Catholic Culture Overview
Catholic Culture Overview

Stories for April 2021

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, Apr. 30

 Vatican tribunals can judge cardinals, bishops, Pope rules
 Notre Dame faculty members protest mandatory vaccination
 New bishop for Biden’s diocese
 Montana enacts Religious Freedom Restoration Act
 Connecticut ends its state religious vaccine exemption
 West Virginia transgender athlete bill signed by governor
 Sledgehammer attack damages Guadalupe mural at California church
 Louisiana bishop eliminates mask requirement at Masses
 Leading Kenyan Catholic doctor, who differed with bishops over vaccine, dies of Covid
 Without tourists, Medjugorje has turned into a ghost town
 Patriarch Kirill speaks of offer to head opposition in 1990s
 ‘I will be with you,’ South Sudanese bishop-elect vows following murder attempt
 Ecumenical Patriarch issues Easter encyclical
 At least 67 attacks on Catholic churches in US over past year
 Pope calls on Venezuelans to be reconciled, serve one another

Released Thursday, Apr. 29

 Irish government will lift ban on Mass
 Pope issues tough new rules against Vatican financial corruption
 Church marks Day of Martyrdom of Polish Clergy
 Archdiocese of Santa Fe to sell 732 properties for abuse settlements
 Vatican reinstates suspended Kentucky priest, but bars him from entering schools
 New Jersey attorney general sues township, alleging anti-Jewish zoning actions
 Arizona governor signs bill banning abortions on babies with Down syndrome
 In Mexico, 237 bishops, priests, deacons have died of Covid
 Wisconsin dioceses have concerns about attorney general’s new abuse investigation
 ‘Extreme and unjust’: Scotland’s bishops criticize Ireland’s ban on the celebration of Mass
 Bishops, others weigh in on President Biden and the reception of Holy Communion
 Caritas deplores ‘worldwide indifference’ to migrants who perish in the Mediterranean
 Holy See calls for inclusion of religious and faith communities in public debate
 Ukraine’s president favors Vatican as place for summit with Putin
 German bishop confronts theologian for claiming Catholics against ‘gender equality’ are racist

Released Wednesday, Apr. 28

 Ecuador: bishops resign after charges of corruption
 Cardinal Parolin cancels trip to Venezuela
 Former auditor says Vatican funds invested in morning-after pill
 Cardinal Pell says German bishops must uphold Scriptural teachings
 CDC director: masked and vaccinated people can worship indoors
 Meditation centers on Christ, Pope tells audience
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: Meditative prayer
 Rhode Island diocese loosens Covid restrictions
 2 parishes in the Sacramento diocese vandalized
 Survey finds Jews, white Catholics most likely to accept Covid vaccine
 Vatican approves strengthening safeguarding studies, research in Rome
 Nuncio tells besieged Mexican town: The church is with you
 Oklahoma governor signs fetal heartbeat law
 Dioceses appeal to Supreme Court for protection against New York’s abortion coverage mandate
 South Korean cardinal dies at 89
 Trustees decide not to fly gay pride flags at Halton Catholic schools
 White House ‘respectfully disagrees’ with bishops on fetal tissue research
 Pope prays for South Sudanese bishop-elect who survived murder attempt
 Jesuits, Indian Catholics call for release of Father Swamy
 German Christians prepare for ecumenical convention

Released Tuesday, Apr. 27

 China continues restraints on ‘underground’ Catholics
 New Mexico dioceses respond differently after governor lift limits
 Clergy among 12 arrested after bishop-elect shot in South Sudan
 India’s bishops say government negligent in addressing pandemic
 US bishops welcome President Biden’s goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030
 Cardinal Cupich, Holocaust survivor share hate speech concerns
 Conference examines the ‘Biden effect’ on the Church
 Papal gift of medical equipment to Armenia
 England’s bishops encourage Catholics to place Sunday Mass at the heart of their post-pandemic lives
 Iraqi cardinal blames hospital tragedy on corruption
 Pope would like to visit North Korea, prelate says
 ‘Prayer, consultation, verification’: Cardinal Ouellet discusses work of Congregation of Bishops
 Faith-based aid agencies urge governments to address global famine
 Bishop Bätzing opens path to Protestants receiving Holy Communion in Germany
 Rally at Connecticut Catholic college ‘affirms support for LGBTQ+ community’
 Pope encourages Poor Clare nuns in their vocation

Released Monday, Apr. 26

 Canonization looms for Charles de Foucauld, others
 Vos Estis investigation coming for Bishop Stika?
 Pope adding lay members to new dicasteries
 Cyprus: Orthodox defy lockdown orders for Easter
 Quebec court upholds most of religious symbols ban, but English-language schools exempt
 10 martyrs beatified in Guatemala
 German president urged to withhold medal for Cardinal Marx
 UN leader, Pope Francis urge global multilateral solutions for peace, prosperity
 Spanish bishops: 220 abuse allegations reported to Vatican since 2001
 14 priests in India lost to Covid in 4 days
 Vatican prefect commemorates anniversary of Armenian genocide
 Eastern churches: Do not forget the Syrian bishops kidnapped by jihadists in 2013
 14th-century lay Dominican declared a saint
 Priesthood is ‘a gift of service,’ Pope says at ordination Mass
 Papal appeal: Migrants at sea should never be denied aid
 In Ireland, Church publishes new primary school sex education program
 Papal message to President Biden’s climate summit
 Jesus is the ‘true shepherd who defends, knows and loves his sheep,’ Pope tells pilgrims

Released Friday, Apr. 23

 Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop Aquila at odds over Eucharist
 Tensions in Jerusalem after police ban Ramadan meetings
 Cardinal Wyszynski beatification set for September
 Azerbaijan to require state approval of religious ministers
 US bishops back Trillion Trees Act
 Legionaries of Christ leader meets with Pope
 The lost embryos
 Wisconsin to launch statewide investigation of clergy sex abuse
 Polling analysts: It’s not just young white liberals who are leaving religion
 3 abducted priests, religious released in Haiti
 Culture of encounter, education necessary in fight against terrorism, Vatican diplomat says
 New appeal by South Korean bishops to protect life
 3 Eastern Catholic patriarchs call for international conference on Lebanon
 2 years after the Easter Sunday bombings, Christians in Sri Lanka pray and demand justice
 Pope speaks of teamwork, amateur spirit in meeting with water polo team
 ‘It is time to act, we are at the limit,’ Pope says in Earth Day message
 Vatican releases official prayer for World Meeting of Families
 Cardinal Gregory reflects on decline of Catholic religious practice
 Church Assembly in Latin America: listening phase begins
 Background: World Day of Prayer for Vocations
 US bishops’ pro-life chairman denounces reversal of limits on human fetal tissue research

Released Thursday, Apr. 22

 Church leaders plan fight against witchcraft in Africa
 Pope meets Lebanese leader, urges end to stalemate
 Archdiocese offers update on Father Perrone investigation; CDF declines to proceed
 Retired French bishop accused of sexual abuse
 Catholics in Vietnam fight evictions
 Pope calls for monthlong global prayer marathon for end of pandemic
 Federal court upholds Ohio law banning abortions on babies With Down syndrome
 27 religious organizations criticize religious exemptions from Covid regulations
 Vatican diplomat calls on international community to work toward Covid vaccine for all
 Bishops urge Mexican people to overcome divisions
 34 million people threatened with famine, Catholic agency warns
 Bankruptcy judge bars Diocese of Rochester from shielding identities of accused priests
 Catholic leaders see Derek Chauvin verdict as a call for more action
 Ex-priest’s trial was fair, federal appeals court rules
 In Iraqi Kurdistan, government seeks to counter illegal expropriation of Christians’ property
 Prelate expresses disappointment that low refugee admissions goal remains
 USCCB calls on people of good will to commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

Released Wednesday, Apr. 21

 Haiti: Catholic schools close to protest kidnapping
 Pope sents respirators to Colombia, Brazil
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: Vocal prayer
 Catholic leader in Afghanistan dreads US pull-out
 As Earth Day approaches, US bishops call Catholics to do their part
 Closures of Catholic schools in Black neighborhoods provoke sense of abandonment
 Sri Lanka cardinal: Closed schools and minutes of silence to mark Easter Sunday bombings
 Papal condolences follow death of Cardinal Khoarai
 Leading Ukrainian prelate thanks Pope Francis for appeal for peace
 Irish bishop calls on custodial parents not to alienate children from former spouse
 Report: Most of world’s population live in countries that violate religious freedom
 Theme announced for 1st World Day of Grandparents and Elderly
 Christians in India accuse government of double standard as millions attend Hindu festival
 God is alive and working in Iraq, Pope says to Patriarch
 Statement of US bishop chairmen on verdict in trial of Derek Chauvin

Released Tuesday, Apr. 20

 Minnesota governor grants religious exemption to curfew order
 Minnesota archbishop offers special Mass to pray for jurors, peace in communities
 Catholic health advocates urge US to take the lead in global vaccine distribution
 Magazine analyzes Maronite Patriarch’s efforts to avert catastrophe in Lebanon
 Bishop Hoeppner apologizes to Crookston diocese during farewell Mass
 Australian bishops urge Catholics to get vaccinated amid push for more vaccine options
 Trustees to vote on whether to fly gay pride flags at Halton Catholic schools
 Costa Rica’s bishops declare special day of prayer amid pandemic
 Humanitarian situation is increasingly alarming, Mozambique’s bishops warn
 India’s top court dismisses bid for federal anti-conversion law
 Nuns charged over childbirth deaths in Madhya Pradesh free on bail
 ISIS executes a Coptic Christian in North Sinai
 Cardinal Sako: Pope’s presence in Iraq broke ‘barrier of fear’ for local Christians
 +Cardinal Sebastian Koto Khoarai, 91
 USCCB pro-life chairman calls HHS proposed rule on Title X ‘terrible policy’
 Archbishop prays for shooting victims, a stop to ‘senseless violence’

Released Monday, Apr. 19

 Islamic State films ‘execution’ of Coptic Orthodox man
 Irish primate raps ‘draconian’ ban on public celebration of Mass
 Beatification cause advancing for founder of European Union
 Jesuits pledged $100M to atone for taking part in slave trade; some descendants want a new deal
 Islamic State seeks revival in Christian countries
 US bishops’ pro-life committee chairman weighs in on chemical abortion pill policy change
 Vatican issues World Circus Day message
 Vatican foreign minister pays tribute to Prince Philip
 UN refugee agency chief, Pope discuss people on the move
 Pope Francis applauds beatification of monks who died protecting the Eucharist
 Pope appeals for peace and reconciliation in eastern Ukraine
 ‘To look, to touch, and to eat’: Pope reflects on apostles’ encounter with the Risen Christ
 Some Catholic universities begin policies mandating Covid vaccinations
 Catholic Church in Russia celebrates 30 years since rebirth
 Maronite Patriarch invokes Paris and Washington accord to unblock Lebanese crisis
 Catholic refugee advocates want Biden to live up to campaign promises

Released Friday, Apr. 16

 USCCB letter campaign urges abortion-free vaccines
 Scientists create embryos mixing human, monkey cells
 Vatican statement for Muslims at Ramadan: focus on hope
 Irish Church leaders meet with premier: ban on Mass not discussed
 Pennsylvania diocese launches ‘Year of the Real Presence’
 Haitian police fire tear gas at conclusion of Mass celebrated by 11 bishops
 Father Kapaun’s remains to return to Kansas, family says
 Kerala: 42-year-old nun found dead inside the well
 Nuncio to Filipinos: ‘Live your baptismal calling’
 Notre-Dame Cathedral ‘holding up’ 2 years after Paris fire
 Pope calls on every diocese to accompany popular movements for work, wages, and housing
 Missionary priest assesses US withdrawal from Afghanistan
 The Chinese government is ‘relentlessly suppressing’ the Church, priest warns
 Irish bishops: Further delay in resettling refugee children ‘appalling’
 Archbishop Gomez: ‘The Church is not a political party, and we are not activists’
 Pope Francis: ‘Brazil’s Covid crisis has left no one untouched’
 German Catholics plan huge blessing of same-sex unions on May 10
 German legislators consider ending state payments to churches
 ‘Look reality in the eye,’ nuncio tells Mexican bishops
 Accountability, transparency, due process still needed, abuse experts say
 As policies shift, Protestants and other faith groups join Catholics in helping immigrants at the border

Released Thursday, Apr. 15

 Vatican plans conference on holistic healing
 USCCB launches letter-writing campaign to pharmaceutical companies on vaccines and abortion
 French high court clears cardinal of abuse cover-up claims
 South Carolina diocese files suit over anti-Catholic Blaine amendment
 Sant’Egidio community, French government sign refugee agreement
 Europe’s Christian leaders celebrate 20th anniversary of the ‘Charta Oecumenica’
 In Ireland, Catholic, Protestant leaders call for unified political response to tensions
 Pope pays tribute to St. Teresa of Avila
 Haiti’s bishops demand release of kidnapping victims
 Belarus bishops silent on human rights abuses
 In South Korea, record low growth in Church membership amid pandemic
 Ban children and young people from extraordinary form of the Mass, Jesuit writer urges
 Cardinal Cupich, other Catholic leaders tell Harvard panel victims are ‘true north’ of anti-abuse fight
 Scottish bishops’ election statement emphasizes human life, dignity of the person
 New assisted suicide law threatens the disabled and mentally ill, Canadian bishops warn
 Ghana’s bishops deplore ritual killings
 Cardinal Parolin offers overview of Vatican’s Secretariat of State

Released Wednesday, Apr. 14

 Pope Francis reflects on the Church as teacher of prayer
 Priests in Daunte Wright’s community urge Catholics to fight racism, police violence
 Police, DA’s office clashed amid Bishop Hart investigation, documents show
 7th Catholic peace activist sentenced to prison for nuclear base break-in
 New Jersey gubernatorial candidate faces criticism for anti-Catholic comments
 ‘Vaccine passports’ draw debate over medical necessity and ethics
 CRS praises Biden administration’s proposed boost to foreign assistance
 Scholar urges Catholics to have courage to speak out against Equality Act
 Cardinal Cupich pays tribute to Cardinal Bernardin’s 1992 plan to confront abuse
 Chaldean Patriarch, in Ramadan message, calls for removal of anti-Christian polemics from Iraqi textbooks
 Hebei closes nuns’ orphanage for the disabled
 German Catholics, Lutherans devote ecumenical week to end-of-life care
 Pontifical academy concerned about neo-populism
 Pope expresses closeness to victims of violence in southern Colombia
 Nigerian bishop builds mosque for displaced Muslims
 Myanmar military raids churches, temples
 El Paso bishop: Christianize the situation at the border—don’t politicize it
 Pandemic’s overarching failure is lack of cooperation, says Vatican health task force leader

Released Tuesday, Apr. 13

 Jimmy Lai urges journalists to seek justice in Hong Kong
 Italian magistrate orders arrest of suspect in Vatican real-estate scandal
 Minnesota bishop resigns after Vatican investigation
 Former Cincinnati auxiliary bishop who withheld abuse information named pastor of 2 parishes
 New book explores plague of abuse in Church’s new religious movements
 Colorado bishops: Sunday and holy day dispensation to be lifted on Pentecost Sunday
 Priest who leads elite Jesuit school is fired over sexual misconduct charges
 Tabernacle, Eucharist desecrated in Mexican chapel
 Archbishop Hebda encourages prayers, peace after police-involved traffic-stop death
 Australian bishops’ conference receives positive safeguarding audit
 Chaldean Patriarch calls for a ‘secular and civil’ Iraqi state
 In Faisalabad, 2 Christian nurses accused of blasphemy; 1 is injured
 Kenya’s bishops oppose plans to close massive refugee camps
 Catholic conservative candidate wins Ecuador’s presidential election
 Imo priest freed after one night in kidnappers’ den
 ‘We cannot wait any longer’: Venezuela’s bishops call on Maduro regime to vaccinate population
 Catholic Patriarch deplores sanctions against Syria
 US, India lead world in priestly ordinations
 Interfaith group asks Biden administration to step up reunification of border families
 Church in Malta concerned over push to legalize marijuana

Released Monday, Apr. 12

 Vatican symposium to study theology of priesthood
 Haitian priests, nuns among kidnap victims
 Shanghai pilgrimage cancelled, but amusement park is open
 London police ‘regret’ disrupting Good Friday liturgy
 +Cardinal Edward Cassidy, 96
 Supreme Court halts enforcement of California’s limits on in-home worship services
 The disciples received Jesus’ mercy and became merciful, Pope preaches on Divine Mercy Sunday
 Catholic nonprofit CEO arrested by FBI in fraud case
 Defrocked US priest revered in East Timor despite abuse accusations
 Catholic Charities director accuses Alex Jones of ‘staged confrontation’ over child migrant video
 Few signs of a Catholic ‘bump’ for Biden
 Bishop urges politicians to avoid ‘damaging politicization’ as unrest engulfs Belfast
 Warsaw Jewish Museum director calls on Polish Catholic university to take action against ‘blood libel’ priest
 Pope offers condolences following death of Prince Philip
 DR Congo’s bishops warn of ‘Islamization’ in east
 Cardinal Czerny calls for Eastertide conversion that could ‘eventually reverse the climate crisis’
 Bishops seek changes from Nigerian government
 Ireland’s bishops seek feedback on Synodal Pathway process
 Vatican Covid commission backs debt cancellation for African nations
 South Sudan’s leading prelate hopeful Pope will visit nation
 Holy See, Philippines mark 70 years of diplomatic relations

Released Friday, Apr. 9

 Vatican Museums to reopen in May
 Russian patriarchate reaches out to Chinese Orthodox
 Kazakhstan law bans all distribution of religious material
 Cardinal Woelki: Strengthen canon law on clerical abuse
 Arkansas diocese takes no stand on state’s transgender bill
 British court says removal of Franklin Graham bus ads violated religion and speech rights
 Former Franciscan University priest indicted on rape, battery charges
 ‘How many of us will be left?’: Felician sisters face loss, pain
 Pope recalls nocturnal Eucharistic adoration in his youth
 Pope backs multi-faith efforts to eradicate child sexual abuse
 Vatican foreign minister reiterates Holy See’s opposition to anti-Semitism
 Notre Dame to require students to be vaccinated for Covid
 Human rights are undermined when elderly are cast aside, Vatican diplomat says at UN
 Congregation’s lawsuit says gas pipeline violates its religious freedom
 Protestant pastor arrested at Easter under Madhya Pradesh’s anti-conversion law

Released Thursday, Apr. 8

 Cardinal Burke: Catholic officials who promote abortion guilty of apostasy
 Paris archbishop takes action against priest for ignoring mask mandate
 American priest’s unceremonious departure shows Vatican communication problem
 Economic recovery must produce new global model, Pope tells IMF leaders
 Leading German, Swiss bishops praise Father Hans Küng
 Uganda’s leading prelate remembered as ‘loud voice for democracy’
 Indianapolis Archdiocese: Government cannot interfere in mission of Catholic schools
 31 US Catholic organizations encourage public to get vaccinated, call for equitable global distribution
 Mexican court finds priest guilty in 2019 murder of deacon
 El Paso diocese raises in-person Mass capacity to 50%
 English martyrs’ bones identified almost 150 years after discovery in an attic
 Arkansas lawmakers enact youth transgender surgery, puberty blocker ban
 Colombian bishops’ headquarters vandalized, robbed
 Attacks on Christians, especially priests, rise sharply in Nigeria
 In Indonesia, ‘it is time for Catholics to speak up,’ bishops’ conference official says
 Nebraska dioceses to restore Sunday Mass obligation in May
 Cardinal Sako suggests ways to promote interreligious harmony in Iraq
 Kidnapped Christian girl’s mother takes Punjab governor to task over forced marriages
 Assyrian monk sentenced to 2 years in a Turkish prison after giving visitors a piece of bread
 Pope prays for flood victims in Indonesia, East Timor
 Investigation finds claims against Boston College theologian not credible
 Retired Mexican bishop backtracks from legislative run
 Patriarch Al-Rahi attacks ‘plan to distort Lebanese identity’

Released Wednesday, Apr. 7

 Health is a matter of justice, Vatican statement argues
 Russian prelate: Orthodox Church will not change date for Easter
 New York’s Cardinal Dolan: ‘time to get back to Sunday Mass’
 Federal judge finds Michigan university violated rights of student religious group
 European Catholics fear erosion of religious freedom across continent
 Fargo bishop reinstates general obligation to attend Mass
 Graduate program aims to reverse decline seen in Catholic art, literature
 Over 2,800 lawsuits filed against New York State dioceses, abuse attorney says
 Peru’s bishops call for peaceful election
 Pray for those who risk their lives to fight for human rights, Pope says in video
 Cardinal Ranjith slams Sri Lanka’s former president over Easter bombings
 Nun who faces conversion charges in Madhya Pradesh speaks out
 Prelate sees need to ‘turn ourselves into missionaries now’
 Phoenix bishop issues exhortation on the Holy Eucharist
 Disgraced New Zealand bishop’s future lies with the Vatican, cardinal tells commission
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: Praying in communion with the saints

Released Tuesday, Apr. 6

 Hans Küng, dissident theologian, dead at 93
 In Indonesia, anti-Christian terrorist attacks remain part of the landscape
 Newark Archdiocese let priest work after 1 abuse allegation—now there are 2 more
 In UK and Ireland, some prelates, priests criticize Vatican document on same-sex blessings
 Church leaders in Africa: US return to Paris climate accord could make up for ‘lost momentum’
 Treasures rescued from rubble of Christchurch’s demolished cathedral
 Retired Mexican bishop plans run for legislature
 London police halt Good Friday service, say pandemic protocols violated
 Archbishop Chaput pens book on ‘Things Worth Dying For’
 Churches’ challenge to Minnesota Covid orders moves ahead
 Maronite Patriarch to Hezbollah: Stop dragging Lebanon into wars and divisions
 Vatican Secretary of State defends agreement with China, calls for Church unity
 Nigerian bishop calls for end to violence

Released Monday, Apr. 5

 Pope speaks on message of angels at empty tomb
 Catholic agency appeals for seafarers stranded by Covid lockdown
 Papal visit to homeless persons receiving Covid vaccine
 Build fraternity and unity, Cardinal Cantalamessa urges in Good Friday homily
 Pope Francis presides at Way of the Cross in a near-empty St Peter’s Square
 Christ, alive today, always helps begin anew, Pope preaches at Easter Vigil
 Nazareth, the Cross, and Pentecost: Pope recalls 500th anniversary of evangelization of the Philippines
 Pope Francis celebrates Mass on Easter Sunday
 Papal condolences follow death of Cameroon’s Cardinal Tumi at 90

Released Sunday, Apr. 4

 Pope Francis: Easter Message Urbi et Orbi [To the City and the World]: video, full text

Released Friday, Apr. 2

 Gunfire targets Missouri convent
 Pope celebrates surprise Holy Thursday evening Mass with ousted cardinal
 Mexican-US border bishops issue statement on migrants
 Pope Francis, Grand Imam write forewords to book on Human Fraternity document
 The Eucharist is the ‘life and center of the Church,’ Cardinal Re preaches at evening Mass of Holy Thursday
 Papal gratitude for 100,000 messages of well-wishes from Buenos Aires
 Joyful proclamation, persecution, and the cross go together, Pope preaches at Holy Thursday Chrism Mass

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