Stories for week of September 13, 2020

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, Sep. 18

 US Secretary of State prods Vatican on accord with Beijing
 Top Vatican officials vow to cooperate against corruption
 Churches again close, public Mass suspended in Dublin
 Chinese priest released, but bishop in custody
 Pause to evaluate catechetical programs, Quebec cardinal suggests
 NPR: Biden’s Catholic faith is ‘central to how he sees the world’
 Hong Kong Watch chairman: Vatican is providing China with ‘useful idiots and fellow travelers’
 Fire at Australian cathedral deemed suspicious
 NJ town agrees to let Jewish congregation build worship center after feds sue
 Wellpath sued by EEOC for religious discrimination
 Indian nun testifies in closed session of bishop’s rape trial
 Oklahoma City priest ‘re-ordained’ after learning of invalid baptism
 Some link nuncio’s transfer from India to alleged inaction against bishops on sexual abuse
 ‘Lives will be upended’: US bishops decry federal court decision on TPS
 Pope expresses closeness to sick, elderly priests
 $12M shrine dedicated in Canada
 Archdiocese tells parishioners they must wait for church sale to undo ‘architectural vandalism’
 Cologne cardinal warns German ‘synodal path’ could cause schism

Released Thursday, Sep. 17

 New papal nuncio faces challenges as Belarus blocks archbishop’s return
 Chinese ‘underground’ priest detained, pressed to join ‘official’ Church
 Vatican workers report tensions, morale problems
 Pope calls murdered priest a witness of charity
 Hackers continue cyberattacks against Vatican, Catholic organizations
 Kroger Company sued by EEOC for religious discrimination
 Trial of Catholic lay leader highlights gaps in Church’s sex abuse oversight
 Belize bishop opposes ‘equal opportunities’ gender bill
 Archbishop Cordileone: ‘Believers are being singled out for uniquely punitive treatment’
 Armed man arrested outside Nebraska parish
 Title of Pope’s new encyclical is inclusive, Vatican spokesman says
 Man jailed after destroying historic statue of Jesus at El Paso cathedral
 Survey shows trends in US Catholic voting
 US bishops’ chairman of Hispanic Affairs reflects on Hispanic contributions and leadership in the Church
 Cardinal Tobin: A ‘person in good conscience’ could vote for Biden

Released Wednesday, Sep. 16

 Cardinal decries Spanish euthanasia bill
 Chinese priest compares Vatican-Beijing accord, concordat with Hitler
 New head for office of Synod of Bishops
 Pope Francis: Become guardians of life and earth with contemplation and care
 New Zealand bishops’ election statement opposes euthanasia, urges cannabis caution
 Campaign names 3 dozen ‘Catholics for Biden’ co-chairs
 Catholic group launches $9.7M campaign against Biden targeting swing-state voters
 Questionable Philippine ‘religious order’ set up orphanage where abuse occurred
 US teens take after their parents religiously
 Bayer to pay $1.6 billion to resolve US claims for Essure birth-control device
 Cardinal Pell: Father Paul Mankowski reminded me of St. Ignatius of Loyola
 Members of National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus say action is needed
 Detroit-area pastor apologizes for priest’s homily comparing BLM to 9/11 terrorists
 Diocese of Charlotte formally opens $20M college seminary as Church membership soars
 Papua New Guinea bishops see many challenges after 45 years of independence
 As release of Pope’s encyclical nears, Vatican spokesman reflects on St. Francis and brotherhood
 Bishop chairmen affirm right to shelter for all, praise proposed HUD regulation on the transgendered homeless

Released Tuesday, Sep. 15

 Taiwan reassured on Vatican-Beijing pact
 Leading Sudanese bishop welcomes peace agreement
 Maronite Patriarch appeals to UN to investigate Beirut explosions
 US Jesuits release document on contemplation and political action
 Manila Cathedral reopens to public after 6 months
 While Australian diocese defends curriculum, Catholics say religious ed plan defies doctrine
 Spanish bishops call for palliative care instead of euthanasia and assisted suicide
 Bishops of California launch yearlong anti-racism initiative
 Environment, other issues beyond abortion are critical in voting, Kentucky bishop says
 Belarusian archbishop’s passport annulled, foreign ministry says
 ‘Come back to me,’ says the Lord: English bishop issues pastoral letter
 2 groups criticize Catholic honor planned for US attorney general
 Prelate asks Catholics in US to pray for Belarus
 Care for the whole patient is essential, Pope says to oncologists

Released Monday, Sep. 14

 Former Salvadoran colonel jailed for 1989 killing of Jesuits
 Vatican ‘foreign minister’ in Belarus for talks on archbishop’s status
 Vatican Secretary of State insists Belarus must allow archbishop’s return
 Milwaukee archbishop reinstates Sunday Mass obligation, warns skipping is grave sin
 Canadian bishops reject priest’s dire prophecies
 Cardinal Tagle tests positive for Covid
 Belarus invites Pope to visit nation
 Co-founder of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal among Chicago’s new auxiliary bishops
 Western Australian legislative committee recommends preserving confessional seal
 ‘Virtual’ Mass never substitutes for in-person participation, Cardinal Sarah tells bishops’ conferences
 ‘We need miracles to overcome this crisis,’ Lebanese priest says
 Leading German bishop ponders Covid’s effects
 Archbishop Warda, other Iraqi Christians denounce BBC documentary for omissions
 United Arab Emirates helps rebuild Catholic church in Mosul
 Pope consoles relatives of 2018 stampede victims
 Contemplation, compassion emphasized in renewed papal appeal for ecology
 Pope Francis calls on protestors to be peaceful, leaders to listen to them
 Papal solidarity for Lésvos fire victims
 Reject resentment, ‘that bothersome fly,’ and forgive, Pope tells pilgrims

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Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church

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The Optional Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church is in honor of the nameless followers of Christ brutally killed by the mad Emperor Nero as scapegoats for the fire in Rome. The pagan historian Tacitus and St. Clement of Rome tell of a night of horror (August 15, 64 A.D.) when in the…

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