Stories for August 2021

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Tuesday, Aug. 31

 Vicar general of Cameroon diocese kidnapped
 Chaldean prelate sees Macron visit to Iraq as unhelpful
 Las Vegas bishop: no support for vaccine-exemption requests
 Federal court tosses Catholic student’s lawsuit against UMass vaccine mandate
 100 Hindu extremists attack Pentecostal clergyman in Chhattisgarh
 In Turkish city, Armenians celebrate 1st Mass in more than a century
 Pope urges Italian bishops to make parishes ‘schools of service’
 Vatican responds to Jewish leaders’ concerns about Pope’s remarks on the Law
 Catholic Charities CEO alarmed by high court decision ending eviction moratorium
 Cardinal Burke transferred out of intensive care unit
 Expert says Poland experiencing a sea change on clerical abuse
 Pope says nurse saved his life, brushes off ‘hurricane’ of resignation rumors
 Earthquake deals a powerful blow to Haiti’s Catholic churches
 Background: World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

Released Monday, Aug. 30

 Catholics can take or decline vaccination in good conscience: Bishop Olmsted
 Australian bishop removed after abuse investigation
 Tunnel connects Catholic cathedral, main mosque in Jakarta
 Traditionalist group launches ‘Living Rosary’ for its future
 English university rejects Catholic chaplain, citing unpopular views
 New research confirms work of Pope Pius XII to shield Jews from Nazis
 Ethiopian bishops call for prayers for country’s security
 Three candidates advance toward beatification
 Syro-Malabars to observe uniform liturgical rite beginning in November
 Federal appeals court reverses itself in favor of NY pro-life defendants
 Kansas City archbishop issues statement on Covid and vaccine mandates
 In Yakima diocese, seminarians spend summer immersed in ministry to migrants
 Amid pandemic, Philippine bishop declares 40 days of fasting and penitence in his archdiocese
 Leading synod official asks monks, other contemplatives to pray for upcoming synod
 Pope Francis makes changes to the Vatican’s Chapter of St. Peter
 ‘God loves you, you are his privileged ones,’ Pope tells members of Lazare Association
 Master of papal liturgical ceremonies named bishop of Italian diocese
 Pope Francis urges prayer, fasting for Afghanistan
 Pray for purity of heart, avoid blaming others, Pope exhorts pilgrims

Released Friday, Aug. 27

 Shi’ite leader presses for return of Christian homes in Iraq
 Puerto Rican bishops: no justification for refusing Covid vaccination
 Peru Church leaders warn against ‘authoritarianism’
 European bishops’ spokesman decries Western response in Afghanistan
 Traditionalist groups to meet in Rome, discuss motu proprio
 Pope still in slow recovery from surgery
 Crisis is opportunity, Pope reminds Catholic lawmakers
 Whistleblower in the case of disgraced Cardinal O’Brien tells his story
 Australian legal scholar: Pell trial was vendetta by police, prosecutors
 Church of England admits to failings over allegations against priest who took his own life
 Venerable Fulton Sheen ‘should be made a saint,’ says Peoria coadjutor bishop
 Visiting Ukraine, Ecumenical Patriarch speaks of his primacy in Orthodox world
 Bishops call for end to violence, bloodletting in Nigeria
 Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize winner, meets with Pope
 Canadian cathedral vandalized again
 Father Lombardi takes stock of Vatican’s response to sexual abuse
 Pope to Caritas Argentina: Renewal is an experience of going outwards
 Pope encourages Laudato Si’ Movement in its work

Released Thursday, Aug. 26

 Argentine archbishop decries Pope’s move against traditional Mass
 Spain’s top court overturns vaccine-passport requirement at bars
 Atheist to head Harvard’s chaplaincy
 Fearful Afghan Christians struggle to leave, not given evacuation priority
 Italian religious becomes first female secretary of Vatican dicastery
 Missionaries of Charity arrive safely from Afghanistan
 Spokane diocese is complying with state vaccination mandate for teachers, bishop clarifies
 Survivors abused by ‘sadistic’ Australian priest win compensation battle, but money ‘won’t change’ impact
 Leading Nigerian prelate decries bad governance
 In US, Native Catholic schools chart a new way forward
 Valencia archdiocese celebrates Jubilee Year of the Holy Chalice
 Israeli rabbis ask Pope to clarify remarks on Jewish Law
 Federal court dismisses suit against superseded Covid order
 Christians live in fear, misery following Buddhist attacks in Bangladesh
 Chinese cities, counties offer rewards for spying on ‘illegal religious activities’
 Rights awards mark 13th anniversary of India’s anti-Christian violence
 Pope prays for Paralympians and victims of 2016 Italy earthquake
 Philippine bishops call for observance of Season of Creation, warn planet is ‘on verge of the abyss’

Released Wednesday, Aug. 25

 Armenian Christian cemetery desecrated in Turkey
 Nun attacked, robbed in Bangladesh
 ‘No more delay!’: USCCB issues action alert on immigration reform
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: ‘The dangers of the Law’
 Chicago priest joins staff of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
 Pope names Italian layman to head Vatican publishing house
 Nun decries Texas governor’s executive order forbidding transportation of migrants
 Las Vegas diocese won’t issue religious exemptions from vaccine mandates
 Catholic school in Lansing loses appeal over mask policy
 Paralympics a source of inspiration and hope, Vatican official says
 Holy See expresses deep concern over crisis in Afghanistan

Released Tuesday, Aug. 24

 Egypt supports church-building campaign
 Papal greeting to Laudato Si’ conference
 Pope sending emergency aid to Haiti after earthquake
 Spokane bishop: protect conscience on vaccine, but no letters from priests
 Chicago archdiocese to require vaccination for all priests, employees
 Afghan Christians advised to stay home to avoid Taliban persecution
 This fall, papal travel will change with closure of Pope’s favorite airline
 Vatican still silent about why Fulton Sheen sainthood effort delayed, Peoria bishop says
 Federal court upholds student religious objections to medical college’s Covid vaccine requirement
 Catholics assess Canada’s snap election
 US bishops welcome increase in food stamp benefits
 Priests can’t facilitate ‘religious exemption’ to vaccine, Arkansas bishop says
 Mexico City archdiocese encourages Covid vaccination
 Sri Lanka cardinal encourages black-flag displays for justice for Easter Sunday attacks
 Archbishop Paglia: Some end-of-life care resembles new form of eugenics
 Pope upholds Korean saint as model of faith and evangelization

Released Monday, Aug. 23

 Chaldean Catholic patriarchate drops ‘Babylon’ from title
 Patriarch Bartholomew visits Kiev despite Moscow opposition
 Chicago mayor receives Eucharist at Mass celebrated by Cardinal Cupich
 Recover central role of the Eucharistic liturgy, Pope urges
 Costa Rica: priest suspended for celebrating Mass in Latin?
 Hong Kong activists, in plea bargain, point to Jimmy Lai
 Spanish bishop resigns: under pressure from gay groups
 Another Polish prelate found negligent on abuse charges
 Vandalism at church on site of Jesus’ miracle
 Minnesota archbishop: no need for priests’ involvement in vaccine exemptions
 Indicted former Vatican finance watchdog resigns from Swiss bank role
 In ‘precedent setting’ transgender case, court strikes down Hobby Lobby bathroom policy
 Cardinal Burke taken off ventilator, to leave ICU
 Wisconsin bishops encourage vaccination, oppose vaccine mandates
 Dublin archbishop says belief has ‘vanished’ in Ireland
 Bishop calls for end of ‘sit-at-home’ order in southeastern Nigeria
 USCCB president encourages special collections for Haiti
 ‘Our sisters were killed in cold blood’: South Sudan mourns slain nuns
 Caritas Pakistan on alert for Afghan refugees
 Increase Afghan refugee intake, leading Australian prelate urges prime minister
 Papal prayers, greetings for Waldensian synod
 In special Mass in St. Peter’s, new Vatican prefect recalls St. Andrew Kim Taegon
 The world is scandalized by the Incarnation and the Eucharist, Pope tells pilgrims

Released Friday, Aug. 20

 Church leaders mediate talks to ease political crisis in Colombia
 New Hampshire law ensures churches stay open in emergency
 Amid Ortega’s crackdown on opponents, is the Catholic Church in Nicaragua next?
 Federal judge halts enforcement of Kentucky governor’s mask mandate in Catholic schools
 ‘Serious conversations’ ongoing with First Nations, Vancouver archbishop says
 Spokane bishop challenges Washington governor’s vaccine mandate
 Suspected killer of Ugandan priest arrested
 Bishops urge Kerala’s Catholics to have larger families
 A decade of war and sanctions have led to the collapse of Syria’s Christian population
 Pope, Caritas weigh in on World Humanitarian Day
 With NY lawsuit window closed, is door open for Sheen’s beatification?
 Caritas: ‘Wait and see’ how Taliban affects humanitarian work in Afghanistan
 Bishops say US government must act urgently to relocate fleeing Afghans

Released Thursday, Aug. 19

 Pope calls for courage in ‘restart’ after Covid lockdown
 Federal court upholds Texas ‘dismemberment abortion’ ban
 Vatican diplomacy discouraging ‘underground’ Chinese Catholics, archbishop says
 Australian archbishop decries ‘insensitive’ bid to legalize euthanasia
 German cabinet member criticizes Church’s teaching on same-sex unions
 Washington archdiocese launches Laudato Si’ action plan
 Man arrested and charged for fire at historic Glasgow church
 Statue in remembrance of Covid victims vandalized outside Brooklyn parish
 Archdiocese of Philadelphia advises priests not to help Catholics seeking exemptions from vaccine mandates
 Texas bishop issues mask mandate for all indoor activities
 Bishop Wall: Vaccine is morally acceptable, but should not be mandated
 Ugandan priest brutally murdered
 Nobel laureate, CRISPR developer named to Pontifical Academy of Sciences
 President of US bishops’ conference expresses sorrow, offers prayers in wake of Haiti earthquake
 Papal condolences following mass shooting in English city
 Brazilian bishop resigns days after sexual video circulates

Released Wednesday, Aug. 18

 GOP senators question IRS treatment of faith-based non-profits
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: The propaedeutic value of the Law
 First Nations leaders condemn Edmonton priest’s remarks on residential schools
 Mass obligation reinstated in Kentucky archdiocese
 ‘At the moment, we can only pray,’ US military archbishop says of Afghanistan
 Priests question absence of government in besieged Mexican towns
 National Catholic Bioethics Center weighs in on vaccine mandates
 Former Wyoming Catholic College CFO denies claims of fraud in ongoing lawsuit
 ‘Deeply wrong’: bishops criticize Biden administration for dropping case involving conscience law
 Pope, other prelates urge Covid vaccination as act of love
 Holy See representative visits depopulated Christian villages in Galilee
 2 nuns killed in South Sudan after vehicle ambushed along highway

Released Tuesday, Aug. 17

 No public papal Mass planned during visit to Scotland
 Two Jesuits, four Missionaries of Charity stranded in Afghanistan
 Buffalo diocese, in bankruptcy, faces over 900 abuse claims
 Biden team drops case against hospital that forced nurse to assist at abortion
 Nicaraguan leader calls Catholic clerics ‘sons of the devil’
 Sri Lanka cardinal unhappy about probe into Easter bombings
 Catholics in China told to celebrate Communist Party and forgo Marian pilgrimage
 7 years after ISIS invasion, Iraqis still face uncertain future
 After Maronite Patriarch pressured, US advocates express support
 Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, marks 60 years of priesthood
 Arlington bishop: US has ‘moral duty’ to evacuate Afghans who assisted military
 Dublin archbishop says the church needs to reach out to LGBTQ+ community as Catholicism faces a ‘crisis’
 Cardinal Burke in critical condition, breathing with ventilator
 Altercation occurs during protest outside Catholic church in Edmonton
 Pope expresses hope in young people on UN International Youth Day
 Pope lends support to fight against Covid in Eswatini
 Archbishop Hoser, apostolic visitor to Medjugorje, dies at 78

Released Monday, Aug. 16

 Dispute over traditional liturgy threatens Church credibility: Cardinal Sarah
 Pilgrimage to birthplace of St. Oscar Romero cancelled
 Dublin archbishop says faith has ‘vanished’ in Ireland
 Taliban leader surprised by ease of victory
 Bishop’s residence ruined, priest killed, cardinal injured in Haiti earthquake
 California diocese will not issue religious vaccine exemption letters
 In midst of violence, Kaduna bishops declare week of prayer and fasting
 Edmonton priest placed on indefinite leave for remarks on Jews, residential schools
 Bishops in Georgia, Florida, Texas take no position on new voting laws
 Court upholds Notre Dame’s exemption from contraceptive mandate
 US bishops’ migration chairman welcomes immigration language in Senate budget resolution
 Pope urges Latin American religious to be joyful witnesses
 ‘Pray, pray, pray for Afghanistan,’ priest in charge of mission pleads
 Pope prays for peace in Afghanistan and appeals for solidarity with Haiti
 Papal encouragement for pilgrimages to Marian shrines
 Imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary’s humility, Pope tells pilgrims

Released Friday, Aug. 13

 Brazilian bishops say president’s rhetoric undermines democracy
 Afghan Christians fearful of Taliban takeover
 Archbishop, Evangelical leader decry ‘Big Tech’ censorship of ideas
 New Hampshire enacts law to protect churches in future emergencies
 ‘We need to mandate the vaccine’: head of Catholic Health Association is ready for bold action
 Facing Covid criticism, Texas bishops, Catholic Charities defend ministry to migrants
 NY group questions Mayor de Blasio’s silence on hate crimes targeting Catholics
 Oregon archdiocese reinstates mask requirement at Mass
 Senate, in 50-49 vote, voices opposition to taxpayer-funded abortion
 Bishop of San Diego asks priests not to take part in religious vaccine exemptions
 Cardinal Parolin praises Chinese Catholics’ witness of faith
 2 years after revolution, Christians in Sudan evaluate gains
 Irish dioceses are reviving ‘Mass Rocks’ tradition
 Pope Francis: Literature and art must not exploit slave labor

Released Thursday, Aug. 12

 Cardinal Cupich ‘leaning hard’ on Catholic ethicists to drop opposition to mandatory vaccination
 Vatican prosecutors withhold witness statements in financial-scandal trial
 South Dakota bishops support religious exemptions to Covid vaccine
 Congo cardinal thanks faithful for support after assault
 Texas bishop mandates vaccines for diocesan employees
 Federal judge rules in favor of Indianapolis archdiocese in same-sex marriage discrimination case
 ‘Our reckoning’: US sisters examine their orders’ roles in slavery, racism
 Chad’s bishops call for international support during political transition
 Religious leaders from 4 African countries sign joint declaration against modern slavery
 NY Catholics asked to pray for Cuomo’s successor, women who came forward
 In US, Catholic Charities welcomes incoming Afghan refugees
 Catholic religious appeal to India’s Supreme Court over tax order
 Papal condolences following death of Cardinal Martínez Somalo, ‘devoted collaborator of 6 popes’
 Ethiopian bishops say it is not too late to stop the war in Tigray
 Pope Francis mourns murdered French priest

Released Wednesday, Aug. 11

 Australian diocese withdraws controversial religious curriculum after lay protests
 Father Joseph Koterski, SJ, dead at 67
 Vatican first: phone call interrupts papal audience
 Cardinal Burke recovering from Covid
 Pakistan woman charged with blasphemy for receiving text message
 Poll shows religious differences in vaccine acceptance for children
 German archbishop seeks Church advocacy for gays
 Pope names another Nobel laureate to Pontifical Academy of Sciences
 Michigan academy teaches the trades with a focus on faith
 White House announces 1st Muslim religious freedom ambassador
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: The Mosaic Law
 Catholics in France mourn Father Maire, recall his generosity
 India’s Dalit Christians demand constitutional rights
 Maronite Patriarch slams Hezbollah for attacking Israel
 Vatican message pays tribute to Spanish Civil War martyr
 Vatican newspaper calls for urgent action on Mediterranean migration
 Spanish Cardinal Eduardo Martínez Somalo dies at 94
 US bishops’ chairman grateful to Senate for passing infrastructure bill, signals need for additional action

Released Tuesday, Aug. 10

 Federal court blocks Biden ‘transgender’ mandate
 US bishops criticize Biden administration over due process for asylum seekers
 Bishop Zanchetta faces Argentine trial on sexual abuse charges in October
 8-year-old becomes youngest person charged with blasphemy in Pakistan
 China arrests leaders of evangelical church demolished in 2018
 Cardinal Gracias: Tribal groups suffer ‘injustice and exploitation’ around the world
 27 out of 28 US Jesuit universities require Covid vaccination for students
 British bishop: ‘World leaders must come together with urgency’ on climate change
 Military Archdiocese supports Covid vaccine mandate for service members
 Apostolic nuncio, Cardinal Gregory address 10,000 youth at Neocatechumenal Way event
 India’s bishops lament 50th anniversary of abortion law
 1 bishop, 35 religious communities endorse ‘A Catholic Call for LGBTQ Non-Discrimination’

Released Monday, Aug. 9

 Investigation of Cologne archdiocese concludes; results sent to Rome
 Philadelphia archbishop urges all to be vaccinated
 Italian officials intercept threatening mail to Pope
 French priest’s murder intensifies debate on immigration
 In Faisalabad, another Christian girl kidnapped and converted to Islam
 Federal appeals court upholds Tennessee’s abortion waiting period
 Seattle archdiocese’s plan to close churches stirs sadness, anger and resistance
 German political party, in video, assails opposing politician as ‘ultra-Catholic’
 Colorado bishops oppose vaccine mandates
 St. Dominic’s message is timely and timeless, superior-general says on 800th anniversary of saint’s death
 Holy See delegation warns against ‘swarms of kamikaze mini-drones’
 A dozen founders of religious institutes under investigation, Vatican official reveals
 Vatican announces plan for ‘Global Catholic Compact on the Family’
 California diocese releases list of 66 credibly accused priests
 Pope reflects on Jesus’ words: ‘I am the bread of life’

Released Friday, Aug. 6

 Christians plead for protection in Indonesia’s Aceh province
 Separatist forces seize ancient Christian site in Ethiopia
 Indian cardinal declares day of mourning for abortion
 Argentina recognizes martyred bishop’s death as murder
 Archbishop Cordileone ‘grieved’ by angry reactions to Traditionis Custodes
 Supreme Court declines to hear church’s preemptive lawsuit against further Covid restrictions
 Priest who stole $516K from New Jersey parish sentenced to 7 years in prison
 Cuban religious report detainees held without trial after protests
 California, Florida Catholic colleges plan merger
 Some European bishops give cautious backing to vaccination requirement
 Former Buffalo seminary professor pleads guilty to stalking investigative reporter
 Survey: majority of Catholics do not know who McCarrick is
 Philippine bishops, schismatic church pledge mutual forgiveness, healing of memories
 South Carolina priest placed on leave after woman files suit
 Professor named to National Review Board
 ‘We have lost everything,’ priest says 1 year after Beirut explosion

Released Thursday, Aug. 5

 China tightening curbs on independent journalists
 Bioethicist insists: vaccines cannot be mandatory
 Catholic universities in Argentina call on courts to defend the unborn from abortion law
 Challenge to Virginia’s Covid restrictions on worship services dismissed as moot
 Thousands witness Lady of La Vang statue unveiling
 Bishops applaud expanded eligibility for Afghan refugees who assisted US forces
 Urge investors away from fossil fuels, energy agency head tells Catholics
 Another lawsuit filed against McCarrick; Opus Dei priest named
 Irish bishops, government clash over Covid restrictions
 Report alleging ‘church for votes’ fuels tension in India
 Madhya Pradesh: Christian pastor beaten by Hindu extremists
 ‘Lebanon needs a chance for a better future,’ Vatican diplomat says at international conference
 Pope Francis issues appeal for Lebanon

Released Wednesday, Aug. 4

 Archbishop Gänswein says Pope is “a mystery to me”
 Myanmar: Cardinal Bo calls for peace, and prayer to curb epidemic
 Myanmar: Catholic priest, catechist abducted by armed group
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: ‘There is just one Gospel’
 Evangelization, not proselytism: video released for August papal prayer intention
 Bishops condemn theft and attacks on churches in Mbuji-Mayi and Kinshasa
 Korean Church official opposes revival of nuclear power plants
 Tribal Christian church demolished in Chhattisgarh
 In Northern Ireland, Loyalist paramilitary threats force Catholic mother, children out of home
 Dublin archbishop says he won’t stand in the way of First Communion, Confirmation ceremonies
 New Jersey diocese sets up line to gather tips about suspected theft, fraud
 2 Catholic organizations: No vaccine mandate without conscience protections
 Pope Francis appoints former Taiwanese vice-president to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
 US bishops respond to House vote to force tax payers to fund abortion overseas

Released Tuesday, Aug. 3

 Pope to resume weekly public audiences
 Twitter, AP, Reuters join forces to promote ‘trusted’ news stories
 Catholic activists in Brazil denounce violence, land invasion in indigenous Amazon territories
 Philippine bishops, other Christian leaders challenge Duterte on human trafficking
 Indian bishop saddened by false stories of forced conversions
 Parents ask San Diego diocese to ease mask requirement at Catholic schools
 USCCB, Catholic groups, politicians back Mississippi in court abortion case
 Denver archdiocese defends Catholic school’s dress code explanation
 Immigration advocates voice disappointment in Biden’s deterrence path
 Judge blocks Arkansas law prohibiting transgender medical interventions on children
 Pope appoints Nobel laureate to Pontifical Academy of Sciences
 US bishops’ chairmen respond to House vote to force taxpayers to fund elective abortions
 ‘Proactive approach’ developed to rooting out harassment in US seminaries
 Follow Christ with courage and joy, Pope tells youth at Medjugorje youth festival
 Nuns refuse to leave Kabul

Released Monday, Aug. 2

 Nicaraguan cardinal: Church will not be intimidated
 Retired Albany bishop acknowledges returning abusive priests to ministry
 New York archdiocese: priests cannot support Catholics who resist Covid vaccine
 Public Masses suspended again in Phillipines
 Manitoba tribe bans priest from its territory
 Federal judge permits racketeering suit against Mormon church
 In Pakistan, Christian nurses suffer discrimination, threats of violence
 Parents hold prayer event opposing mask rules for Atlanta’s Catholic Schools
 With Haiti in turmoil, Catholic agencies trying to help face enormous difficulties
 In Bangladesh, Christians flee after attacks by Buddhist radicals against their church
 Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians celebrate the baptism of Kievan Rus’
 German bishops appeal for Madagascar, plagued by drought, hunger
 Leading African cardinal calls for prayer, urges unity
 South Sudan’s bishops meet with nation’s president, ask to be part of peace negotiations
 Pope’s Angelus address: Let us ask ourselves, ‘Why do I seek the Lord?’
 Papal prayer intention for August: reform of the Church

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