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Stories for February 2022

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Monday, Feb. 28

 Vatican ready to mediate in Ukraine, Cardinal Parolin says
 Canonization cause for ‘Song of Scaffold’ Carmelite martyrs
 Pope to Iraqi Christians: pursue dialogue
 Philippine bishops urge vote for ‘truth, common good, peace, and justice’
 Indonesia seeks stiff sentence for Christian YouTuber
 Osaka high court rules in favor of compensation for victims of forced sterilization
 Ecumenical Patriarch condemns the invasion of Ukraine
 Strive to see clearly and speak charitably, Pope tells pilgrims
 Order of Malta’s leaders, special delegate meet with Pope to discuss reforms
 ‘Ukraine is heading for a humanitarian catastrophe,’ Caritas warns
 From ‘blood-soaked Kyiv,’ Ukrainian Catholic leader urges all to speak out on behalf of Ukraine
 Russia’s Catholic bishops call on leaders to end conflict with Ukraine
 Pray for peace more intensely, Pope Francis pleads in new appeal for end of war

Released Saturday, Feb. 26

 Pope Francis speaks with Zelensky, Major Archbishop by phone to express support for Ukraine

Released Friday, Feb. 25

 Pope’s acute knee pain scuttles planned visit to Florence
 Orthodox Church leaders blast Russian offensive in Ukraine
 Pope makes personal visit to Russian ambassador
 USCCB: ‘Act now to stop most extreme abortion-on-demand bill ever seen’
 Bishops urge Filipinos to remember ‘dark years’ of Marcos dictatorship
 Indian Catholics seek legal action against defamation
 Pekhon: 2 Catholic priests arrested by the military coup leaders
 Ukrainian faithful of Moscow Patriarchate against Putin’s invasion
 Pope issues Lenten message: ‘Let us not grow tired of doing good’
 Vandals knock down statues outside Georgia Catholic church
 Celibacy not ‘divine law’ for priests, but promotes holiness, speakers at Vatican symposium say
 Leading Polish prelate: ‘I strongly condemn the actions of Russia and Vladimir Putin’
 US bishops’ president echoes Pope Francis’ call for prayer and fasting for Ukraine
 ‘We offer our body and soul for our freedom,’ Ukrainian Catholic leader says in new appeal

Released Thursday, Feb. 24

 Religious freedom restrained in Russian-occupied Ukraine
 Cardinal Parolin sees ‘still time for good will’
 Vandals hit Boston-area Catholic cemetery in for 2nd time in 2 months
 Torzi again suspect in new hospital fraud case
 25 years later, Legion of Christ victims seek reparations
 Vatican astronomers make 2 new discoveries in space
 Pope’s’ cardinal advisors discuss role of women in the Church and the ‘Marian principle’
 Mediterranean bishops, mayors gather in Florence ahead of papal visit
 Indian bishops campaign for Dalit Christians’ rights
 Hong Kong bishop stresses dialogue in troubled region
 Sadrist committee returns over 120 properties to Iraqi Christians
 US bishops defend planned $28M Eucharistic Congress amid criticism
 Bishops welcome EU aid to Ukraine
 Ukrainian Catholic leader: Ukraine is ‘protecting European values at the cost of blood of its children’

Released Wednesday, Feb. 23

 Zanchetta trial hears testimony of porn, intimidation
 Colombia’s bishops decry abortion ruling
 French lawmakers approve broader abortion access
 Daleiden says California restricting access to criminal investigation of Planned Parenthood
 Lawsuit charges Knoxville bishop blocked abuse investigation
 Florence cardinal hopes papal visit will ‘revive the spirit’ of Italian city’s ‘holy mayor’
 ‘Building the future with migrants and refugees’ is theme of Pope’s annual message
 Pope begins general audience series on old age
 ‘My heart aches greatly’: Pope Francis issues appeal for peace in Ukraine
 Armed group burns down Catholic college in Cameroon
 Prelate calls on Somalians to put aside discord, combat terrorism
 More German bishops call for ordination of married men to the priesthood
 South Korea denies asylum to 60 Chinese Christians
 Indian archbishop calls for protection of Christians
 In Scotland, record damages for man abused by members of religious order
 Group laments ‘persistent and constant abuse’ in Pakistan’s blasphemy legislation
 Gaza parish priest rebuilds from the rubble of war
 Ukrainian Catholic leader deplores Russian military aggression, calls for ‘defense of our native land’

Released Tuesday, Feb. 22

 Colombian court ruling legalizes abortion
 Cincinnati archdiocese pulls out of men’s conference, citing conservative speakers
 Welcome Ukrainian refugees, Polish prelate urges faithful
 Vietnamese officials disrupt Mass celebrated by archbishop
 Cardinal rebukes officials of pontifical academy who backed assisted suicide
 Ukrainian Catholic prelate to be recognized as Patriarch?
 Eastern Catholic leaders meet to discuss importance of liturgical identity
 Indiana’s attorney general defends Catholic school’s right to fire teacher in same-sex marriage
 Statue disappears from San Antonio parish
 Church calls Scottish government’s guidelines on underage sex ‘morally bankrupt’
 Women speakers at Vatican symposium emphasize need for ‘reciprocity’ in Church’s ministry
 Nigerian archbishop rues declining morality, influence of wealth on politics
 Latin American prelates brief Pope on their ‘synod before the synod’
 Cardinal tells Lebanon’s leaders: ‘You cannot continue the country’s demolition’
 Israeli authority backs down from Mount of Olives park plan
 Bishop Zanchetta denies abuse claims in Argentine trial
 Sri Lankan officials accused over Easter Sunday attacks acquitted
 UN official finds Iran arrested dozens of Christians in 2021

Released Monday, Feb. 21

 Pope assures traditionalist group: Latin Mass to continue
 Anti-Catholic crimes under-reported in Massachusetts
 Chinese bishop, arrested in May, remains in custody
 Ukrainian Catholic leader pays tribute to the ‘heavenly hundred’
 South Sudan: a year after shooting of bishop-elect, nuncio weighs in on trial
 Vatican newspaper laments humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s Afar region
 BBC sees ‘culture of complicity and denial’ of clerical sex abuse in Italy
 Pope to visually impaired: ‘One sees well only with the heart’
 Pope hails health care workers as heroes for Covid service
 Bolivia’s bishops warn of ‘serious deterioration’ in nation’s judicial system
 Nigerian prelate warns faithful against priest’s ministry, comments
 Becciu back in court as Vatican trial resumes; attorneys argue Pope has abused authority
 In Shahkot, Christian tombs desecrated by real estate company
 Pope: How sad it is when Christians think of waging war with each other

Released Friday, Feb. 18

 Pope to meet Russian Patriarch this summer?
 Beatification cause advances for Argentine Cardinal Pironio
 Noted French priest, barred from ministry, attending Vatican forum
 Pope voices fear of ‘threatening winds’ in Ukraine
 Miami priest sentenced to nearly 8 years in prison for raping parishioner in rectory
 Churches remain prime targets in conflict-torn Myanmar
 Canadian Catholic scholars debate Trudeau’s use of Emergencies Act
 In major address on priesthood, Pope emphasizes closeness to God, the bishop, other priests, and the people
 Militia destroys church in Libya
 Sisters of Charity Federation acknowledges congregations owned enslaved people
 Cardinal Ouellet discusses role under Popes Benedict, Francis
 A complete guide to the Pope’s new canonical revisions
 Grant of $3.65M will fund network of institutes of Catholic thought
 New FDA head criticized for role in expanding availability of abortion pill
 UK Jewish leader meets with Pope to demonstrate strong interreligious relationship
 Ukraine needs your solidarity, nation’s Catholic leader tells ambassadors

Released Thursday, Feb. 17

 Florida governor, archbishop spar over immigration rhetoric
 Spain investigating 68 allegations of child abuse by Catholic clergy, staff
 Bishop and priests arrested in Tamil Nadu get bail
 Catholic Charities leaders report threats over ministry to migrants
 Thousands join campaign against anti-conversion laws in India
 Damage at Salt Lake City cathedral from attempted burglary
 Muslim, Christian leaders work together for peace in Mozambique
 Cuba begins public consultation on same-sex marriage, adoption
 ‘You are the last hope of your people,’ Ukrainian Catholic leader tells religious
 Tennessee man sentenced to 7 years for series of church arsons
 Vatican ponders priesthood amid abuse research, revelations
 Federal court backs synagogue in dispute with regional transit authority

Released Wednesday, Feb. 16

 Company in which Cardinal Becciu invested now tangled in US political scandal
 Christian university students decline to meet with Myanmar government
 Italian Cardinal De Magistris dead at 95
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: ‘St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church’
 Holy See’s Secretary of State expresses support for the Ukrainian Church and people
 Czech cardinal accuses Germany’s Cardinal Marx of betraying Pope Benedict
 Vatican diplomat laments effects of school closings on impoverished children
 Theme announced for World Day of Grandparents and Elderly
 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew makes an appeal for peace in Ukraine
 Report estimates US diocesan foundation assets at over $12B
 Federal court, citing First Amendment, dismisses priest’s suit for reinstatement
 In Italy, a call for a national investigation into clerical sexual abuse
 +Addai II Giwargis, 74
 Pope faces ecumenical dilemma in Ukraine

Released Tuesday, Feb. 15

 El Salvador bishop troubled by discovery of hidden graves
 Pope gives bishops, episcopal conferences greater responsibilities
 Cardinal Ranjith raps Sri Lankan government’s arrest of investigative journalist
 Federal court upholds South Carolina’s Blaine amendment
 Ambassador: Ukraine would welcome papal visit, Vatican mediation to avert war
 Papal delegate to govern group co-founded by French Catholic mystic
 German bishop issues written commitment to retain LGBT Church workers
 Vatican cardinal pays tribute to Canadian Bishop Remi de Roo
 5 Chicago Catholic school leaders urge mayor to end mask mandate
 Leading Russian Orthodox official says Pan-Orthodox Council is needed
 US bishops’ education chairman applauds legislation honoring Catholic schools
 Ukrainian Catholic bishops in US call for prayer, fasting for peace
 Poland’s leading prelate urges prayers for peace
 World’s Catholic population continues to rise amid decline in priests, sisters, seminarians

Released Monday, Feb. 14

 Network questions high salary of Catholic non-profit
 Islamic leaders condemn lynching of Muslim accused of blasphemy
 Cardinal Müller rips secularizing prelates, sees ‘tribulation’ for faithful
 Patriarch Bartholomew joins pleas for peace in Ukraine
 Pope splits CDF into doctrinal, disciplinary sections
 ‘Blurred lines’: Ottawa archdiocese says there’s no easy take on trucker protests
 Rabbi ‘queers’ religion at Jesuit university
 Many faith leaders wary of religious exemptions for vaccine
 Ukrainian Catholic leader pleads for internal unity in face of ‘external aggressor’
 Denver archdiocese to review Catholic identity of schools following firing of teachers at Jesuit school
 Nigerian bishops urge government to act against ‘senseless killings’
 Pope laments plight of child soldiers
 Put limits on priests’ ability to accept bequests from parishioners, paper urges
 Cardinal, leading Russian Orthodox official hold prayer service before Crown of Thorns in Paris
 Papal aid to migrants stranded in Lithuania
 Pope: ‘Worrying’ news from Ukraine, ‘every effort’ is needed for peace

Released Friday, Feb. 11

 Abortions drop in Texas under new law
 $27 million in federal funding for fetal-tissue research
 French abuse report challenged, defended
 Italian bishop suspends priest who campaigns against vaccine mandate
 Papal tribute to Ecumenical Patriarch on 30th anniversary of election
 Pope Francis recalls powerful message from Pius XII 70 years later
 Vancouver Catholic colleges look for ways to challenge growing cancel culture
 Resignation of Argentine bishop accepted after controversy over seminary closure
 Grotto at Lourdes to reopen to pilgrims
 Lawsuit over Catholic border ministry draws criticism from Texas bishop, others
 On the feast of St. Maron, Cardinal Rai points the way out of the Lebanese crisis
 Pope Francis sends letter of support to Benedict XVI
 Kentucky archdiocese to be led by bishop who’s fought racism
 Pope Francis: The antidote to healthcare inequality is fraternity
 Women have strong influence in Church, author insists

Released Thursday, Feb. 10

 New reports of spying at the Vatican
 Connecticut diocese protests governor’s school-mask mandate
 Pope to visit Malta in April
 Kansas bishop remains under abuse investigation
 Vatican welcomes Italian constitutional amendment on environmental protection
 Biden administration sued over communications with Texas diocese, Catholic Charities
 ‘We must do better’: Cardinal O’Malley reacts to Pope Benedict’s statement on abuse
 Pope says war in Ukraine would be ‘madness,’ backs talks
 Protest in church by Black activists divides Catholics in Brazil
 Pope condemns assisted suicide as Italian parliament mulls law
 Catholic schools see boost in enrollment, but are still below pre-Covid levels
 Indian bishops’ conference sees no religious element behind prelate’s arrest
 Vatican organizes major symposium on the priesthood
 Germany’s Synodal Assembly calls for change on bishops’ selection
 Background: World Day of the Sick

Released Wednesday, Feb. 9

 Argentina: abuse trial looms for bishop promoted by Pope Francis
 Christian selected to head Egypt’s top court
 Vermont legislature backs constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion right
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: ‘St. Joseph, patron of the good death’
 Ecumenical Patriarch: We will continue to fight for the reopening of the Halki Seminary
 Chicago archdiocese removes principal who ended mask mandate at his school
 +Bishop Remi De Roo, 97
 Australian police interrupt Mass to check compliance with mask mandate
 Colombian bishop receives several death threats
 Bishops call for a joint effort to achieve political stability in Peru
 Vatican spokesman praises Benedict XVI’s apology, explanation on abuse
 Ukraine’s Catholic leader invites Pope to visit and help bring peace
 Bishop and five priests arrested in connection with illegal mining in Tamil Nadu
 Pope: Human trafficking an ‘open wound’ in the body of Christ and humanity

Released Tuesday, Feb. 8

 Montana bishop changes stance, bars Latin Mass
 EU bishops rebuke Macron on abortion
 German ‘Synodal Path’ calls for doctrinal change on homosexuality, contraception
 Quebec bishops: only vaccinated can attend Mass
 Benedict XVI issues apology, explanation on abuse
 Man charged after threatening to blow up St. Louis Catholic school
 Archbishop of Canterbury: South Sudan trip with Pope Francis may happen in coming months
 Abducted priest regains freedom in Nigeria
 Ukrainian Catholic leader: Christians ‘must be preachers of hope’ amid military escalation
 Nun sent to prison for stealing from school to fund Las Vegas trips
 Seoul’s new archbishop: Eucharistic adoration is key to unity of Church, Korean peninsula
 Hindu militants destroy Catholic house of prayer, hospitality in Karnataka
 Pope: Human trafficking is a wound shamefully inflicted for economic interests
 SNAP demands Catholic publisher stop selling books by accused priests
 Catholics in today’s Iran: the testimony of a Chaldean bishop
 ‘Called to the Joy of Love’ is theme of National Marriage Week

Released Monday, Feb. 7

 Slovenian president meets with Pontiff
 Pope urges Italian seminarians: eschew nostalgia
 Lay group challenges Biden administration on anti-Catholic violence
 Human-rights campaigner: Holy See must not open diplomatic ties with Beijing
 Former Paris archbishop says Pope supports him despite resignation
 Synod office claims ‘great enthusiasm’ for preparatory sessions
 Pope condemns ‘barbaric’ attack on displaced people in DR Congo
 Vicar of Arabia sees fraternity as a guide for ‘lasting peace,’ also in the Gulf
 4th Anglican bishop in a year enters Catholic Church in UK
 Pope: Cherish every life always, as with little Rayan
 Russian Orthodox Church protests against dancing at former monastery in Turkey
 Phoenix pastor resigns after diocese learns he performed invalid baptisms
 Cardinal Nichols pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on platinum jubilee
 Vatican newspaper draws attention to South American migrant crisis
 Haiti’s existence is at stake, bishops warn
 Pope Francis notches new first: TV evening talk show guest
 Fatherhood, periphery, and peace: papal address to Italian mayors

Released Friday, Feb. 4

 German ‘Synodal Path’ endorses ordination of women
 Ukrainian Orthodox split on Church allegiance to Moscow
 Vietnamese Catholics question motive for murder of priest
 Top Vatican diplomat leaves Taiwan mission
 German Catholics fear ‘spirit of rebellion’ in Synodal Path
 China steps up propaganda attacks on Cardinal Zen
 Convicted priest dies in jail; suicide likely
 ‘Let us press forward on this path of fraternity,’ Pope says in message
 Catholic conferences support state measures to restrict abortion
 For first time, canonization cause formally begins for a Pakistani Catholic
 ‘Democracy will be consolidated with this year’s vote,’ Angolan bishops hope
 Sostituto travels to United Arab Emirates, opens nunciature
 34% of US priests are retired
 91-year-old Christian villager drugged, killed in Bangladesh
 EU bishops welcome election of Maltese lawmaker as president of European Parliament
 Nicaragua revokes legal status of Catholic charities, educational projects
 Priest murdered in DR Congo
 Ukrainian Catholic leader: ‘People are ready to defend their country’
 Leading Russian Orthodox official lauds Putin as protector of Christians

Released Thursday, Feb. 3

 Christian leaders call for release of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong
 Papal thanks to Vatican security officials
 Maronite bishops fear Lebanon becoming battleground for ‘proxy wars’
 Italian Church leaders decry ‘profane’ display at music festival
 Sri Lanka: cardinal to boycott national celebration
 Historically black Catholic university receives bomb threat
 Police escort man from Pope’s general audience
 Papal prayer for Myanmar on coup anniversary
 Cardinal Marx calls for discussion of a married priesthood
 Francis to decide personally on Order of Malta reforms
 ‘Bring the world to the Church,’ Pope tells secular institutes
 Key Synod cardinal: Catholic teaching on homosexuality is ‘false’
 Pope hails Paralympians, refugee athletes in Olympic message
 Pope Francis calls for renewed vision of consecrated life, decries rigidity

Released Wednesday, Feb. 2

 Italian court drops warrant for key defendant in Vatican finance trial
 Las Vegas bishop tells pro-abortion politicians not to receive Communion
 Theme of Pope’s general audience: St. Joseph and the communion of saints
 Background: World Day for Consecrated Life
 Over 400,000 take part in Ukrainian Catholic online prayer vigil for peace
 New alliance is formed to defend Catholic healthcare
 Christians, churches in Myanmar under siege for aiding displaced poor, victims of conflict
 Cardinal Cupich calls for ‘bold embrace’ of Laudato Si’ in US
 Discern, work with the poor, and fight when treated unfairly, Pope tells women religious
 Anglican pastor killed in Peshawar; Christians united in grief
 Catholic, Orthodox prelates praise Jordan’s King Abdullah
 USCCB action alert: ‘Ask Congress to support poor families and protect our common home’
 Support grows among Spanish lawmakers for government inquiry into clerical abuse
 Bishop laments hunger, mass destruction in Tigray
 US seminaries grapple with the issue of transgender applicants

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