Catholic News

• Vatican spokesman denounces 'new iconoclasts' who threw Amazonian images into Tiber (Vatican News)
  The two men who took Amazonian images from a church and threw them into the Tiber River are “new iconoclasts, who have gone from expressing their hatred through social media to acting in this way,” said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication. Tornielli’s article also appeared on the front page of the Vatican newspaper (October 23 Italian edition).
• Vatican financial-oversight agency fully backs suspended director (CWN)
  The Vatican’s Financial Information Agency (AIF) has given its full backing to its director, Tommaso Di Ruzza, who has been suspended in connection with a Vatican prosecutor’s investigation into suspicious financial transactions.
• Pope Francis, at general audience, discusses Council of Jerusalem (Vatican News)
  On May 29, Pope Francis began a new series of Wednesday general audiences devoted to the Acts of the Apostles.
• Syrians flee to Iraq as cease-fire set to expire (CNS)
  Turkey attacked northeastern Syria on October 9 after President Donald Trump withdraw American troops from the area. Many Syrians “expressed fear over the Turkish bombing campaign, while others, particularly religious minorities such as the Christians and Yazidis, were frightened by Syrian Islamist militants employed by the Turkish military on the ground,” according to the report.
• Themes of synod press briefing: networking, responsibility, climate change (Vatican News)
  “Europe, America, China, and Japan must change lifestyles,” said Bishop Karel Martinus Choennie of Paramaribo, Suriname (map), at the October 22 press briefing (video).
• Cardinal Hummes will head committee to write Amazon synod's final document (CNA)
  The Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region concludes on October 27.
• In lenghty address, Vatican Secretary of State calls for 'effective multilateralism' (Vatican News)
  “Galvanizing Multilateral Efforts for the Eradication of Poverty, Quality Education, Climate Action and Inclusion” was the title of Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s recent address to the UN General Assembly.
• Nearly 200 Russian Orthodox priests sign open letter criticizing Putin regime (Catholic Herald)
  “I was very depressed by the severe prison sentences, but even more so by the mere thought that the Church could remain silent on this matter,” said one priest.
• Influential Jesuit editor sees prophecy as synod's key theme (Vatican News)
  Father Antonio Spadaro, SJ, editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, said that “the preemptive attacks aimed at the Synod, dressed up as a fundamentalist religiosity, come from groups that protect political-economic interests.” He added, “An authentically Catholic response must be given to the request of the Amazon communities to adapt the liturgy by valuing the original cosmo-vision, traditions, symbols, and rites that include transcendent, community, and ecological dimensions.”
• In Bangladesh, priest baptizes half of village's families on single day (AsiaNews)
  The South Asian nation of 159 million(map) is 89% Muslim and 10% Hindu. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey to Bangladesh in 2017.
• Focus more on peace, not power-sharing, say South Sudan bishops (CNS)
  The nation of 10.2 million (map), most of whose people are animist or Christian, gained independence from largely Muslim Sudan in 2011. The South Sudanese Civil War began in 2013; the war has left 400,000 dead and displaced over 3.6 million civilians. In April 2019, Pope Francis kissed the feet of the nation’s leaders as he appealed for peace.
• Key figure at Synod reveals woman already presiding at liturgies (LifeSite News)
  Bishop Erwin Kräutler, reportedly the main author of the working document for the Amazon Synod, has revealed that in the Brazilian diocese he headed before his retirement, women are already presiding at Liturgies of the Word and delivering homilies.
• Vatican official denies risk of default (CWN)
  Bishop Nunzio Galantino, the president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), has rejected reports that the Vatican is at risk of financial default because of plummeting contributions.
• Hong Kong bishops call for independent inquiry into police violence (AsiaNews)
  “May the Lord touch the heart of our government officials to respond to the public by setting up an independent commission of inquiry, so that the society can embark on the journey of reconciliation through the finding of the truth,” said Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha, who also called on the faithful to pray the Rosary during the month of October.
• Pompeo highlights religious freedom, pro-life goals as among US priorities (CNA)
  Secretary of State Michael Pompeo made his remarks during an October 22 address (full text).
• Cardinal Hummes, other synod fathers renew 1965 'pact of the catacombs' (Vatican News)
  The Pact of the Catacombs organized by Brazilian Archbishop Hélder Câmara three weeks before the close of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), was eventually signed by over 500 council fathers.
• India: police seize assets of Jesuit activist (AsiaNews)
  Police in Ranchi, India, have confiscated the assets of a Jesuit priest-activist who failed to appear for a judicial hearing. Father Stan Swamy, who has worked with tribal groups to prevent development in forests, faces charges of treason and terrorism; civic officials claim that he worked with Maoist guerrillas against the government.
• Florida bishops: Stay execution of man convicted of 1985 murder (Archdiocese of Miami)
  “Another man, Jack Pearcy, has signed a sworn affidavit that he, and he alone, was responsible for the tragic death of [Shelly] Boggio,” the Florida Catholic Conference stated. “No physical evidence ties [James] Dailey to the crime; however, the Florida Supreme Court refuses to allow him to present new evidence proving his factual innocence based on procedural time bars.”
• Archbishop Viganò decries 'aberrant and sacrilegious pagan rites' during synod (LifeSite News)
  “Bishops and cardinals and even the one who more than any other would have had to protect the Bride of Christ from the attacks of the Devil have been responsible for abominable acts of profanation and apostasy,” said the retired apostolic nuncio to the United States, who has been in hiding since his 2018 testimony on the cover-up of sexual abuse.
• Help seafarers come to know Jesus Christ, Pope tells ecumenical group (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis addressed his message to the International Christian Maritime Association as it hosted a conference 50 years after its founding.
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