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Stories for December 2021

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, Dec. 31

 Pope gives homily—but does not preside—at Te Deum for year’s end
 Putin: Russia, Vatican should increase joint efforts to uphold ‘moral principles in international politics’
 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew released from hospital
 Africa poised to become an ‘even more important global center of Catholicism’
 Al-Azhar Grand Imam sends Christmas greetings to Pope Francis, other Christian leaders
 Pope cancels traditional visit to Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square
 Metropolitan Hilarion: Catholic Church, Russian Orthodox Church should cooperate
 Colombian nun discusses 4-year captivity in Mali
 Polish archbishop forbids priests from receiving children in their homes
 Governments and media among modern-day Herods, Vancouver archbishop preaches
 South African cardinal recalls Archbishop Tutu
 Papal message encourages Taizé youth

Released Thursday, Dec. 30

 Bankruptcy judge orders mediation in Buffalo diocesan case
 Statue stolen at Catholic University
 Ecumenical Patriarch hospitalized with Covid, is in good condition
 102 African Orthodox clergy enter Moscow Patriarchate
 Montenegro’s deputy PM meets with Pope, invites him to visit nation
 22 Catholic missionaries slain in 2021
 Chinese bishops, priests brief Hong Kong clerics on Xi’s view of religion
 Israeli president meets with Christian leaders, declares commitment to freedom of worship
 Vatican laicizes Ohio priest convicted of sexually exploiting children
 Bishops grant Catholics dispensation to eat meat on New Year’s Eve in Poland
 Myanmar nun included in BBC’s ‘100 Women of 2021’
 Papal prayer for end of pandemic

Released Wednesday, Dec. 29

 Theme of Pope’s general audience: ‘St. Joseph, persecuted and courageous migrant’
 Former head of diocesan child protection office indicted
 Priest, 2 others held under anti-conversion law in Madhya Pradesh
 Church in Spain begins major abuse investigation
 Middle East Catholic patriarchs urge Christmas hope amid despair
 Pope warns of ‘new Herods of our time’
 In India, several acts of vandalism against churches during Christmas celebrations

Released Tuesday, Dec. 28

 Indian government holding up funds for Missionaries of Charity
 Nigerian priest killed after Christmas Mass
 Nicaragua seizes former Taiwan embassy, voids gift to Vatican
 Canadian archdiocese files for bankruptcy
 +Father Marcel Chappin, SJ, 78
 In interview with Italian journalists, Pope shares Christmas memories, discusses health
 ‘Stories of a Generation — with Pope Francis’ premieres on Netflix
 ‘The last thing to die is hope’: Chaldean Patriarch issues Christmas message
 Look to the horizon, Pope tells Holy Land youth
 Pope entrusts 2025 Holy Year preparations to Pontifical Council for New Evangelization
 Jordan’s king extends best wishes to Christians on occasion of Christmas
 Christmas in Bethlehem: true peace requires rights, not concessions, Patriarch preaches
 Laying ground for papal visit, Vatican foreign minister travels to South Sudan

Released Monday, Dec. 27

 Cardinal Cupich limits traditional liturgy in Chicago archdiocese
 India: vandals destroy statue of Christ
 Myanmar: cardinal pleads for peace after massacre
 Did Peruvian archbishop deny Christ’s sacrifice?
 Cardinal Becciu refuses to answer Cardinal Pell’s question
 Cardinal Nichols calls on British government to keep churches open amid Covid surge
 Papal condolences following death of Archbishop Tutu
 Appeals court sides with Protestant seminary in same-sex marriage case
 Pope Francis issues letter to married couples
 Pontiff laments Italy’s demographic winter
 Let us strengthen our family bonds, Pope tells pilgrims

Released Saturday, Dec. 25

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

Released Friday, Dec. 24

 ‘God comes into the world in littleness,’ Pope emphasizes in Christmas homily
 Quebec cardinal suspends public worship; Montreal prelate schedules outdoor Masses
 Wyoming Catholic College, VP sued over funds dispersed in ongoing fraud investigation
 Facebook ‘kills’ charity’s petition against forced marriage of Christian women and girls
 Infection spike puts churches in a Christmas quandary
 Synagogue where St. Mary Magdalene may have worshipped discovered in Israel
 At Christmas, African bishops have concerns about risks to peace, stability
 Cardinal Bo sparks outrage with junta chief Christmas cake photo
 Imitate St. Joseph’s dedication to work and family, Pope tells Vatican employees
 Oregon town bans churches from serving meals to homeless more than twice a week
 Vatican official: Pope is ‘trying to disconnect the leadership role from ordination’
 Responding to papal appeal, Poland’s bishops pledge assistance to migrants
 Scottish bishops postpone restoration of Sunday Mass obligation
 Custos, in Christmas message, highlights economic plight of Holy Land Christians
 Vatican spokesman: Pope is calling Curia to synodal conversion and humility

Released Thursday, Dec. 23

 Vatican extends vaccine mandate to all employees
 Pope raps ‘spiritual worldliness,’ clericalism, in annual message to Curia
 China tightens restrictions on religious internet sites
 Pope accepts Cardinal Turkson’s resignation
 Beatification for Pope John Paul I set for September
 UC Irvine fires Catholic professor who sought medical exemption from vaccine mandate
 Ethiopian bishop describes ongoing conflict as people’s ‘Way of the Cross’
 Indonesia bolsters security at churches, public venues for Christmas
 Vermont diocese seeks demolition of closed cathedral
 Man arrested after shooting outside Atlanta shrine
 Church in Karnataka vandalized
 Pope accepts resignation of Chilean bishop who called for civil disobedience against lockdown
 Plans move forward for 2022 meeting between Pope, Russian Patriarch
 War and economic crisis in Aleppo cause Christians to flee
 Scotland’s bishops: Assisted suicide attacks human dignity
 Despite promises, little has changed for migrants under Biden administration
 Gaza Catholics filled with faith, resilience during Patriarch’s visit
 Supreme Court sends Texas abortion case to federal appeals court
 EU bishops call on Europe’s governments to welcome and relocate refugees

Released Wednesday, Dec. 22

 Israel rejects Christian leaders’ protest against violence
 Pakistani president promises law to ban forced conversion to Islam
 Vatican statement notes how lockdown harms education
 Vatican repeats support for vaccination
 Papal appeal for joint European political action for refugees and migrants
 Ukrainian Catholic leader thanks Pope for support
 Canadian bishops miss deadline to release details of $30M pledge for residential school survivors
 Pope, in general audience, reflects on the birth of Jesus
 New Zealand government: Covid patients ‘may be eligible’ for assisted suicide
 Nigerian bishop: Persecution of Christians is ‘more intense now than ever’
 Rashad Hussain confirmed as 1st Muslim US religious freedom ambassador
 Patriarchate of Moscow prepares ground for new meeting with Pope Francis
 US bishops’ migration chairman pledges renewed prayer, work for immigration reform
 Myanmar’s Catholic faithful back ‘no Christmas carol, no decor’ call
 Prayers in Italy for abandoned Catholic mission in Afghanistan

Released Tuesday, Dec. 21

 Rhode Island bishop: masks not required at Mass despite state mandate
 Pope stresses education, environment in message for World Day of Peace
 Catholic Church will accept Indian government’s decision on marriage age, says cardinal
 Jakarta parish gets church permit after 34-year wait
 Chaldean Church launches a day of fasting and prayer for Iraq
 Bishop Paprocki decries repeal of Illinois parental notification law
 LA Archdiocese sues public school district over denial of federal funds for low-income school students
 NM archdiocese battles to raise enough money to settle with abuse victims
 Syria’s Christians ‘are not living, but simply subsisting,’ priest says
 Sioux Falls Catholic schools ask Supreme Court to stay OSHA vaccine mandate
 Vatican spokesman describes London real estate trial as ‘stress test’ for Vatican judicial system
 Pope appeals for help for victims of Typhoon Rai in the Philippines
 Pope meets children assisted by Santa Marta dispensary

Released Monday, Dec. 20

 Pope condemns ‘satanic’ domestic violence
 New Jersey governor applauds rule allowing nurses to perform abortions
 Cardinal Turkson confirms offer to resign
 US military giving no religious exemptions to vaccine mandate
 Papal preacher’s final Advent sermon: ‘Born of a woman’
 in Manitoba, an Oji-Cree community is trying to rebuild its Catholic church
 Cardinal O’Malley speaks of polarization, effects on opposition to Pope
 Chile’s bishops see election as new opportunity for the country
 Many women fear their voices will be ignored in synod, Vatican official says
 Pakistani nun receives desperate messages from ‘those left in Kabul’
 ‘His example inspires the world’: Lula congratulates Pope Francis on his 85th birthday
 In Burkina Faso, Christians are among 1.3 million internal refugees fleeing jihadists
 Mexico’s Guadalupe pilgrimage draws huge crowd after 1-year absence
 Renewed papal appeal for migrants
 Jesus wants a world fit for children, Pope tells youth of Italian Catholic Action
 Arise and go in haste as Mary did, Pope tells pilgrims

Released Saturday, Dec. 18

 New Vatican document tightens restrictions on traditional liturgy

Released Friday, Dec. 17

 Editorial highlights Christians under persecution at Christmas
 Focus on Covid as Pope greets new ambassadors
 Pope marks 85th birthday; AP sees ‘get tough’ approach
 Vatican archbishop urges vaccination for children
 Myanmar: bishops call for quiet Christmas celebration
 Marian statues vandalized in Colombian diocese
 Cardinal Turkson retiring?
 US bishops’ pro-life chairman denounces FDA decision on chemical abortion pill
 Vicariate of Arabia inaugurates 1st church in al-Dhafra region
 Christian families are ‘heroic amid endless suffering,’ Damascus archbishop says in Christmas message
 Korean missionary nuns arrested in Nepal
 Argentina, Uruguay bishops fight push for euthanasia in their countries
 Pope Francis meets with Spanish bishops, who invite him to visit Santiago de Compostela
 Papal commission looks at role, rights of alleged victims in canonical abuse trials
 Holy See urges joint efforts in care and protection of refugees
 Italy’s president meets with Pope; Vatican spokesman offers remarkable tribute
 Vatican newspaper draws attention to typhoon battering the Philippines

Released Thursday, Dec. 16

 Blood of St. Januarius does not liquefy
 Theologians urge change in Catholic rejection of Anglican ordination
 Cardinal Pell challenges Cardinal Becciu to explain fund transfers to Australia
 Council of Cardinals discusses Synod
 Earliest creche figures on display in Roman basilica
 New Zealand commission rips Church response to abuse charge against bishop
 Georgetown medical school offers new ‘diversity’ track
 Parish priest asks Archbishop Cordileone to reschedule visit because he’s unvaccinated
 CRS calls for ‘highest funding levels possible’ for international humanitarian assistance
 Canada sets aside $31.3B to compensate indigenous children
 New religious body adds to Islamization in Pakistan
 Papal letter pays tribute to Cardinal Simoni, Albania’s persecuted Church
 Emotions run high in Kentucky diocese as tornado recovery gets underway
 French bishops discuss abuse report, archbishop’s resignation with Pope
 Pope institutes Fratelli Tutti Foundation
 Brazilian priest leads campaign against ‘fear of poor people’
 Amid war, Ethiopia’s Eastern Catholic church forms youth in peacemaking
 ‘They are a people who suffer’: papal appeal for Haiti

Released Wednesday, Dec. 15

 Paris archbishop speaks out about resignation, rumors
 Catholics protest ‘pure defamation’ against Missionaries of Charity in India
 Church leaders plea for security in Jerusalem’s Christian quarter
 Art creates fraternity, Pope tells Christmas-concert musicians
 29% of Americans now religiously unaffiliated
 Council for Economy meets on 2022 Vatican budget
 Scottish bishop charged with plagiarism on doctoral dissertation
 Troubleshooter named to oversee finances of St. Mary Major basilica
 Death threats reported by Texas archbishop
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: ‘St. Joseph, man of silence’
 US married couple households with children fall to record low
 Neighbors fear Hollywood’s hidden convent is about to go up for sale
 Caritas launches 3-year ‘Together We’ campaign
 2 Jesuit priests win 2021 Centesimus Annus prize for Catholic social teaching
 Chile’s bishops call for religious liberty, freedom of conscience in new constitution
 Growing concern for nuns and deacons arrested in Ethiopia
 Poland’s leading prelate recalls 40th anniversary of declaration of martial law
 EU bishops, other Christian leaders urge people to get vaccinated against Covid
 With North Korea snubbing nuclear talks, Seoul makes long-shot bid for Pope’s help
 Italian bishops, Vatican newspaper renew spotlight on plight of refugees

Released Tuesday, Dec. 14

 Former Rome prosecutor claims Vatican involvement in mystery case
 Supreme Court declines to block New York vaccine mandate
 New York archdiocese to require masks for Christmas Mass
 Vatican finance trial delayed again; to resume in February
 Brazilian bishops’ conference deplores ‘frontal attack’ on indigenous in Amazon region
 New Patriarch weighs in on Armenian-Turkish relations
 Cardinal Burke thanks God during 1st public Mass since Covid recovery
 Prelate discusses his work in interpreting canon law
 Pope says he’ll meet with French sex abuse commission
 Andorra’s prime minister meets with Pontiff
 Celebrating 70 years, Caritas Internationalis aims to tackle new challenges
 Gozo residents protest outside Malta archbishop’s office
 Disability or chronic illness does not make life less sacred, Pope says
 Papal call for diplomatic end to tensions between Russia, Ukraine

Released Monday, Dec. 13

 New US rules for intercollegiate sports could exclude Catholic colleges
 Vatican decrees move candidates closer to beatification, canonization
 Vatican apologizes for snub to dissident LGBT group
 Vatican releases ritual for institution of catechists
 Wall Street Journal surveys 20 years of sex-abuse scandal
 Papal condolences for US tornado victims
 Catholic health-care providers challenge federal ‘transgender’ mandate
 Make a concrete resolution as Christmas approaches, Pope tells pilgrims
 Papal preacher’s 2nd Advent sermon: ‘God sent into our hearts the Spirit of His Son’
 UN leader meets with Vatican cardinal, affirms support for Muslim-Catholic interreligious initiative
 In Karnataka, priest attacked, religious books burned
 Spain’s deputy PM, a Communist, meets with Pope
 Cologne diocesan administrator orders examination of contracts awarded for abuse reports
 Renew zeal for Confession, Vatican cardinal urges priests
 At Vatican’s Peruvian Nativity scene, Pope Francis again warns against indifference
 France’s Interior Minister condemns threats against Catholics during procession
 Vatican newspaper laments death of homeless in Rome
 Be attentive to potential abuse of power in new religious communities, Pope tells Curial office
 Prelates call for prayers, assistance following deadly tornadoes in the South and Midwest

Released Friday, Dec. 10

 Controversy in Paris over plan to modernize interior of Notre Dame
 Texas judge rules against abortion law’s enforcement provision
 Human rights are not government concessions, Pope tells jurists
 Boston archdiocese plans mask mandate for Christmas
 Arabian peninsula’s biggest cathedral opens in Bahrain
 ‘Nonbinary’ X designation added to Michigan driver’s licenses
 Ukrainian Catholic leader addresses military chaplains amid fears of Russian invasion
 Bishop discusses liturgical turmoil in Syro-Malabar Church
 ‘We don’t want to leave Rome without a new date,’ leading Canadian bishop says
 European bishops’ legal advisors ponder Covid restrictions
 Around the world, bishops confront new same-sex marriage laws
 Indonesian Christians told to help Covid affected
 Vatican official named Mexican archbishop; implications for US seminaries?
 Cardinal Parolin pays tribute to importance of the natural law
 Let us not be afraid of our miseries, Pope tells Cenacolo Community

Released Thursday, Dec. 9

 Mexican clerics convicted for statements on marriage, human life
 Massachusetts priest silenced for opposition to Covid vaccine
 Pope quietly honors Immaculate Conception on feast day
 Did key figure in Vatican finance trial implicate Pope Francis?
 Michigan diocese restricts sacraments for transgender people
 Statue defaced at Immaculate Conception basilica in DC
 Supreme Court skeptical of Maine law barring state funds for religious schools
 Missouri city bans the use of conversion therapy on minors
 New bishop installed in Crookston, 8 months after predecessor’s resignation over cover-up
 Cincinnati archdiocese announces parish ‘family’ groups amid massive consolidation effort
 The pandemic calls for a culture of care, Pope says in interview
 Bishops join the clamor for Scotland’s school sex survey to be scrapped
 Cause for canonization of Dorothy Day readied for Rome
 Hate crimes against Christians on the rise in Europe, report finds
 Canadian bishops, indigenous leaders postpone Vatican meeting
 Papal message for dedication of tower at Sagrada Família
 Seek holiness humbly, in ordinary life, as the Virgin Mary did, Pope tells pilgrims

Released Wednesday, Dec. 8

 CWN closed for feast of the Immaculate Conception

Released Tuesday, Dec. 7

 Australian archbishop raps new restrictions on freedoms of religious institutions
 Taiwan honored at Vatican display of Nativity scenes
 Austrian bishops OK compulsory vaccination
 New Vatican norms for most serious crimes
 Student sues school over 1-game suspension, arguing gender policy infringes on speech, religious rights
 Bishops of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands decry ‘witchcraft, polygamy, war, and female homicide’
 Continued controversy over crucifixes in Italian classrooms
 Upcoming SCOTUS case focuses on religious education, ‘sectarian exclusion’
 Church in Portugal urges abuse victims to come forward
 2 German bishops question Church teaching on homosexual acts, transgenderism
 Hindu nationalists attack Catholic school in India
 Pope: New meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch possible
 Apostolic nuncio to EU dies of Covid
 Vatican diplomat weighs in on UN plan to combat human trafficking
 Boy Scouts abuse victims caught up in Chapter 11 lobbying
 ‘Let us stop this shipwreck of civilization,’ Pope warns on Lesvos

Released Monday, Dec. 6

 Pope talks to reporters about democracy, Paris archbishop, EU Christmas document
 On return to Rome, Pope visits St. Mary Major
 Papal preacher’s 1st Advent sermon: ‘God sent His Son that we might be adopted as God’s children’
 Hong Kong’s new bishop hopes to foster healing
 Pope asks pardon for sins that drove Catholic, Orthodox apart
 US bishops ‘deeply dismayed’ by Biden administration’s reinstatement of ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy
 Israeli archeologists find remains dating back to Sanhedrin
 Major Archbishop Shevchuk says Pope plans to visit Ukraine
 Nuns, deacons arrested in Ethiopia
 After oral arguments in landmark ‘Dobbs v. Jackson’ abortion case, experts say Roe’s days are numbered
 Pope arrives in Athens, warns of ‘retreat from democracy’
 Lamenting West’s indifference to refugees, Pope departs from Cyprus

Released Friday, Dec. 3

 Archbishop Cordileone reveals he is not vaccinated
 Pope addresses Orthodox Synod in Cyprus
 Vancouver archbishop: Add Masses rather than inquire about vaccination status
 Nigerian priest kidnapped by Fulani herdsmen ‘narrowly escaped death’
 Christian home in Iraq is fire-bombed
 Former Dayton-area priest pleads guilty to child rape
 Evangelization, not Christendom’s restoration, should be Church’s focus, Florida bishop says
 Former Paris archbishop asks ‘forgiveness from those I might have hurt’
 School board settles with Virginia teacher who opposed transgender rules
 Pro-life leaders react to President Biden’s statements about Dobbs abortion case
 Ethiopian government is engaged in an ‘ethnic cleansing war’ in Tigray, bishop says
 A weary Pope urges Greek, Turkish Cypriots to heal division
 Follow St. Barnabas’ example of patience and brotherhood, Pope tells Catholics of Cyprus

Released Thursday, Dec. 2

 Pope, in Cyprus, puts focus on migration
 Liberal justices angry as Court hears landmark abortion case
 Pope accepts resignation of Archbishop of Paris, appoints administrator
 Few Americans blame God or say faith has been shaken amid pandemic, other tragedies
 Dutch bishops cancel Christmas Midnight Masses
 US bishops commemorate 50th anniversary of Catholic Campaign for Human Development
 Cameroon bishops deplore attack on school
 Nigerian bishop criticizes Biden administration for removing Nigeria for religious-freedom blacklist
 Pope recalls World AIDS Day, asks for prayers for apostolic journey
 Court revives lawsuit of Catholic school teacher fired for same-sex marriage
 Cyprus prepares for Pope Francis’s visit
 Judge: Iowa Medicaid denial of sex-change surgery unlawful
 For some Catholic employers, paid parental leave helps ‘honor the family’
 Yet another Catholic church destroyed by Myanmar junta
 Faith groups: Build Back Better Act would exclude faith-based child care, pre-K providers
 The Pope is a pilgrim of unity and fraternity, Cardinal Parolin says on eve of journey
 Giavera festival helps spread culture of welcome, Pope says

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Easter

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday)

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"Jesus said: ‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.’" Christ Himself is the Good Shepherd, who knows each one of His sheep, who gives His life for them and snatches them from the jaws of the marauding wolf. He is the true shepherd who fulfills Ezechiel's prophecy…

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