
 ‘He always carries a Rosary’: spiritual adviser to Joe Biden discusses Biden’s faith
 Colombian bishop decries desecration of church
 DC mayor eases limits on religious gatherings after archdiocese’s lawsuit

Released Wednesday, Dec. 16

 Supreme Court continues to block state Covid restrictions on religious gatherings
 Cardinal Marx calls handling of abuse report in Cologne ‘devastating’
 Colorado bishops: AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is ‘not a morally valid option’
 Hungary defines family as having a mother and a father
 Accuser of Richmond priest recants
 Bishop Strickland, Archbishop Viganò address rally against election fraud
 After shipwreck, bishops denounce treatment of Venezuelan refugees
 In Wisconsin, Cistercian nuns plan new $18M monastery
 Pope says Vatican City will aim for net-zero carbon emissions
 Philippine bishop welcomes damning International Criminal Court report on Duterte
 China freezes bank account of Hong Kong Protestant church
 Jordan’s King Abdullah renews commitment to protect Christian holy places
 In Lebanon, Maronite bishops urge rapid application of anti-corruption controls
 Papal message to farmers emphasizes solidarity, respect for creation

Released Tuesday, Dec. 15

 Indian court to hear challenge to mandatory confession by Orthodox believers
 Pakistani Christian cleared of blasphemy charge after 12 years in prison
 Archbishop Cordileone backs Archbishop Chaput on denying Communion to Biden
 Austrian archbishop deplores court ruling on assisted suicide
 South Carolina priest commits suicide following Covid diagnosis
 New documentary examines Guatemalan bishop’s murder
 Michigan Catholic schools say forced closure is unconstitutional, file lawsuit
 1,700 Polish professors respond to ‘wave of accusations’ against St. John Paul II
 What happened to Cardinal Pell can happen to any Australian, author warns
 4 accused Yakima priests exonerated
 Justice Dept. probe of Church abuse goes quiet 2 years later
 Philippine bishops call on youth to serve amid ‘new normal’
 Chaldean Patriarch welcomes upcoming papal visit, calls on Iraq’s Christians to proclaim the Gospel
 Armenian Patriarch calls on prime minister to resign
 Pope speaks out against abortion as Argentina debates abortion on demand
 Church in Singapore marks 200 years of evangelization
 Vatican staff journalist defends Nativity scene
 As Paris agreement reaches 5-year mark, world ‘not doing well’ on climate change, Cardinal Turkson says
 Slovak president meets with Pope

Released Monday, Dec. 14

 Maronite Patriarch warns against partisanship in probe of Beirut explosion
 Washington archdiocese sues city over church restrictions
 Collections dropping in US parishes
 US bishops encourage use of Covid vaccines
 Cologne cardinal accuses predecessors of abuse cover-up
 Angolan bishops dedicate country to St. Joseph’s protection
 Leading Vatican diplomat calls for ‘new and decisive decade’ for international development
 Scotland’s bishops issue pastoral letter on pandemic, say Covid vaccines are ethical
 The people should choose their bishops again, former National Review Board chairman says
 Cardinal Cantalamessa devotes 2nd Advent sermon to eternal life
 ‘Feel small, poor, and humble like the figures in the Nativity,’ Pope tells donors of Vatican Christmas tree, crèche
 ‘The moment has come for a change of direction’: papal message to climate summit
 Pope celebrates Mass for feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
 Charlotte parish researching whether some baptisms are invalid
 Church in Poland records 1.3% fall in Sunday Mass attendance in 2019
 Former Italian minister at odds with Pope indicted over treatment of migrants
 Papal reflection on art and its role during pandemic
 Pope Francis: Be joyful, like St. John the Baptist, by placing Christ at the center

Released Friday, Dec. 11

 Mexican cardinal, citing Pope, backs civil unions
 California court backs priest’s challenge to Covid restrictions
 Hong Hong publisher’s arrest is part of intimidation campaign: Cardinal Zen
 Dominican priest working on alternative Covid vaccine
 Argentine legislators vote to legalize abortions
 Debate over masked creche figures in Turin cathedral
 Vatican unveils controversial creche in St. Peter’s Square
 Federal court: Sign ordinance invoked against pro-life protesters is unconstitutional
 Abuse survivors describe ‘horrific’ experiences, trauma to Royal Commission
 Pope urges Catholic aid agencies to help suffering Syrians and Iraqis
 Frankincense’s future: ancient gift endangered, risks depletion
 National Catholic Bioethics Center official weighs in on Covid vaccine
 Vandals hurl stones at New Zealand parish
 USCCB committee, in document sent to bishops, warns against hymns that are incompatible with Catholic teaching
 Indiana bishops call for end to federal executions
 Bishop urges Maine Catholics to receive Covid vaccine
 Puerto Rico’s bishops welcome civic calm following controversial election
 Leading Polish prelate responds to ‘unprecedented attacks’ on St. John Paul II after McCarrick Report

Released Thursday, Dec. 10

 Missionaries isolated between warring factions in Ethiopia
 European Orthodox bodies sign accord despite Moscow-Constantinople split
 Moody’s downgrades Chicago archdiocese
 Polish priest apologizes for defending bishop removed for cover-up
 US Department of Labor broadly defines religious exemption from anti-discrimination regulations
 As pandemic devastates Latin America, Pope prays to St. Juan Diego
 Vietnamese priest suspended for performing exorcisms without bishop’s authorization
 Swiss bishops: Same-sex marriage proposal ‘fraught with difficulties’
 Fresno’s bishop now backs use of Covid vaccines
 Students, faculty demand change in policing on some Catholic campuses
 Ireland’s bishops encourage Catholics to support vaccination program
 Article in influential Jesuit journal criticizes US Constitution’s ‘problematic’ Senate, Electoral College
 Biden HHS pick sued nuns over contraception mandate
 Detroit archdiocese’s 216 parishes to become 51 ‘families of parishes’
 Prominent UK priest celebrated Mass for children following 2009 return from US treatment center

Released Wednesday, Dec. 9

 Belgian court: lockdown rules violate religious freedom
 Vatican slowly going broke, Cardinal Pell warns
 Cardinal Parolin undergoes surgery
 Nigeria added to US list of religious-freedom violators
 No shame in prayers of petition, Pope tells audience
 Vatican weighs in against confession by phone
 Belarus ‘leader in exile’ appeals to Pontiff
 Indulgence decreed for Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
 Victoria bill would criminalize any ‘religious practice’ to ‘change or suppress’ sexual orientation, gender identity
 Bankruptcy court approves reorganization plan for Minnesota diocese
 South Carolina bishop says Vatican has cleared him of abuse allegation
 Victim testifies before Royal Commission about abuse by Catholic school principal
 Supreme Court rejects challenge to transgender student accommodations
 Turkey’s Christians ‘vulnerable to political manipulation and exploitation,’ report warns
 Do not postpone your conversion, Pope says on Feast of Immaculate Conception
 Pope declares Year of St. Joseph, issues apostolic letter
 Italian Covid Christmas rules awaken debate about Midnight Mass
 English bishops adjust liturgical translation following Vatican concern
 Vote for candidates who seek common good and fight intolerance, Indonesian bishops tell faithful
 Pope Francis: Conversion entails detachment from sin, search for God
 USCCB welcomes court decision reinstating DACA
 US bishops again call on President Trump, attorney general to halt federal executions

Released Tuesday, Dec. 8

 Pope makes surprise trip to honor Immaculate Conception
 CWN closed for feast of the Immaculate Conception

Released Monday, Dec. 7

 Pope to visit Iraq in March 2021
 Jordan insists on role in protecting shrines of Holy Land
 Vatican approval now required for new religious orders in Eastern Catholic churches
 Prosecutor seeking heavy sentence for former head of Vatican bank?
 Ancient Christian cross found in northern Pakistan
 2 priests arrested in Belarus
 Pope updates Vatican financial authority following scandals
 Cardinal Cantalamessa devotes 1st Advent sermon to death
 English bishops’ former national education advisor convicted of abuse
 Minnesota archbishop regrets downplaying abuse of adults
 Religious brother in Illinois arrested for theft of parish funds
 Kolkata archbishop cancels Midnight Masses
 Victoria premier lifts cap on religious gatherings, as long as there is social distance
 Iowa bishops: ‘Common good of public health takes precedence over any reservation’ about vaccines
 California bishops support Covid vaccines
 Jewish man arrested for setting fire to basilica in Jerusalem
 Disgraced Becciu receives call from Pope

Released Friday, Dec. 4

 Archbishop debunks report of Benedict’s voice loss
 Pope greets ten new ambassadors to Holy See
 Australian court refuses to dismiss charges against reporters in Pell case
 Vatican publishes guidance for bishops on ecumenism
 Archbishop Chaput rebukes Cardinal Gregory on Communion for Biden
 Former DeSales University priest indicted on child pornography offenses
 Diocese of Pittsburgh pays $19.2M to settle 224 clergy abuse claims
 Haiti’s bishops declare 3 days of prayer and fasting
 Indonesian president, Catholic groups deplore jihadist attack on Christians
 Justice Dept. files suit against NY village over zoning restrictions that target Orthodox Jews
 English bishops issue updated statement on Covid vaccine
 Alberta, Northwest Territories bishops: It is morally permissible to receive Covid vaccine derived from abortion
 In year-end message, leading South African bishop discusses corruption, Covid fatigue
 Australian bishops establish Catholic Safeguarding Limited
 Papal condolences following death of Archbishop Tessier
 US government aid supports Sant’Egidio community, International Union of Superiors General
 Malaysian bishops decry violence against women and children
 Pope calls on Church in Argentina to promote social friendship
 Pope establishes Worldwide Prayer Network as Vatican entity
 French bishops welcome ‘realistic’ new measures for public Masses

Released Thursday, Dec. 3

 Supreme Court orders reconsideration of California ban on indoor religious services
 Nigerian priest released by kidnappers
 English court: teen lacks mature judgment to make gender transition
 Muted installation for new Patriarch of Jerusalem; few pilgrims to Holy Land
 Swiss bishops worried by exodus from Church
 Most Americans oppose special treatment for churches in Covid lockdown
 Include disabled people in society, Pope insists
 Vienna terrorist attack reportedly intended to target church youth group
 Australian archdiocese plans ‘big and broad’ ad campaign to draw Catholics to Mass
 Trier’s cathedral becomes center of mourning after SUV attack
 Archbishop: Christians in Damascus reject closure of churches due to pandemic
 Venezuelans ‘yearn for a peaceful change,’ bishops say in election statement
 Former seminary investigator: McCarrick was ‘epicenter’ of problems
 Vatican diplomat urges all nations to ratify anti-cluster bomb treaty
 Guatemala’s bishops call for dialogue: ‘Today’s debts are tomorrow’s hunger’
 Political Islam has become ‘a nightmare’ for Muslims, Egypt’s grand mufti says
 Italian bishops say ‘midnight Mass’ must end before 10 pm curfew
 ‘They are an example to all of us’: papal tribute to missionaries slain in El Salvador in 1980
 Pope prays for Nigeria after terrorist attack on farmworkers

Released Wednesday, Dec. 2

 God loves even sinful man, Pope assures audience
 Italian bishops expect public Christmas celebrations
 43 priests die in Italy’s 2nd Covid wave
 De Blasio defends withholding Covid testing funds from Catholic schools
 New Zealand: rape victim testifies before royal commission
 Former South Korean dictator sentenced for slandering priest
 Father Rutler accused of sexual assault, denies allegation
 Over 230 abuse suits filed against New Jersey dioceses in past year
 Colorado attorney general’s report identifies 9 new priests accused of abuse
 Vatican diplomat, in Saudi Arabia, calls for respect for religious freedom
 Council of Cardinals reflects on life of the Church in midst of pandemic
 Panama archbishop decries abortion, corruption
 Shops and homes of Coptic Christians ransacked, set on fire in Egyptian village
 Federal appeals court: Medicaid patients may not sue Texas for defunding Planned Parenthood
 Funeral home that lost Supreme Court transgender case will pay $250,000 settlement
 ‘The violence is not stopping,’ Belarus bishops warn
 Include the undocumented in the Census, USCCB urges
 Pontifical commission, religious superiors discuss abuse prevention, inculturation
 Papal tribute to Zairean rite
 Pope to judges: Promote justice, dignity, equality
 New bishop appointed for troubled Buffalo diocese
 December papal prayer intention: For a life of prayer

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